So the LibDems seemed to have come out of the General Election better than any other political party! So should I be pleased about our national success or saddened by our failure in Ryedale? Neither: I think every political party lost the election.

Those of us who stand for election, whether successful or not, are not just selling the policies of our respective political parties: our main business is to market the value of democracy itself - the people's right to choose their political leaders. When 41% of the electorate did not vote, every political party failed in its main objective.

There were more electors who did not vote than there were voters for the Labour Party. So, you could say that it was Apathy, and not Labour, which won the election.

Were there any other winners? Should politicians be worried about Polarisation - not just between right and left, but between town and country?

The main interest in the English countryside is farming and the businesses which depend on farming. Farmers have had a very bad time recently. They have forgotten the causes of their misfortune (the "reform" of the Common Agricultural Policy, and the policy of encouraging superstores - all initiated by former Tory governments, and pursued even more vigorously by Labour). They work hard for little reward to feed the people who live a relatively comfortable life in the towns. The foot and mouth epidemic has hit them particularly badly, and, on top of all this, there are people, who are perceived as being mainly from the towns, seeking to abolish fox hunting - a past-time which farmers keep their horses for - and to give themselves the right to roam over farm land. As one farmer told a friend of mine in the Settle area: "They're killing all our animals, so they can come and walk all over our land."

As no-one in the towns seems to care about them, they have no reason to feel at all generous in regard to schools, hospitals, public sports halls, benefits etc for people in the towns. Why should they work so hard to pay tax to subsidise those who don't work at all? Why should they be poor and provide cheap food for the urban masses to buy from superstores? Why shouldn't public administration be cut, so that half as many people work the hours they do, and be paid the kind of money they receive? Why should we buy food from abroad, when they can't get a good price for their produce here? Why do we have to trade with Europe, if that helps superstores to buy food in bulk from abroad, which forces them to lower their prices? These are the views of many people who influence opinion in the Tory controlled rural areas. If you listen to them, they sound bitter, prejudiced and reactionary - as Mr. Hague did during and before the election - but perhaps they have good reason to feel that way.

The political map of Britain is depressing. The greater part of rural England is Tory controlled: most of the urban areas are Labour fortresses, and because there are more voters in the towns than in the country, the towns can impose their will and dominate it.

True democracy is not a God given right: most of the world's governments are not democratic. Democracy is a luxury which should be cherished and treasured. A mixture of Apathy and Polarisation can become a dangerous poison. They are the true enemies, and every political party should work hard at bridging the gulf between politicians and voters and healing the rift between town and country.