Boaters, use your vote in 2013 (and afterwards)

Something that us boaters may or may not be aware of is that we still have the right to vote even though we don’t have a fixed address. There will be local elections for Wiltshire Council (and other Councils) on May 2nd this year, and our votes could make the difference between continuing Wiltshire’s support for liveaboard boaters or not. If you fill in and send back the electoral registration form before April 17th 2013, you will be added to the electoral roll in time to vote. Here is the form boater_electoral_registration

The registration form asks you to declare a local connection, in other words to say where you spend most of your time. You can give a care of postal address for your voting card to be sent to, or you can collect your voting card from the Council offices. You will need to renew your registration every year if you wish to stay on the register.

People registered with no fixed address can’t use their inclusion on the electoral roll for credit purposes. The information you give will not be shared with CRT, so saying where you most often moor cannot trigger enforcement action against you. The same form will cover you if you want to be registered under BaNES, Wiltshire, West Berkshire or Reading Councils. Why bother? Well, its up to personal choice, but it’s our right to have it and it means we get our say.

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