It is troubling to learn that householders in almost 14,000 properties across the district are not registered to vote.

Of course, there will always be cynics who put forward tired old clichés such as “there’s no point in voting, it never changes anything”. That is not the case.

Even if you vote for a minority party with little hope of gaining power, it lets the main parties know what your concerns are, and if enough people do likewise, that can influence what they do in the future.

When people take an interest in politics, our elected representatives also up their game accordingly because they know we are watching them.

And at present, we need politicians – both locally and nationally – who are firing on all cylinders.

We live in a time of huge challenges and great change, including big public-sector cuts and the possibility of a permanent directly elected mayor for Bradford.

These are important issues which will affect every one of us. Making our views known is more important than ever.

It is pleasing to hear Susan Saunders, Bradford Council’s electoral services manager, say the authority was committed to ensuring everyone who is eligible to vote is registered to do so.

But responsibility also rests with those individuals who are not currently on the register to do something about it.

They may not particularly like politics or politicians and even be sceptical about the whole process, but one thing is for certain – apathy never changed a thing.