Register to vote now!

Renfrewshire Valuation Joint Board, which manages electoral registration in Inverclyde, Renfrewshire and East Renfrewshire, has just commenced its annual canvass to update the register.

Many people are under the impression that because they were on the register last year they automatically remain on it. This is not the case. Each year we are required to make a return to ensure that the register is up to date.

Registration forms will be dropping through letter boxes shortly and it is crucial that householders check the details on their form and return it as soon as possible.

In fact this year it is even more crucial given the plans of the Con-Dem Coalition to cut the number of seats in the House of Commons by 50 and equalise the size of parliamentary constituencies to approximately 75,000 registered voters, based on the electoral registers at 1 December 2010. If we want to maximise the number of constituencies in Scotland we have to maximise registration this year.

At yesterday's meeting of the Valuation Board in Greenock I was able to persuade the Board of the particular importance of maximising registration this year, with the result that the Registration Officer was given authority to commit additional resources to employ more door to door canvassers.

Hopefully this will result in a higher level of registration than otherwise would have been the case.

I would also hope that our local newspaper - The Greenock Telegraph - could run a campaign to maximise local voter registration since Inverclyde is the type of area where there is a high number of people not registered to vote.