It's time to connect politics to people

5.37.00pm BST (GMT +0100) Mon 7th Sep 2009

Many people are disillusioned with British democracy and either don't vote or vote against what they don't want. The trouble is that under our first-past-the-post electoral system, the other parties take the voters of Fylde and many other constituencies for granted. Small wonder turnouts have been reducing and MPs lose touch - look at the resultant parliamentary expenses furore.

The voters of Fylde have been taken for granted for too long by the Tories, but there are signs that change is in the air and people have realised that they can change things by voting for other parties. Of the seven Lancashire County Council seats wholly or partly in Fylde constituency, only three returned Conservatives, two returned Liberal Democrats , County Councillors Bill Winlow and Howard Henshaw and two returned independents. Before June, six of the seven Fylde county councillors were Conservatives!

Fylde's Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Candidate, Professor Bill Winlow, says "It's time for real change and I will be standing for major reforms including, fixed term parliaments, a written constitution, and elected House of Lords and of course and appropriate form of proportional representation - not a list system like we had in the European elections."