This Thursday What Are You Doing

[jamesb]

If you want to balance it, then you'd have to vote for UKIP

 

I don't think I could bring myself to.

[witch]

I understand why you are saying that forcing the apathetic to vote is no use - however, please note that they should be able to tick a box that says they have no confidence in any political party -at the very least this would mean that the political parties would have to acknowledge officially just how many people they are not reaching.

 

And PR would help prevent a party that less than half the country voted for getting in power.

[jamesb]

I understand why you are saying that forcing the apathetic to vote is no use - however, please note that they should be able to tick a box that says they have no confidence in any political party -at the very least this would mean that the political parties would have to acknowledge officially just how many people they are not reaching.

 

Which is essentially what I do. That's why spoiled ballots are counted here.

 

But I suspect such a box would make no difference to the majority of non-voters. Its not lack of confidence in the system, or lack of confidence in a political party, its just plain not caring who gets in because they're ignorant of the options.

 

There are voters like this as well - they always vote for the same party, not because they agree with them, but because otherwise they might have to pause and think.

 

And PR would help prevent a party that less than half the country voted for getting in power.

 

I do like the idea of proportional representation.

[grumpy_git]

I've applied for a postal vote (as I am currently staying 300 miles away from where I am registered)... got one for the local mayoral election, but nothing for the EU one.

 

Woman at the council says "Oh well I'm afraid it's not our problem, you see it's our printers, I can ask for another one to be sent out...".

 

So yes, your vote counts - if your local authority can be bothered to give you a ballot paper!

[SorenLorensen]

......

[k-strider]

i know which way I'm voting

 

actually spend all of thursday not at work but knocking on doors and say please come out and vote!

[russdev]

i know which way I'm voting

 

actually spend all of thursday not at work but knocking on doors and say please come out and vote!

 

Well got a green tree must be the green party

 

To be honest as long as people vote the danger is when people don't vote. I have a policy of locals I choose who is best for the area and Europe and nationals I votes for party whose views I support.

 

Russ

 

Russ

[browolf]

I don't care

[sidewinder]

I'll be voting...Greens for me

[OverWorked]

Interesting quiz, pretty much told me what I knew - life long Labour supporter should be voting Lib Dem. Certainly I'll be voting LD until such time as Labour as votable again (probably a term or two away).

 

That sums me up. We should meet for a drink sometime!

 

LD: 77%

Lab: 73%

Con: 65%

Green: 60%

UKIP: 46%

BNP: 40%

 

For anyone who (like me until 20 mins ago) is wondering what the elections are for, see the direct.go.uk website. It's for European (MEPs), County Council, and Mayors in some places.

Edited June 3, 2009 by OverWorked
added more

[k-strider]

a totally shamless bump.... democracy is important... and today is polling day.... it takes like 2 mins to vote.. and polls are open from seven am till ten pm so plenty time to pop by on the way too or from work

[Gatt]

Argh! It appears we've misplaced our polling cards! Cannot find them anywhere... Looks like we won't be voting now

[Soulfish]

Argh! It appears we've misplaced our polling cards! Cannot find them anywhere... Looks like we won't be voting now

 

You don't need your polling card to vote - it just makes the clerks job much easier to find you . I've voted without it before, and it says you can vote without on the card its self.

[Guest richard_s]

People keep going on about the far right parties and the far left parties for that matter but the don't realise that is the actions of the current councils and politicians that drive people to vote for them.

 

Recently I decided to apply to join my local councils housing list as there is a in my area, a lot of housing that is being built at built that is being advertised as low rent housing for the local community. When I handed my forms in at the council office the person who examined them turned round and told me that I wouldn't get on the list because I'm a WHITE, WORKING, SINGLE, ENGLISH, MALE when I challenged them about this I was told that the new housing was IMMIGRANTS, DRUG USERS AND ALCOHOLICS ONLY

 

If it wasn't for statements like this then these parties would not be gaining support i n the community.

[localzuk]

richard_s - yes, some of the policies are ridiculous, however, how else do you expect the councils to deal with the groups of people you highlight? (ie. drug users, alcoholics etc...) If the council doesn't take control of the drug abusers (major difference between abuse and use), they end up on the street, committing crimes, and causing trouble for their local communities. If they are housed, and kept in touch with, they can be (and in many situations are) weaned off their habits. This may seem like helping those that don't deserve it, but you don't know the circumstances of how or why they are drug abusing.

 

However, councils shouldn't be discriminating against anyone, be they an immigrant or a white single English male. These are the sorts of things you should be discussing with your representatives. Have you tried contacting them?

 

Looking at these sort of policies, I can see why people might be looking at the far-right/left parties but anyone with a brain could read the policies of those parties and see that they would be a lot lot worse at running things. Basing a party around wanting out of Europe, or wanting to stop immigration is not a good way to show you could run the country. You really think UKIP or the BNP would make a good job of running the country? Their entire policy ideas are based on the idea of 'we should stop giving those EU scoundrels so much money!' and 'immigration is destroying our economy' both of which have been shown time and time again to be flawed. Leaving the EU would be like putting the final nail in our manufacturing industry, kill off our international haulage industry and wipe out cheap imports from the continent.

 

Personally, I urge people to think in a long term way. Thinking about what is happening right now to you is all well and good, but that is unlikely to change, whoever you vote for. What will change is the long term well being of the country, and this is the most important thing.

 

Or, to use a line from the films "Please, won't somebody think of the children!!"

[ICT_GUY]

I have no faith in politicians, or the wisdom in collective ignorance.

 

As far as I know we have a choice here of the three main parties, but I have only seen the Lib Dem candidate in person who seems really nice.

 

I'm sure some of the less savoury parties would do well round here at the moment if they were not such muppets. They would probably do well simply because they have strong convictions and at least have some basic beliefs other than he current headless chicken parties who base policy on what unelected hacks in the media currently report as our current level of outrage.

 

I am sick to death of stupid laws, the erosion of basic freedoms and unwarranted intrusions into my privacy.

 

I don't think I could ever bring myself to vote Labour again, Tories are not even slightly right wing. Lib Dems are a bit of a Lame duck (couldn't even tell you who their leader is). If only there was a right wing party on the lines of what the French have. A party who are not scared to upset the liberal media.

 

oh hum

[AWicher]

Tory for me.

 

http://www.sywol.org/images/Conservative%20Party.gif

[tmcd35]

Moving the political debat on, I think it's pretty obvious Gordon Brown is going to get a bloody nose today. Forget Alistar Darling, it's starting to look like Gordon won't be in the job this time next week.

 

So, who thinks we're up for a November general election (if not sooner)? I think if Labour are forced to choose a new leader he/she would have little choice but to visit the Queen and ask for parliament to be dissolved.

 

What do you think the make up of the next parliament will be? Personally I think it's time for LD to govern for a while, but I doubt that'd ever happen. If I where a betting man I'd say David Cameron is PM before Christmas and the LD's will be (by a fractional margin) the official opposition.

[enjay]

You really think UKIP or the BNP would make a good job of running the country?

 

No, but... While the one-policy parties such as UKIP, BNP, Green, Christian Party (no doubt plenty others, too) obviously wouldn't be able to run the country, a vote for them does at least serve to show that you are interested in their values. If UKIP get a massive increase in votes, then the Govt would learn that people want out of Europe or if the Greens get lots more votes, the Govt will see that environmental issues are important to the public and their party policy could be changed accordingly.

[DrCheese]

I'm voting later and taking my sister along, who is a first time voter. I make a point to vote every time, as I find it wrong to not vote and then moan about those in power.

 

My main problem with the EU is the lack of actual democracy. They tried to force that EU constitution on us a few years ago and we was promised a referendum on it. When a few countries voted against it, they straight up cancelled the rest of the referendums, reworded it slightly and said "It's not the same thing so we don't have to have one now!"

 

Were it not for the Irish, who by Irish law had to have a referendum, the new Lisbon treaty would already be in force.

What annoys me even more tho is that on the day of defeat, the EU was already applying pressure on the Irish to vote again... and again until they gave the answer the EU wanted. This is exactly the same tactics they used when the Irish rejected the nice treaty back in 2001. It's completely disrespectful and undemocratic.

[sted]

the problem with politics as i see is that they will all make promises they have no intention of keeping. In theory you vote for someone to take care (for want of a better phrase) of your constituency but if you vote for an independant who will probly do their best to do what they think is right they will be one voice in hundreds. If you vote for one of the main partys your mp will just vote on party lines more often than notregardless of the effect on his constituency.

 

The expenses thing going on atm does seem overblown yes using public money cleaning moats, spending money on duck ponds etc is wrong but some of the claims the newspapers have brought up seem reasonably legit to me i dont think paying £400 for an accountant seems unreasonable (granted it was their husband but if hes qualified why not)

 

whats needed in my opinion is some common sense to politics and law making we have laws on statute books going back centuries that are still active its time we maybe started again with laws and made it much simpler.

 

Their should be a none of the above on the ballot paper and if they win then their should be another election until one candiate actually wins.

 

Labour are at the moments a bit of a dead duck, Tories pretty much closed down my home town when they were last in power (closed the mines (though scargil was a total prat and has to take a large percentage of the blame) and the rail industry its now all call centres) lib dems dont have a hope in hell of getting into power.

 

We also have mayoral elections which again are a waste all the last mayor did was cause scandal take a huge salery and generaly cause problems

[Guest richard_s]

However, councils shouldn't be discriminating against anyone, be they an immigrant or a white single English male. These are the sorts of things you should be discussing with your representatives. Have you tried contacting them?

 

Yes I have tried to contact them and have been told by them all that there is nothing they can do. One even went to so as to say that I should become a junkie myself if I wanted a place. This sort of attitude is not just annoying me but a lot of other people where I live and work. The worst thing is they are building some really nice properties that are finished to a very high stand and these people are just destroying them.

[DrCheese]

paying £400 for an accountant seems unreasonable (granted it was their husband but if hes qualified why not)

Because they don't bother with properly advertising the job and even if they do, I doubt they interview candidates with any sort of objectivity.

[sted]

Because they don't bother with properly advertising the job and even if they do, I doubt they interview candidates with any sort of objectivity.

 

true but could you do it with objectivity and up to a point does it matter if the cost is reasonable?

[Netman]

......

 

You're Lola's imaginary friend - you can't vote...