IF YOU do not vote in the elections next Thursday you should not complain about council services and how your taxes are spent, a council boss has said.

With the Bucks County Council elections looming the importance of voting has been stressed by the authority's chief executive Chris Williams.

He said: "Anyone presented with the opportunity to influence the running of an organisation with a customer base of more than half a million, and an £849 million budget, would kick themselves if they missed it.

"The ballot box is a truly powerful influence."

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"In my view it's very difficult to complain about the council policies that shape our lives and communities if we haven't exercised our democratic right to vote, to influence decision-making for the future.

"It takes about four minutes to cast your vote. But you will be influencing the shape of your community over the next four years.

"So I want to make sure every one of the 389,738 people in the county eligible to vote grasps their opportunity on Thursday May 2 to influence the way Buckinghamshire County Council is run."

There was a 40 per cent turn out at the last county council election.

Mr Williams said the council's role is more important to residents than ever, looking after schools and social services, overseeing highways and transport, and disposing of the county’s rubbish.

But also the less commonly known duty in regards to health and crime where councillors members carry out a crucial scrutiny function aimed at providing a democratic safeguard. This includes a 20-member committee with a specific objective to monitor the work of the newly elected Police and Crime Commissioner on behalf of the public.

Mr Williams said: "Councillors who carry out these important scrutiny functions, are the same people who make decisions about spending taxpayers' money on services that affect the lives of every resident in Buckinghamshire - from the cradle to the grave.

"In Britain we're fortunate to have the freedom to decide whether or not to vote. The law that enshrines this right ensures confidentiality, and protects us from coercion to cast our vote in a particular way.

"It's our choice.

"This has been our right for more than 150 years, persuasively legislated by our own Buckinghamshire statesman and Prime Minister of Victorian times, Benjamin Disraeli, and hard-won for women through the suffrage campaign of the early 20th century."