Whilst not voting is clearly better than voting for the BNP, you can't ignore voter apathy as part of the reason for the fact that the fascists have two seats. I'll say it one more time: their vote hasn't gone up, it's gone down. Problem is, people stayed away from the elections in droves, possibly because they don't see the Euro-elections as important, possibly because they don't give a shit and possibly because they swallowed the media-led, populist, anti-politician frenzy the Telegraph started just in time for the elections. Yes, some politicians have their snouts in the trough, but what's new? The Lib Dems don't, particularly, and the Greens certainly don't. People could have voted for them rather than staying on the sofa glued to Big Brother.

There are real issues around which to make a decision about who to vote for rather than the side shows about expenses: Labour's increased health and education spending over the past twelve years (good!) or Labour's dodgy overseas adventures in Iraq and Afghanistan (bad!)... just two examples for starters. On some levels, the Telegraph campaign is just another example of dumbed down celebrity culture where someone's duck island becomes more important that the policies of his party. It's the latter, not the former, that will for better or worse impact on your life...

So by all means withhold you vote, but at least do it for a decent reason. And at least show some enthusiasm and commitment by going to the polling station and spoiling your ballot card rather than passively staying away.