Apathy rules ok?

Always intersting to see how the papers are politically aligned on election days.

A glance at the leader columns tells a lot.

The Telegraph says "The Tories, and the Union, deserve your vote"

"Rarely has a government been so ill-prepared for a crucial set of mid-term elections as Labour is today.
Bereft both of ideas and energy, and morbidly obsessed with the prolonged agony of its change of leader, it richly deserves all the punishment the voters decide to mete out in the elections to English local authorities, the Scottish Parliament and the Welsh Assembly."

The Independent declines to use its column for any opinion on the issues prefering to talk about Iraq and some successes in the Nhs,as does the Guardian which reflects on Lord Browne and the crisis in Turkey.

Decision time for local democracy says the Mail

In these most complicated elections, therefore, we hesitate to offer advice. But if Mr Blair gets what in this paper's view would be a richly deserved parting drubbing from the voters today - both in Scotland, where he has undermined the Union with his cynical devolution settlement, and in England and Wales, where he has enfeebled local democracy - he will have only himself to blame.

The voice of the Mirror says"THE PARTY FOR BRITAIN"

"Yes, the pointless intrigue and politicking around Tony Blair's long goodbye as Prime Minister has led to a sense of drift.
Yes, there is an urgent need for Gordon Brown to radically reinvigorate Labour's agenda after 10 years in power, with the PM-in-waiting giving us a glimpse of his thinking in today's Daily Mirror.
But before giving Labour too big a bloody nose at the polling station, think long and hard about the alternatives."

Voters duty says the Sun urging us all out to vote

"It is our good luck to live in a democracy where every adult has a say in who runs our town halls and regional governments.Yet this hard-won freedom is being frittered away. Turnout has dwindled from 80 per cent to 60 per cent in ten years. Remember, your ballot paper is crucial. Some contests will go right down to the wire.The right to vote is more than a privilege — it is a duty.If you don’t like one candidate, pick another."

Perhaps it is therefore the Times which gets the issue spot on in "Local Hero"

"The contest for the Scottish Parliament ended yesterday with something of a hum. That for the English councils petered out in a sad fashion. If any local issue of note has emerged it has been the regularity or not with which domestic refuse is collected. The campaign, such as it is, has been marred (yet again) by confusion, incompetence and the risk of corruption surrounding postal ballots. Fewer than two in five (and possibly only one in three) of those eligible to vote will bother to visit their polling station."