Polling Day for local elections all over the country yesterday: I didn't vote.

It's often suggested that a failure to vote represents a kind of passive vote for apathy.  It's not always the case.

Traditionally a Tory voter, I certainly wasn't going to be one this time after their explicit support for BLiar's part in the criminal aggression against the people of Iraq.  A few years ago I might have considered voting UKIP, but since the events of September 11th 2001 (or rather since the inept, murderous US foreign policy reaction to them), I must say I've warmed considerably to the European Idea, finding myself much more closely aligned with the stance taken by our European partners than that of our own government.

I wasn't going to vote Liberal Democrat; I find Charles Kennedy to be lightweight, shallow, opportunist and pedestrian.  His speeches and contributions to debates remind me of student politics.

I looked through the Green Party's website and found myself in agreement with a lot of what I saw there, in particular their position on Iraq - but unfortunately I also found a lot of air-headed, business-phobic nonsense: I simply couldn't allow them to claim or infer approval for that with my vote.

RESPECT, the 'Unity Coalition' which has, commendably, expressed vociferous opposition to the war in Iraq, is in essence an old-fashioned hard-left socialist party, campaigning not only against the war, but also against privatisation and deregulation, both of which I'm strongly in favour.  No chance of a vote there, then.

But despite having taken no active part in the elections, I couldn't help feeling gratified on finding out that Labour had received a hammering.