The first past the post system in the UK means that most of our votes don’t count. It’s been suggested by the electoral reform society that up to three quarters were wasted in 2015. Some voters don’t bother voting, many vote tactically but many can’t because the party they support is likely to be third or worse in their constituency. In 2015, 50% of votes were cast for losing candidates .

Swap my Vote has been created to tackle that problem. The platform uses social media to help pair voters who want to swap, each casting each other’s preferred vote where it counts most.

You decide which party to support and a party you would be willing to vote for tactically in your local constituency. The platform delivers a list of people with the opposite preference. Pick a partner to swap your vote with (the polls can help you see where it will make most difference). If your partner agrees to the swap, it is confirmed. Swap my Vote also puts you in touch with each other’s Facebook or Twitter profiles.

Broadcaster Cathy Newman hit the headlines after she tweeted on Sunday to say that “ushered out of” the South London Islamic Centre in Streatham.

She had was taking part in Visit My Mosque day and said afterwards that she believed it must have been a men-only mosque, but was not made aware of this at the time.  CCTV footage shows Newman leaving on her own after speaking to someone inside the mosque.

Today she announced her decision to break from Twitter as a result of the controversy.

@cathynewman1/4 I have written to South London Islamic Centre and offered my sincere apologies for tweets sent in haste after I visited there in error.

@cathynewman 2/4 I accept my tweets were inappropriate and regret the use of the word “ushered”.

@cathynewman 3/4 My language was poorly chosen and has caused a great deal of offence. I deeply regret that this happened.

‏@cathynewman 4/4 I shall now be taking a break from Twitter.

A new system of individual voter registration has wiped a million people off the electoral register with students particularly affected.

People now have register to vote individually rather than one member of a household or a college residence filling in the form.  The number of people registered to vote has fallen sharply in many university towns. The Electoral Commission has said that 30% of 18 to 24-year-olds are currently not registered to vote.

Today (5th February 2015) is National Voter Registration Day (NVRD)created by the non-partisan Bite The Ballot group with the aim of inspiring as many as possible register to vote ahead of the 2015 General Election. Co-founder, Michael Sani, said: ‘NVRD is a day for the nation to come together. It’s a day for all of us, as citizens, to celebrate our democratic rights. But it’s also a chance to prove to decision-makers that we hold a stake in society; that we’re registered, that we’ll vote – and that we want more from our democracy’.

Last night the day  was launched with the hashtag #NVRD and a ballot box projected on to the House of Commons in partnership with the UK Parliament.

Anyone can register online now here https://www.gov.uk/register-to-vote and find our more about Bite the Ballot here http://bitetheballot.co.uk/nvrd/#sthash.bsM48Z1b.dpuf

People must register before the 20 April deadline or they will not be able to register to vote in the election.

Earlier this year the UK Parliament posted a quick, handy video guide to the General Election on their official YouTube channel.  Suprisingly there’s a Monty Python reference in there. Can you spot it?

With just over 100 days to go before the UK 2015 general election on May 15 the ‘Politics10’ blog that was created for the 2010 election has been completely revamped and relaunched today with a new name Ballot Blogs.

There will be regular posts in the run up to the election covering every aspect of the campaign and taking a particular interest in what’s going on online and in social media.

You can book mark the page, follow on Twitter or sign up using the subscription box on the right.