THERE is something happening next Thursday, something big.

We are seven days away from an event which will affect everyone in Warrington, the General Election.

But it certainly does not feel like it – election fever has not gripped the town, as we have seen on occasions in the past.

There seems to be somewhat of a shortage of campaigning, discussion, posters in windows and buzz about polling day.

Why is that? A variety of reasons, but one is undoubtedly disillusionment among voters.

Many have grown frustrated with the state of politics and have effectively switched off from it.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer made his way to Warrington 150 days ago.

Sir Keir visited the Iceland store in Golden Square Shopping Centre to meet staff and shoppers, as he vowed to tackle the cost of living crisis.

On that day, the man widely expected to be the next Prime Minister slammed what he described as the ‘shambles of a Government’.

But even he may have been surprised at just how soon he could be getting the keys to Number 10 Downing Street, as he bids to deliver his vision for the country.

Current Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s decision just over a month ago to call a snap General Election – which will take place next Thursday, July 4 – sent shockwaves across the country.

Many did not see polling day coming that soon.

Politicians were caught off guard and instantly sent into campaign mode.

But Warrington has not been the scene for high-profile election campaign visits, as we have become somewhat accustomed to in the past.

Boris Johnson, David Cameron, Jeremy Corbyn and Tim Farron have visited Warrington during previous election campaigns.

Labour are in extremely confident mood, while even the most ardent of Tory supporters will be fearing what lies ahead when voters cast their vote next week – with the Conservatives facing the colossal task of turning around the party’s devastating numbers in the pre-election polls.

Another aspect of voter apathy could be down to the result – if the pre-election polls are to be believed – appearing to already be in the bag for Labour.

With a landslide victory looking on the cards for Labour, voters may not think that their vote will have an impact on the outcome – regardless of which party they want to see secure election success.

There were a total of 61,899 votes cast in Warrington South in the 2019 General Election – a turnout of 72 per cent.

Meanwhile, there were 46,667 votes cast in Warrington North – a turnout of 64.6 per cent.

In the General Election next week, the Conservatives are defending a majority of 2,010 in Warrington South, with Labour defending a majority of 1,509 in Warrington North.

Of course, there have been some boundary changes, with Lymm cut from Warrington South and moved to Tatton – but it will be interesting to see what the turnouts are in the two constituencies in the town.

Whoever you vote for, this is your chance to engage in the democratic process.

Will election fever make a late arrival in the town over the next week? Unlikely, but who knows – this is politics after all.