Young Voters

We have had some good news in Hatton this week. The Simmers’ biscuit factory which has been operated by United Biscuits for some years is to be closed in late summer.

But after a lot of hard work, a new owner has been found, So in September, Paul Allan and his team will taking over and preserving an important employer in one of our small villages.

Not initially with as many jobs as before but young Paul is an energetic entrepreneur with a proven track record. So it is ‘watch this space’ time.

And with all the flurry of press camera men and women, and a TV crew from Grampian, the formal announcement attracted the attention of passers-by.

A school mini-bus stopped to refuel at the Simmers shop and I soon found myself in conversation with youngsters who had escaped from a stuffy class-room for the afternoon.

“You’re our MSP aren’t you?”. “Yes I’m Stewart”. “So what’s going on here then Stewart?”.

Questions, questions; the bane of parents lives but necessary to learn and grow.

And it shows the potential of youth. Paul Allan is just 28 but will carry responsibility for many workers futures. And these school kids will be all our tomorrows.

So would they be more inclined to vote than their increasingly apathetic parents if we gave them the chance?

I believe so and support moves to reduce voting age to 16.

And there is currently a consultation under way on the subject. All our 14 to 25-year-olds are invited to contribute of the next few weeks. Not by the ‘stuffy’ old way of writing in, but by ‘txt msg’.

To take part in the Scottish Youth Parliament’s campaign ‘Vote4IT’, all you need to do is call 0870 747 1425 and register your name and mobile telephone number.

Later you will receive a message on your phone about what next. So you don’t even need to leave your seat to take part. If only all elections were that simple.

But maybe they will be. And there’s also an online petition at www.vote16.co.uk

We have a couple of council by-elections in Banff & Buchan over the next few months. And the Electoral Commission is encouraging the Council to try some new technicques to encourage voters to put their wee crossie on the paper.

Some think voting in supermarkets is the answer. I am far from sure and I don’t want our excellent local shops further undermined by the distant power of big chains who just see us as consumers rather than known and valued customers.

An all postal ballot was tried with some success in Stirling recently. For some of our more rural areas that sounds a pretty good one for us to consider.

And there are machines available for counting the votes rather than the laborius manual counting process currently used. But I can’t see how that will persuade more people to the poll.