Why I’ll be voting Reform (reluctantly)

I’ve always loved voting. No matter how many times I’ve been disappointed, I’ll be out there next time round getting all misty-eyed as I put my X on the ballot paper and embarrassing the poor people running the show by blurting ‘Thank you for everything you do for democracy!’ before bolting for the door. It’s something to do with feeling connected with history and the bravery of people before me – the Suffragettes getting force-fed – but also feeling linked to the people fighting and dying for the right to vote all around the world. As Peter Robins wrote in The Spectator back in 2014: ‘If you want to see the places where civil society comes into being – in church halls and at school gates – you could do worse than look for polling-station signs. If you want to feel yourself part of civil society, I know of few moments better calculated to create that feeling than that of giving your name to a polite old lady, having it crossed off in the roll, and being sent on, no ID required and your polling card waved away, to help decide who runs your city or your country.’

But that was a decade ago, when we were still somewhat innocent; before the vision of Brexit, before the betrayal of Brexit, before lockdown and the culture-war capture of the great institutions.