There’s an old joke about a family where the man of the house makes all the important decisions – is the family Conservative or Labour or Liberal, does it want to join the Common Market or not, and who should be England football manager.

(Look, I said it was an old joke)

While he’s making these important decisions, he kindly allows his wife to decide the small stuff: where the family lives, where the children go to school, what they all do at the weekends and where they go on holiday.

Government is a bit like that.

Westminster makes a lot of actually quite important decisions and makes a lot of often quite self-important noise about it.

While local government deals with the ‘trivia’ - collecting rubbish, making the roads in your areas safer, the council might be your landlord, it provides libraries and sports facilities, and if someone wants to build, say, a nuclear power station near your house, its planners will have quite a bit to say about it.

The things that affect your quality of life are often decided, in Swindon, by councillors and officers at Swindon Borough Council and also the borough’s parish councils.

This is why, if you want your voice heard when decisions are made in Euclid Street, I’d urge you to vote in this year’s local elections.

And even more, to remember to take the appropriate form of photo ID along with you to vote.  If you don’t have the right sort of photo ID, then you will be turned away.

And it’s not just local government reporters who want you to be able to cast your vote by remembering your ID.

Susie Kemp, Swindon Borough Council’s returning officer, said: “Many different types of ID can be used at the polling station, all you need to do is remember to bring it with you on polling day May 4 or apply for a Voter Authority Certificate before the deadline if you need one. Go to our website to find out more at swindon.gov.uk/voterID”

The most obvious forms of photo ID would be a driving licence or passport but a proof of age scheme (PASS) card, MOD identity card, older person’s or disabled person’s bus pass are all acceptable.

And you can even use them if they are expired but the photo still looks like you.

If you have none of those, there is still just time to get a Voter Authority Certificate by applying before 5pm on Tuesday April 24 here https://www.gov.uk/apply-for-photo-id-voter-authority-certificate