To vote or not to vote?

Correct me if I'm wrong, and I've yet to leave the house, so there's a possibility I could be.
But I can't imagine the heart of Stoke-on-Trent has ground to a halt today as thousands of determined residents vote in the mayoral referendum.
I would be surprised if Hanley bus station has been abandoned, and the Potteries Shopping Centre has been cleared (unless another dozy cleaner's spilt bleach all over the floor) as voters rush to their nearest polling station.
Call me Mystic Meg, but I reckon the turnout in this 'historic' poll we be pitifully low. I know I won't be voting, but that's because I live across the divide in the loyal and ancient borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme.
Yet if I were a city resident, I don't know whether I'd make my mark on the ballot paper today. Don't get me wrong, I think anybody with the right to vote should use it. And I think anybody with half a brain should do all they can to keep the BNP away from running the Potteries.
But I think your average Stokie is completely confused by what the yes/no choice today really means. And it's no wonder the BNP seems to be an option worth considering when the elected mayor and the Lib/Lab/Con lot seem to spend their time wasting tax payers' money on trips abroad, and doing what they want.
I hope the position of elected mayor remains after today's poll. And I hope somebody with brains and scruples goes for the job and wins over the people of the Potteries.
It's what we need to shed that image of being a backward, depressed and depressing city. And it's what we need to send the hateful BNP packing. Then, perhaps, we can enjoy some of the 'regeneration of Stoke-on-Trent' that everybody's been talking about for so long.