I’VE got news for Russell Brand, pictured, voting does matter and the next elections we have a chance to vote in are a perfect example of this.

The British voters have a simple choice on May 22 in a European parliament election that is fast becoming a pre-referendum on Britain’s membership of the EU.

We know what the sides are.

UKIP, obviously, have placed themselves as the party that wants to withdraw Britain from the EU completely.

My party, the Liberal Democrats, have placed ourselves firmly as the party of ‘IN’; we are constructive and engaged.

The other parties are a bit less sure of their stance on the issue, with the Conservatives tearing themselves apart and Labour refusing to commit either way.

Certainly, whoever is elected should turn up and do the job of standing up for their voters. Nigel Farage has a record of only 44 per cent attendance.

As the third largest country we should, and do, have a lot of influence and input into legislation, but absent MEPs don’t. The UK is weakened as a result.

That’s why these European Parliament elections are so important.

People that believe Britain is stronger as a leader in the European Union and needs to stand up and be counted.

There is a real danger that we could be sleepwalking into exit from the EU and people need to know how catastrophic this could be.

We already know the number of jobs that are linked to a strong trading relationship in the EU single market — 35,000 in Oxfordshire alone.

Companies like Siemens, Nissan and Unilever have all come out recently to say they would have to reconsider their position in the UK if we were to leave the EU.

As a proud Brit I don’t want to do anything to put these jobs at risk but exit from the European Union will do just that.

That is something every one of us should be aware of when deciding whether to vote in May.

We also need to consider those issues which can only be tackled by working with partners at an international level such as protecting our environment and the fight against cross-border crime.

The last time I checked, climate change didn’t respect national borders.

Europe will have to work with our partners and negotiate with the rest of the world as a strong bloc in order to protect our environment; outside the EU we would have reduced influence, but still have to obey international treaties.

Human trafficking and other forms of cross-border crime have been issues I have campaigned on for a long time.

We have seen in Oxford in recent years the devastating effect this most disgusting of crimes can have.

When crime crosses borders, justice must too and we have to provide our police with all the tools possible to work with their colleagues across Europe.

It is these issues and more which are at stake in the elections in May.

This is why I believe it’s so stupid of people like Russell Brand to dismiss voting completely.

I’m working with an organisation called Bite the Ballot that exists to get young people engaged with politics and they have organised the first National Voter Registration Day.

Young people are the most under-represented group on the electoral register and Bite the Ballot are hoping to have registered 250,000 new voters by today.

It will be an amazing achievement and I encourage everyone, especially if you’re 16-24 – you can register to vote at 16 remember – to find out more at bitetheballot.co.uk Maybe 250,000 new young voters can show Russell Brand just how wrong he is.