‘WHEN THE MEN ARE SILENT IT IS OUR DUTY TO RAISE OUR VOICES ON BEHALF OF OUR IDEALS’     Clara Zetkin At the polling station On Thursday May 5 th of this year at 6.15am, Nancy (not her real name) arrived at a local community centre, punched in the key-safe code and prepared for a long day ahead. As presiding officer of a polling station she would stay there, together with a poll clerk, until well after 10pm. Local elections were taking place across much of the UK and there were similar scenes throughout the country. Nancy and her colleague were required to wear neutral colours that would not signify any political allegiance. They were not able to use phones, except for emergencies or official communications, and they had brought refreshments to last the whole day. Fortunately, this community centre had the luxury of a small kitchen and a kettle, so it was an improvement on a previous venue – a freezing cold village church. By 7am, information posters were in place, the security tags