I am old enough to remember when the #LibDems were the cautious centrists of #UKpolitics.
Then their first woman leader promised to just ignore the #Brexit referendum. Then their new leader took up farcical aquatic ceremonies and won lots of seats at #GE2024.

And now their former leader #TimFarron goes #flagshagging at the LibDem party conference 🙄

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cjd11n14zz1o

Considering the increasing discussion about the #Seanad2025 elections (part of Ireland's #GE2024 series of fun) I have the following hot take on Voting:

It's not a duty.

It's not a responsibility.

It's a right, which you can choose to exercise according to your circumstances, to your abilities or to your taste (or, more likely, your distaste).

There are reasons why someone can't, don't or won't vote, and telling them it's a duty or a responsibility is an insidious form of passive aggression.

(for the sake of clarity, I don't have a vote for the Seanad because it's not a general franchise. If I had the choice, I would make it a general franchise, and if I had the right to vote for the Seanad I would exercise that right as often as I possibly can, as I do with the general elections. However, I would never dare to suggest to anyone that they have a responsibility or duty to vote, as doing so without knowing their circumstances might very well be unfair to them!)

A caution for anyone in Ireland with a Seanad vote who has moved house - I updated my address on the normal election register and my polling card for the General Election went there but the Seanad address list must be separate as my ballot paper arrived at the parental home. Thankfully am there to pick up, deadline is 29th Jan.

#IrelandVotes #Seanad #GE2024