Step 1: Find out who is standing for election – not just the big parties who will be letter-bombing your door with leaflets… Make a list.

Step 2: Cross out anybody you would never vote for – whether the person or the party

Step 3: What’s Left?

Some parties you’ve voted for before but are now disillusioned with

Some parties you’ve considered but don’t know much about

Some independents you know nothing about

Step 4: Do some research

Find out about parties you’ve never voted for but might now consider

Find out about independent candidates and what they stand for

Step 5: Draw up a list of things you care about that are affected by Government policy – health, education, airport expansion, train fares, badgers, whatever.

Step 6: Cross check your list of what you care about with the parties and people you might consider voting for

Maybe have a scoring system – you can weight it – say 5 if they match on an issue you are really passionate about and 2 if you care about it, and 1 if it’s just something you think is an ‘ought to do’ rather than particularly emotive for you.

Step 7: You’ll either have a clear winner – that you can now vote for – in the event of a tie vote for the woman candidate, or if they are both women – toss a coin.

If you still can’t find anyone to vote for – spoil your ballot paper – be counted as disenchanted not disenfranchised – people died so you can vote.

For info on how things are run in the UK: http://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/