It is just 22 days until Newham has the opportunity to elect a new Mayor and council for the next four years on Thursday, May 22.

As previously highlighted in my column, I believe it is vitally important for local democracy that all those who are entitled to vote exercise this right in all elections – however, you must be registered to be able to vote and you have to register by Tuesday, May 6 ahead of the May 22 polls.

So if you believe you are entitled to vote but you have not previously registered then do so now.

Further details on how to register can be obtained from Newham Electoral Services at Newham Town Hall, Barking Road E6 2RP, tel 020 8430 2000.

Having encouraged everyone to vote I would also encourage all those seeking election to provide people with the information they need to make informal choices.

The material I have seen to date from all political persuasions has been strong on blaming their opposition and one line pledges, but sadly lacking in detail of how they will implementing their promises and the resultant knock-on effects of these.

If we are to encourage everyone to vote we must also encourage those seeking votes to provide the information to enable informal choices to be made.

The numbers of individuals registering to vote are increasing however, if there is another relatively low turnout in Newham on May 22, those seeking election really must begin to take a far greater responsibility for actually enabling people to want to vote than they do now.