Our public opinion research after the elections asked why people had not voted in the May 2010 elections. About one-third (31%) said that circumstantial reasons prevented them from voting. The main circumstantial reason related to lack of time or being too busy (12% of non-voters). A further 13% noted their non-voting was because of administrative factors, such as not being registered, or not having received a polling card or postal vote. Just under one in five (18%) said that they did not vote because they did not like the parties or candidates standing at the elections, and only a very small proportion (2%) specifically cited criticism of MPs’ expenses as a reason for not voting.
http://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0010/100702/Report-on-the-administration-of-the-2010-UK-general-election.pdf
