Maybe it’s me, but one of the most depressing ideas of last year – widely circulated and made fashionable – was Russell Brand’s nihilistic view that engagement in conventional politics is useless and we should all forget about voting or participating in forthcoming elections.

The implication was that since individual votes don’t make any difference, time spent listening to what candidates have to say and making your way to the polling booth on election day is time wasted.

It’s all very well for Russell Brand with his platform of celebrity and fame to express such views, but I can’t subscribe to them.

He might be able to challenge injustice through alternative means when it suits him, but those of us who are ordinary mortals don’t have that capacity. We must use more conventional means.

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Not so long ago participation in the political process was seen as a civic duty, essential to the welfare of the country.

Getting out and campaigning on behalf of a political party, whichever party, was the way in which individuals could affect what was happening.

Going to hear candidates at public meetings gave the opportunity to hear the arguments for yourself.

If you didn’t vote, then how could you justify complaining about the government?

The ideal may not be attainable but at least an effort had been made to affect the result.

I also think that we need to be realistic about politicians.

Although we may hope that they are motivated solely by the idea of public service, that is patently not reasonable. Minimally their public profile, and personal power and influence, must be relevant.

And if the laws of a country allow behaviour that is not up to the highest standards, then politicians are going to stay just within the limits along with everyone else. They are, after all, the same as everyone else. We are not perfect, neither are they. The answer is not to condemn all politicians but to tighten up the law, if that is appropriate and enforceable.

And one of the ways that the law can be changed is through public pressure administered through the ballot box.

I know that this election already seems to be going on forever. We are besieged by electoral messages carefully framed and polished to appeal to the more selfish motives of the electorate, new ones from each party nearly every day.

But we are not represented by messages and slogans, we are represented by the people we elect.

Whether or not party leaders take part in all the television debates is in a sense irrelevant. We have plenty of opportunities to see how the leaders perform in the general run of news programmes and reports.

What we don’t see are our local candidates.

If we do manage to hear them it’s through a sound bite on local radio or television, or a phrase in a local newspaper, not complete but edited appropriately to fit the space.

So I’m an advocate for oldfashioned hustings, local public meetings where candidates face up to their electorate, put their party’s case and present themselves as credible representatives of the locality.

We can see how they react to other candidates, we can test the authenticity and legitimacy of their responses and find out if party politics or local concerns are their priority. Just as important, it’s their opportunity to hear what the electorate have to say and about our ongoing concerns.

The Oxford Council of Faiths held open hustings for candidates from both constituencies. All eight parties standing accepted the invitation to attend.

These events are a real opportunity to meet and influence the two people who will represent the people of Oxford as our MPs in Westminster.

  • The Campaign for Rural England will hold an Oxford West and Abingdon hustings on April 9. It will be at St Barnabas Church in Cardigan Street, Jericho, Oxford, from 7pm to 9pm.
  • Another hustings for the same constituency is being held by Greenpeace on April 15 in Ock Street, Abingdon, from 7.30pm to 9.30pm.
  • The Chaplain to the Bishop of Oxford, the Rev Graham Sykes, is hosting another Oxford West and Abingdon hustings on April 17 from 7pm at St Peter and St Paul Church in West Way, Botley.
  • For Oxford East, Low Carbon Headington, Oxford Friends of the Earth and other environmental groups are hosting a hustings on April 22 at 7.30pm in the Town Hall, St Aldate's.
  • Churches Together in the Wantage constituency is holding an election forum at the Cornerstone Arts Centre on April 23 from 7.30pm to 9.30pm.
  • Prime Minister David Cameron’s constituency has an event at St Mary’s Church in Witney on April 10 at 7.30pm organised by Churches Together.
  • Chipping Norton and Woodstock have hustings at their town halls on April 15 and April 30 respectively.