Britain’s 1945 general election was a monumental event for my generation because it proved that ordinary people had the power to change their destiny through the ballot box. When that election was called, I was 22 years old and cynical about politics after enduring a decade of inhuman austerity which left me starving, homeless and without a proper education.

I was also distrustful of both corporate and political power because I had seen the consequences of appeasing Hitler by Britain’s elites. Their timidity in the face of tyranny caused me and my generation to be called upon to defend our nation against Nazism where thousands paid the ultimate price by giving their lives in the defence of democracy. So when peace came after years of total war, like all young people since time began, I wanted to seize my day and enjoy the fruits of peace. But in between the victory parties, looking for love and larking about, I was no fool and knew that my future depended upon being politically aware.

During that general election 70 years ago, I got involved and read all I could about the various parties. I watched news reels that showed leaders from the right and left stomping around Britain trying to sell their vision of the country to the electorate. I consumed the manifestos of the Conservative, Liberal and Labour parties. I wanted to make sure that when I went to cast my vote, I had all the required information to pick a party that was right for my ideals and values. In the end because I wanted to be worth more to my country than cannon fodder in war and a beast of burden in peace, I chose a Labour government.

In the decades since I voted in my first election, I have never forgotten the lesson I took from it – that the majority can only impose its ethics, its vision, its sense of justice upon a country when everyone exercises their right to vote. Otherwise the few will always rule over the many. Having seen my fair share of prime ministers from both the right and left take Britain down the wrong path, I know that democracy is imperfect and inefficient. However, at the end of the day, it is the only hope that we ordinary people have to change our society for the better.

This is why at 92, I have been rambling across England during our current general election, speaking to people about the austerity I experienced in the 1930s and how it is essential for the wellbeing of society that everyone who is eligible to vote does so. I was fortunate that over the Easter weekend while on my travels I had the opportunity to meet a young lad named Joey Essex who displays a similar desire to the one that I had in 1945 to learn more about our political process. Essex, who is a popular celebrity and entertainer for my grandchildren’s generation, is filming a series which will explore the issues that confront his generation. It will look at why, regardless of your political beliefs, it is essential to vote.

Considering that in the 2010 election only 51% of voters between the ages of 18 and 24 voted, it is commendable that Joey Essex is expending his celebrity capital on promoting participation in democracy amongst his fans. There are too many young people who have become jaded by democracy, and sneer at the argument that voting makes for better communities. In many ways though, I can’t blame them. Their lives have been ground down by austerity and a stark reality that merit doesn’t matter in a pound shop economy where one’s labour is valued with contempt by employers who use zero-hours contracts as means to diminish the rights of employees.

It is understandable why so many young and middle age people have gone off this election. However, the problem remains that it’s too easy for us all to blame politicians for what ails Britain. We have to start recognising that we bear some responsibility for the mess our country is in. After all, it was the ordinary citizen that granted our politicians the power to do as they pleased with society, when we either voted for them or abstained from the democratic process by not voting at all. If I know anything, it is that if my generation had decided not to vote in the 1945 election, it is unlikely we would have a public and accessible NHS today. I can’t think of a better example as to why we should all go to the polling station this year.