TODAY (Thursday), as throughout this election campaign, we do not seek to persuade you to vote this way or that.

We have interviewed every candidate, and have done our best to inform you about their parties’ policies and their individual views.

Now it is time for you to decide.

We ask only this: that you exercise your right to vote.

This election is the most important in a generation. It will not only put a new government in power, it will also have a profound influence on the course of Brexit and the shape of our country for years ahead.

But the result is only representative of the society’s wishes if as many people as possible take part.

So if you are feeling the same cynicism as many please put it aside for a day.

The right to have your say is something that people around the world have fought and died for, and it is too precious to surrender to disillusionment.

On the subject of cynicism, it is disappointing that no high-profile political figures have found the time to visit Herefordshire during the campaign.

Some might argue that the result of the ballot here is a foregone conclusion, so why waste campaigning time that could be spent more productively elsewhere?

Sadly, that approach only further alienates people – particularly those who feel under-represented – from the political process.