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Whilst I'm fairly confrontational and up for debate, I guess it's best that if I ask such a sensitive question I keep it confidential, so I shan't say who I support or post anymore... Unless someone asks me at least

But I'd be interested to see poll results!

Probably Conservative.

Though I am so sick of them all (politicians, not any particular party of itself) I might spoil my paper instead.


*waits for the "your spoilling your paper already if you vote conservative" jokes*

I cant vote

Spoiling my paper.

.
I vote on who can best act on my behalf in my constituency then with an eye on what party I believe represents my interests better.

I'm leaning towards the Conservatives, again, maybe Lib dems. Conservatives are probably the better bet out of the two, both local and national IMO.

Conservative

Spoiling whe I'm old enough to vote.

The OC-D

What the heck does "spoiling the vote" mean?

Sounds like you are going to take the ballot, and then proceed to take a large dump on it.

Or maybe its just me.

Altered_Soul wrote:What the heck does "spoiling the vote" mean?

Sounds like you are going to take the ballot, and then proceed to take a large dump on it.

Or maybe its just me.

Pretty much.

Though traditionally it means casting a ballot paper where you have done something invalid - such as doodling on it, writing on it, multiple ticks/crosses, or doing anything which goes against the "mark this paper in the following way" guidelines.

Some people do this to protest against the availability of someone they want to vote for (to distinguish themselves from the people who just don't want to vote).

HOW is labour that high?!!

Honestly. After 12 years of this?! Jesus.

Ive argued with MGS on here before after i suggested out that almost any labour voters remaining are brainwashed at birth like suicide bombers.

I am from the North-East, and just like Liverpool, and half of Wales, the utter utter fuckwits that make up most of my town will STILL vote labour, despite the country being in tatters and us essentially being bankrupt simply because mummy and daddy made them via a sustained brainwashing campaign as a child.

I am grudgingly voting Conservative, if only because ive seen the books and they terrify me. Brown talks about fiscal resonsibility but throws money around like a desperate gambler. If he isnt gone inside 18 months we are going the way of Iceland.

A Scythe must be taken to the public sector, and i fear that Cameron may be the only man with the stones to do it...

Yet.. i wonder about him as well. But who else is there?!


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Sad to see the BNP got one as well, still.... thats Labours fault as well. Just makes my choice easier.

I can't believe I'm even saying this, but Cameron.

His speech the other day was the final nudge I needed to go Conservative.

I still call Brown a coward, he should have taken his election just after coming into power, he would have lost a few seats but won. Because of that thought of losing seats he chickened out, and that isn't the kind of fella I want leading the country. Also the fact he seems to vanish everytime there is a minor crisis doesn't help in restoring much faith in him.

I also view both parties as pretty much in the middle these days, with a step or so either side depending on the party.

At least the Conservatives might actually do something regarding crime and the prison situation.

So aye voting blue, oh the horror.

I can't vote yet. But.....Erebus for Prime minister!

I didn't realise the UK had much of a Green Party at all. If I lived there, I'd vote for them.

Are they as craptacular as our greens?

Brits vote?

I thought the last EU election proved that they didn't.

EU elections are often low in turnout, especially in Euroskeptic areas (which the UK is).

AFAIK the UK is pretty standard for turnout for General Elections and so on.

Tbh I only voted in the EU elections as I have a postal vote set up.

Pretty sure the average Brit has zero interest in what happens in Europe, unless it envolves a large grassy pitch and some kind of ball.

Morathi's Darkest Sin wrote:Pretty sure the average Brit has zero interest in what happens in Europe, unless it envolves a large grassy pitch and some kind of ball.

You mean a cannon ball and a battlefield?

Ahhh... those were the days

And I personally can't see how anyone could vote Labour after the track record of the last decade of Labour power.

SilverMK2 wrote:
You mean a cannon ball and a battlefield?

Ahhh... those were the days

I Lol'd.

SilverMK2 wrote:
And I personally can't see how anyone could vote Labour after the track record of the last decade of Labour power.

Aye, I'm sure plenty will, but the thought of another four years of Brown mortifies me. Okay Cameron isn't much better, but it certainly feels like its time for a new set of dice.

Hrm to those who are going to spoil their papers... I can only ask why they'd bother going to the polling station: Willingly giving up your democratic right to vote really does the establishment more of a favour than anything, in my opinion at least...

If you believe the promise (as he says it will happen after the election) Gordon Brown has claimed that he'll introduce electoral reform after the election... That promise is quite motivating for me but I'd say but I'd still vote out of party loyalty and the simple fact that it really is picking the corrupted Third-Way Labour Party over those who are even worse; the Conservative Party, who will cut our public services, probably sell off everything they can get their grubby mitts on, reintroduce fox-hunting and favour the rich. I watched Boris Johnson down here with interest and I think his scrapping the increase of the congestion charge on SUVs really showed where their loyalty lies (I am using this as more of an example than an indicator of what led me to my current thought ).

At any rate, I don't blame the recession on Labour, I think any incompetence demonstrated can be found in any government... I ultimately feel that nothing can stop boom/bust and really the crisis showed that *more* regulation is needed... Unfortunately I doubt Labour is in the mood for nationalising the economy, but like I said; it's the lesser of two evils.

People who come out with the "bloody politicians... the last decade has been hell..." really should direct that attitude toward the establishment as a whole: WE NEED VOTING REFORM, then we might get some more diversity beyond the back-scratching political elite that frankly dominate both parties.

But still, Labour will probably lose... I can only hope the party is purged of the Third-Way proponents and bides its time until the Tories roll around in some sleaze.

I'll just throw this out there: I remember reading an interview a few years back in which Cameron was asked his favourite Prime Minister, he said Thatcher... On the One Show either last year or the year before he answered the same question with the nice ol' neutral "Robert Walpole"... This man is a coward, he adjusts what he says to suit public opinion: His true convictions? He's a Thatcherite through and through.

Fear Mongering done!

Henners91 wrote:Hrm to those who are going to spoil their papers... I can only ask why they'd bother going to the polling station: Willingly giving up your democratic right to vote really does the establishment more of a favour than anything, in my opinion at least...

But then, if there is no one you want to vote for, there isn't an option for "none of the above". The only choice you then have is to spoil your paper.

I would not want to give out a random vote to a smaller party that I didn't identify with and would rather just spoil the paper (this is assuming that the Tories do enough stupid things to prevent me from voting for them).

At least it can be assumed that a healthy number of spoiled papers are directly caused by people not wanting to vote for a party but still wanting to show that they care about having a say. And people pay attention to them, even if it is not very much.

To that, I'd say vote tactically: Cut into the majority of the party you hate most by voting for the second-most-likely-to-win party in your area.

I agree with that. Or vote independant. If enough independants get in, all parties suffer, and it may force them to be more effective.

So you would rather people vote for people that they don't actually want in power?

And what happens if enough people actually vote for the "monster raving loony party" or the "everyone should smoke dope party" for them to get into power? I would imagine it would be an even bigger disaster than things stand now.

As I say, why vote for something just because it is not as bad as other options, or just to take votes from another party? That is not exactly something to recommend it in my eyes. Voting tactically and/or voting for radical change due to being fed up with the main parties is probably what got the BNP seats in some areas. I would rather not repeat that if I can do something else.

mattyrm wrote:HOW is labour that high?!!

Sad to see the BNP got one as well, still.... thats Labours fault as well. Just makes my choice easier.

I agree on both those posts, if i knew someone who voted for the BNP for any reason (including 'well at least we would get a debate on immigraton' idiots) i would never speak to them again. (some pepole forget that when you vote for a party you vote for all their policies not just the ones you like )

I vote in every election I am allowed to, it shames me that others don't, people need to realise that democracy isn't a right, its a responsability of every citizen

So wanting a healthy debate on immigration makes one an idiot? Burying our heads in the sand will NOT make our social problems disappear overnight, pal. Hell, even Labour are starting to caution against the marginalisation of the white working class in this country.
But voting BNP? No thanks. I could never vote for fascists.

I'm going to either vote UKIP or Conservative.

vote spoiling = because none of the above are worth voting for.

It sounds like spoiling is a way of doing nothing but feel like your doing something. Does the 'protest' actually change anything? Has it made the government/parties stop or pause in a meaningful way? A protest with no impact isn't really a protest is it? I don't know UK politics in detail so I am asking.

Ahtman wrote:It sounds like spoiling is a way of doing nothing but feel like your doing something. Does the 'protest' actually change anything? Has it made the government/parties stop or pause in a meaningful way? A protest with no impact isn't really a protest is it? I don't know UK politics in detail so I am asking.

Simple answer: No

Slightly longer answer: No, because a spoiled ballot is simply not counted. The polling stations dont have the time or resources to investigate why that ballot is spoiled. For all they know, your protest of scribbling on the ballot is because you are illiterate.

filbert wrote:Slightly longer answer: No, because a spoiled ballot is simply not counted. The polling stations dont have the time or resources to investigate why that ballot is spoiled. For all they know, your protest of scribbling on the ballot is because you are illiterate.

While true they are not investigated, the number of spoilt ballots are counted (as far as I am aware) and thier relative number can give some evidence to voter dissatisfaction.

Although sadly, some people are also unable to follow simple written and spoken instructions and so will spoil their papers by mistake. The rest of them obviously vote Labour by mistake

SilverMK2 wrote:
While true they are not investigated, the number of spoilt ballots are counted (as far as I am aware) and thier relative number can give some evidence to voter dissatisfaction.

Spoilt ballots are indeed counted in the UK. Indeed, they should be counted as accounting for the total number of votes cast at a given polling station is key to avoiding election fraud.