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Fine those who don't vote, says Walsall MP David Winnick

Russell Brand sparked controversy by claiming people should not bother voting.

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David Winnick MP

And now an MP he once locked horns wants the Government to consider fines for those who do not turn out.

MP David Winnick was mocked by the comedian as being something out of 'Dad's Army' when they met in a Commons committee.

The long-serving MP for Walsall North has set himself against the outspoken comedian's call for people not to vote by proposing fines for anyone who does not at least positively abstain.

Mr Winnick, who has represented the constituency since 1979, is set to lead a 10-minute Rule debate in Parliament in January suggesting people who do not want to use their democratic right should have to notify council elections officers in advance or turn up to the polling station to state they do not want to vote for any candidate.

The Labour MP is concerned that voter turnout is falling all over the country as more and more people switch off from politics.

In the recent police and crime commissioner by-election in the West Midlands, barely one in 10 registered voters expressed a preference at all.

Mr Winnick wants to see Britain consider a system similar to Australia where people who do not vote, or do not at least expressly abstain, are fined. He has not suggested how much but in some parts of Australia it can be up to £30.

He said: "I'm not in favour of forcing anyone to vote.

"But I want to raise whether it should be a civic obligation to vote or at least to state an intention to abstain.

"I want to look at whether anyone who does not want to vote should either have to notify their council in writing or go to a polling station.

"I would like to see the proposed measure as the beginning of a public debate on the issue."

The idea is the complete opposite to the one put forward by left-wing comedian Brand, who declared: "I am not voting out of absolute indifference and weariness and exhaustion from the lies, treachery and deceit of the political class that has been going on for generations."

Russell Brand

Mr Winnick and Mr Brand met at the Home Affairs Select Committee in 2012 when the former drug addict comedian was asked for his views and experiences.

But after he began behaving excitably, Mr Winnick told him he was not taking part in 'a variety show'.

The comedian hit back poking fun at Mr Winnick's age saying: "You're providing a little bit of variety though, making it more like Dad's Army."

Mr Winnick is highly critical of the comedian's opposition to voting.

He said: "His comments on voting were disgusting and an affront to those all over the world who have fought so hard for their democratic right.

"What I am proposing may not be the answer to people feeling disillusioned. But we cannot allow a situation where turnout falls to such an extent that governments are elected with fewer than 50 per cent of people having expressed any preference."

The lowest turnout in any constituency since the Second World War was in Liverpool Riverside in 2001 when just 34.1 per cent of people voted. Prior to that the record lows were in 1918 when many men were away fighting in the First World War.

When Mr Winnick was first elected in Walsall in 1979, turnout in his constituency was more than 72 per cent. In 2001 it was 49 per cent and in 2010 was 55.5 per cent.

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