No vote, no voice!

In just a few years’ time, new Councils will be up and running, and Councillors will have increased powers over a much wider range of issues. You get to choose who they are, but in order to vote you must be registered.

You should have received your voter registration form in the post recently, and a canvasser may have called to your door. Did you fill in and return the form?

This will be the last time that you will be asked to register to vote on an annual basis, and the closing date for registration is Monday 13 November. From now on, the register will be updated using information provided by electors, ie you! It will be up to you to inform them of, for example, a change of address.

Details of how to obtain a form can be found at the electoral office site and they are also available in a range of formats.

This will be the last time you will be required to register to vote before the elections to the new councils, under the Review of Public Administration. Councils will then have much greater impact on your life, as they will have responsibility for a range of services including:

• local economic development
• community planning
• urban and rural regeneration
• arts and culture
• community relations and
• local roads.

Your vote for your local council will be even more important than ever before. So if you’ve not yet registered, time is running out… contact the Electoral Office Advice Line on 028 9044 6688 or dig out that form from underneath the sofa!