The only reason to vote is if the vote represents power or change. I don't think it does. I fervently believe that we deserve more from our democratic system than the few derisory tit-bits tossed from the carousel of the mighty. - RUSSELL BRAND

From national and local elections to the debate on the independence referendum, a large part of Scotland is missing from our political and public debates.

This book directly gives voice to the missing people of Scotland as Willie Sullivan (in association with the Electoral Reform Society) investigates why this part of Scotland is lost, asking the missing electorate to articulate why they find themselves so politically disengaged, what their take of mainstream Scotland is and what they feel is lacking, and finally exploring what they feel must be done in order change this for the better.

A large part of Scotland is missing from our political and public debates, what kind of changes are needed for them to engage? - GERRY HASSAN, OpenScotland Series Editor

A lot of people in Scotland have no daily contact with democracy; they have no contact in their immediate personal environment with democracy. That is not just a jigsaw piece that is missing in Scottish democracy; it is a founding stone of democracy that is missing in Scotland. - DEMOCRACY MAX Report