Letter from the editor: Your democratic prerogative

By the time you read this, I will have exercised my democratic prerogative, and I hope you will either have done so, or you are about to do so.

I’ve never really understood people who can’t be bothered to vote, particularly when it comes to an issue of such importance to our democracy as electoral reform. Whether you think the current system, in use since the advent of Parliament, is an outdated relic or an example of timeless resilience, you have to admit it’s worth giving up a bit of brain space to consider, and a few minutes of your time to plonk your cross in the appropriate box.

Besides which, once you’ve done that, you’ll be able to concentrate on the other big event of the week: the launch of the Saturday edition of i. People have already started camping on the streets outside our offices, commemorative mugs are flying off the shelves, and there are street parties up and down the country.

Inside i Towers, work has already begun on the compendium of goodies that will improve the quality of your weekends. We’ve got a new section of the paper, Leisure and Pleasure, in which we’ll focus on all those things that make your free time enjoyable - food and drink, gardening, travel, style, going out and, of course, staying in.

We’ve got some great barbecue recipes from the peerless chef Mark Hix, and Anna Pavord, the gardens guru, is writing about growing French beans. There’s a new column by our resident miserablist Robert Chalmers, a weekend TV guide, a two-page puzzles extravaganza (yes, with Codeword) and lots more besides, all imbued with the quality that is the hallmark of i. So, whatever you do today, vote a resounding YES on Saturday to the new i!