David Steel: Egypt should remind us we must not take democracy for granted

I have been in Egypt where, apart from meeting some of the would-be presidential candidates in their forthcoming free election, I also met members of the impressive "youth coalition" who staged the successful demonstrations in Tahrir Square in which several of their colleagues were killed or wounded.

I reflected again on how wrong we are to take our democracy for granted, considering the forecasts of depressingly low turnout to vote next Thursday. In Scotland, we are lucky to have a superior range of choice to that of Westminster.

Having been abroad and taken no active part in any campaign, in accordance with the ethos of impartiality of a former presiding officer, I thought I could at least point out the advantages before us on 5 May.

The fact that we have two votes is important. The first allows us to choose which individual we wish to represent our community in the parliament; the second allows us to indicate our support for whichever of the Scottish parties has attracted us most by its record in parliament or its manifesto policies.

It is a significant distinction. When I first stood for election in the sixties, the party labels did not even appear on the ballot papers. Winning candidates were simply declared as "elected to serve the constituency of…" without mention of party. We have rather lost sight of that.

A similar argument applies in the alternative vote referendum. AV is not proportional representation, but it gives each of us voters greater power and choice by being able to indicate our preferences, causes MPs to seek the support of at least half their constituents, and reduces the number of "safe" seats for life. It is a step in the right direction.

The brave young people I met in Cairo would be aghast at the thought of staying at home and treating our right to vote as a luxury we need not bother to use.

• Lord Steel of Aikwood was the first presiding officer of the Scottish parliament