Since I turned 18, I have never thought twice about voting in an election .

Whether it was for town, district and county councillors, parliamentary candidates or European seats, I have strolled into the polling station and proudly put my 'X' in the box.

My Mum and Dad brought me up to cherish my vote - and they were absolutely right,

We are privileged to live in a country where we are given the ability to chose those who represent us at all levels of local, national and European governments.

We must honour those who have fought for the right for us to do that - and think about people in so many parts of the globe where the opportunity to vote is so far from reality.

So for those reasons I will be tieing my dog Scruffy to the post outside the polling station on Thursday (#dogsatpollingstations is a great Twitter hashtag on election day!) and having my say on who should be the district councillors for my area. And I'll do the same in three weeks when we pick our MEPs.

However, I have come closer than ever in my 30 and a bit years as an eligible voter to snubbing an election.

I have sadly become apathetic and disillusioned with the political system and so many people I speak to feel the same way.

I suspect one of the big headlines on Friday after the votes have been counted will be the low turnout. I hope I'm wrong but fear that could be the case.

The saga of Brexit has been a big factor in the way I feel.

Confusion, lack of leadership, double standards, in fighting, broken promises and lies are among the offshoots of that fiasco.

When I watch Prime Minister's Questions in the Commons, all I see is trading of insults and selfish point scoring.

I know these elections are about local issues but I just feel there's not a really meaningful engagement between those who want us to vote for them and the rest of the community.

Those in the political world need to wake up to the warning signs or they'll lose the trust of the masses, perhaps forever.