Lorraine Courtney: Following dismal turnout at elections, we need to take leaf out of the Australian book and make voting compulsory

Election after election, we're seeing pathetic turnout figures. The UK's recent general election had a 59.9% turnout - rock bottom for the past two decades.

Our own local elections were even worse, limping in at 49.4%. More than half of registered voters decided they had better things to do that day than participate in shaping their communities.

Read at Independent