The countdown to the General Election has begun but voters in Brighton and Hove seem to be less than enamoured by the prospect of exercising their democratic rights on May 5.

The arguments in favour of voting are well rehearsed.

People died protecting our democracy, others around the world continue to fight for the right to vote, if we do not vote we cannot complain when the Government does something we hate.

But the arguments against taking part in elections are also becoming wearily familiar - voting does not change anything, politicians are all as bad as each other and so on.

The turnout in the 1992 election was 78 per cent. In 1997, when Labour swept to power with a 178-seat majority, the turnout was 72 per cent.

At the last election in 2001 participation fell to 59 per cent.

The figures speak for themselves.

Yet despite politicians' apparent inability to inspire support they continue to argue and jostle for votes.

David Lepper, the Labour MP for Brighton Pavilion, said: "Voting gives us an opportunity to have our say on who should be making decisions on our behalf. In many cities across the world, people still fight for that right.

"Government has to be accountable and I hope people will take an interest and feel that by voting they are making a difference."

So is the electorate in Sussex convinced of this argument and will they vote?

James Jervis, 19, a barman from Hove: "I don't know if I am going to vote. I'll see what the parties are saying.

"It has all been policies but no action. At the moment I don't feel there is any point in voting because no one's saying what I want to hear. If they got more involved with youth and listened to what they had to say I might.

"There are kids who don't have anything to do and that is why there are people afraid to walk down the street."

Anna Swift, 20, a Brighton University student, of Upper Lewes Road, said: "I think people are interested in politics when it's to do with them. They need to get more feedback from young people.

"I make up my mind by listening to what my friends are saying. I don't know if I like Tony Blair. That would affect how I vote. I think we need someone fresh and new. I watch the news but I haven't gone out of my way to read about the election.

"Nearer the time, I will start getting more interested."

Susan Baldwin, 47, a physiotherapist from Cuckfield: "There is not much difference to choose from. The two parties are so similar.

"I think we are pretty tired of Labour, the way they have handled things like the Kelly affair and all the spin. Let's have a go with somebody else.

"There isn't anybody who is my favourite. Certainly not the Lib Dems. We have only got one other choice.

"I want somebody who is a bit more straightforward, if it is possible to have a politician who is straightforward."

Des Turner, Labour MP for Kemp Town, Brighton, blames the media's "corrosive criticism" of politics and politicians as partly responsible for falling turnouts and said most MPs were trying their best to do a good job for their constituents.

Campaigners for electoral reform believe the firstpast-the-post voting system, under which the winning party takes all, has contributed to the declining interest in voting.

Mr Lepper is one of many who believe the electorate would be better served by a more proportional system, where a party's national share of the vote is reflected in its number of Westminster MPs.

He said: "People must use their vote. It makes a huge difference who's in government and there is a huge difference between the main parties. Sooner or later it affects every aspect of everyone's lives."

Introducing proportional representation in the European and other elections has enabled smaller parties to win seats in parliaments and assemblies for the first time, which some believe has served to stimulate the political debate.

Other measures aimed at improving turnout have included setting up voting booths in supermarkets and making postal voting easier, which this week a judge criticised for encouraging fraud.

Nicholas Boles, Conservative candidate for Hove and Portslade, says he would prefer to be beaten in an election in which everyone cast their vote than to win one in which fewer than half did.

His opponent, Labour candidate Celia Barlow, said: "Voting is about having a say in what kind of world you are going to live in for the next four or five years."

Wednesday, April 6