Your voting intentions
Poll: Your voting intentions
Total Members Polled: 1295
Discussion
272BHP said:
markh1973 said:
Spoiled papers may get counted but they no more stop the smaller parties getting seats than not voting at all does.
As for drawing a cock and balls on the paper what's the point? The people counting the papers aren't the people that you want to send a message to.
Not turning up to vote says either you don't care or are quite happy with the status quo. A spoilt ballot quite clearly says I am invested but I have no one on the ballot to vote for so in effect "None of the above"As for drawing a cock and balls on the paper what's the point? The people counting the papers aren't the people that you want to send a message to.
A few spoilt ballots does not cause a ripple - thousands of them would send a pretty strong message.
Turning up and spoiling the ballots en masse sends a different message - we voters are not lazy, we're very much engaged but none of you have done enough to differentiate yourselves and make us vote for you.
Leicester Loyal said:
Has there ever been an election where spoiled ballots have been made a big issue?
Surely they'd need to be like 100k+ to even warrant being mentioned nationally?
That's partly the point I'm trying to make.Surely they'd need to be like 100k+ to even warrant being mentioned nationally?
Spoiled ballots have never been an issue because they were relatively rare. But if everyone who would normally vote, but is considering staying at home this time turned up and gave the ballot the cock and balls treatment (or whatever they deem appropriate) then simply by virtue of it being something unusual, it's more likely to get noticed.
B'stard Child said:
What do you reckon the tipping point would have to be?
Tipping point into what?Spoiled ballots on a quick Google, about 0.3% in general elections. People not bothering to vote at all, much higher. The idea that people will turn out en masse to draw knobs on their ballots is for the birds.
President Merkin said:
Tipping point into what?
Spoiled ballots on a quick Google, about 0.3% in general elections. People not bothering to vote at all, much higher. The idea that people will turn out en masse to draw knobs on their ballots is for the birds.
I could be wrong but I reckon there will be more than 0.3% spoiled ballots in this GE.Spoiled ballots on a quick Google, about 0.3% in general elections. People not bothering to vote at all, much higher. The idea that people will turn out en masse to draw knobs on their ballots is for the birds.
272BHP said:
I could be wrong but I reckon there will be more than 0.3% spoiled ballots in this GE.
Maybe, still a waste of effort. There are four ways in which a spoilt ballot can be formally labelled:absence of official mark [polling station stamp]
voting for more than one candidate
writing or mark by which the voter could be identified
unmarked or void for uncertainty
What this means, is that there is no such thing as a protest vote or rejection of all candidates as far as the counts and Electoral Commission are concerned. No matter what you do, your spoilt ballot will always be classified in one of these four ways.In other words, your attempted formal rejection will always be lumped in with ballots spoilt in error, no matter what you do. No distinction is made.
Stick Legs said:
Oliver Hardy said:
Problem with Cameron, he is a quitter!
Called the referendum, had no back up plan so he ran away.
Would he be any better than Sunak?
No he wouldn’t but the Conservatives aren’t getting into government for 10 years so why waste any good potential PM’s on opposition.Called the referendum, had no back up plan so he ran away.
Would he be any better than Sunak?
IMHO William Hague would have been an excellent PM, dare I say it the best PM we didn’t have in the last 50 years.
What the Conservatives need is a good dispatch box performer, who can hold government to account & hold the fort until the inevitable 3-4 year soul searching & re-invention process happens.
As a life long Conservative voter there is no way I am voting for them this time.
The days of me holding my nose & voting blue are over.
I shall be voting Lib-Dem this time, and wait and see what happens in the Conservative party.
I fear they will see the polling of Reform & mis-interpret that information as saying that they weren’t ‘ERG’ enough.
The particular brand of ‘Ken Clarke Toryism’ that I believed in is dead.
272BHP said:
markh1973 said:
Spoiled papers may get counted but they no more stop the smaller parties getting seats than not voting at all does.
As for drawing a cock and balls on the paper what's the point? The people counting the papers aren't the people that you want to send a message to.
Not turning up to vote says either you don't care or are quite happy with the status quo. A spoilt ballot quite clearly says I am invested but I have no one on the ballot to vote for so in effect "None of the above"As for drawing a cock and balls on the paper what's the point? The people counting the papers aren't the people that you want to send a message to.
A few spoilt ballots does not cause a ripple - thousands of them would send a pretty strong message.
Postal ballot papers turned up today. Seeing them sitting there on the kitchen table, it really brings home the dilemma.
Vote Conservative and reward a disgraceful abdication of responsibility to actually run a country rather than fight amongst themselves.
Vote Labour, who seem to be in pole position purely because they aren’t the Tories and it’s ‘their turn’. Nothing else.
Vote Reform who are basically a couple of blokes who are likely to enable Labour to get an even larger majority to do pretty much anything for the next 5 years.
LibDems - presumed dead but now doing ok purely due to the Tories.
Green - outwardly cuddly, but actually open border loons.
It’s the first election I’ve seen any upside in not voting at all.
But I think an awful lot of people will just not vote this time around.
Vote Conservative and reward a disgraceful abdication of responsibility to actually run a country rather than fight amongst themselves.
Vote Labour, who seem to be in pole position purely because they aren’t the Tories and it’s ‘their turn’. Nothing else.
Vote Reform who are basically a couple of blokes who are likely to enable Labour to get an even larger majority to do pretty much anything for the next 5 years.
LibDems - presumed dead but now doing ok purely due to the Tories.
Green - outwardly cuddly, but actually open border loons.
It’s the first election I’ve seen any upside in not voting at all.
But I think an awful lot of people will just not vote this time around.
swisstoni said:
Postal ballot papers turned up today. Seeing them sitting there on the kitchen table, it really brings home the dilemma.
Vote Conservative and reward a disgraceful abdication of responsibility to actually run a country rather than fight amongst themselves.
Vote Labour, who seem to be in pole position purely because they aren’t the Tories and it’s ‘their turn’. Nothing else.
Vote Reform who are basically a couple of blokes who are likely to enable Labour to get an even larger majority to do pretty much anything for the next 5 years.
LibDems - presumed dead but now doing ok purely due to the Tories.
Green - outwardly cuddly, but actually open border loons.
It’s the first election I’ve seen any upside in not voting at all.
But I think an awful lot of people will just not vote this time around.
Pretty much sums it up for me….so what do you do?Vote Conservative and reward a disgraceful abdication of responsibility to actually run a country rather than fight amongst themselves.
Vote Labour, who seem to be in pole position purely because they aren’t the Tories and it’s ‘their turn’. Nothing else.
Vote Reform who are basically a couple of blokes who are likely to enable Labour to get an even larger majority to do pretty much anything for the next 5 years.
LibDems - presumed dead but now doing ok purely due to the Tories.
Green - outwardly cuddly, but actually open border loons.
It’s the first election I’ve seen any upside in not voting at all.
But I think an awful lot of people will just not vote this time around.
Caddyshack said:
swisstoni said:
Postal ballot papers turned up today. Seeing them sitting there on the kitchen table, it really brings home the dilemma.
Vote Conservative and reward a disgraceful abdication of responsibility to actually run a country rather than fight amongst themselves.
Vote Labour, who seem to be in pole position purely because they aren’t the Tories and it’s ‘their turn’. Nothing else.
Vote Reform who are basically a couple of blokes who are likely to enable Labour to get an even larger majority to do pretty much anything for the next 5 years.
LibDems - presumed dead but now doing ok purely due to the Tories.
Green - outwardly cuddly, but actually open border loons.
It’s the first election I’ve seen any upside in not voting at all.
But I think an awful lot of people will just not vote this time around.
Pretty much sums it up for me….so what do you do?Vote Conservative and reward a disgraceful abdication of responsibility to actually run a country rather than fight amongst themselves.
Vote Labour, who seem to be in pole position purely because they aren’t the Tories and it’s ‘their turn’. Nothing else.
Vote Reform who are basically a couple of blokes who are likely to enable Labour to get an even larger majority to do pretty much anything for the next 5 years.
LibDems - presumed dead but now doing ok purely due to the Tories.
Green - outwardly cuddly, but actually open border loons.
It’s the first election I’ve seen any upside in not voting at all.
But I think an awful lot of people will just not vote this time around.
If you think you’re making a statement by not voting you’re deluded.
I don’t agree with the above summary but that’s irrelevant to my point, go out the door and vote even if it is for a party I dislike. I’m prepared to get quite heated on this point, I think whingers moaning about choice and how the world doesn’t give them a perfect option are behaving like spoilt brats. Adults vote, children don’t have the option to.
Gassing Station | News, Politics & Economics | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff