why are you not voting today?

[Pingu]

some see it as a duty to vote

i dont

i dont agree with any of the main parties ideas etc so dont see why I should vote for them.

hence today I will not be voting.

last election 80% of the vote was split (pretty evenly 41.8 con 40.3 lab) between Labour and Conservatives in my ward. and given that I really cant stand either of them I would rather just not bother.

 

[madzone]

And will you complain about the policies of the people who do get elected?

 

[ExtraRefined]

You could at least make the effort of going along and writing "yer all caaaaaahnts" on the ballot paper.

 

[Pingu]

like a bitch

But I dont see the point in voting for someone\thing that i dont agree with.

had there been a green candidate I may have voted for them as they are probably the least offensive policy wise but of those i do have a choice from none of them have policies that are in line with my world view.

if there was a "none of the above" option then I would most certainly tick that box... but there isnt

 

[pengaleng]

edit: I read the thread wrong ffs.

 

[madzone]

like a bitch

But I dont see the point in voting for someone\thing that i dont agree with.

had there been a green candidate I may have voted for them as they are probably the least offensive policy wise but of those i do have a choice from none of them have policies that are in line with my world view.

You don't have to vote for any of them though - you can spoil your ballot paper as has already been suggested. I think it's a social responsibility to use your vote. I particularly think that as a woman.

 

[cesare]

1. Very unhappy with all three of the major parties' policies and track records.

2. Given ^ I don't see why I should contribute to voting any of them in.

3. I think the electoral system needs reform, and therefore I won't reinforce it by voting or spoiling (despite a bit of suffragette guilt).

4. I gave my current MP the opportunity to tell me why his policies were better than his new main rival's, and he wouldn't/couldn't tell me. Therefore I'm not voting in the locals either.

 

[19sixtysix]

If you can go and do an anti tory vote. Remember the well and truly fucked health service of 13 years ago. You don't hear of 2 year waits any more. I don't want another 5 years of this government but I fear the Tories and what it will mean to the poor and town trodden in this country. If you vote labour you'd increase the chance of a hung parliament and a voting system that might stop the swings between elected dictatorships we have in this country.

I hate that a single X is all we are allowed to express ourselves but its your only tool at this moment.

 

[Pingu]

You don't have to vote for any of them though - you can spoil your ballot paper as has already been suggested. I think it's a social responsibility to use your vote. I particularly think that as a woman.

whats the point? it just goes into the bin. exactly the same result as staying at home and watching telly

 

[gamma globulins]

Madz, would you mind fleshing out the particlular social responsibility/woman bit? I find it an interesting idea?

 

[pootle]

I think it's a social responsibility to use your vote.

Also, low turn out and the first past the post system favours extreme groups like the BNP.

No particular party ticks all my boxes, but I'd rather register some sort of support to a party that is the closest to what I want for myself and the society I want to live in.

OP - what do you achieve by NOT voting?

 

[Idaho]

And will you complain about the policies of the people who do get elected?

This is such bollocks. As if only the holy act of participating in a fucked up system gives you the right to complain.

So someone in Banbury who knows or cares nothing about politics has more right to complain because they voted Monster Raving Loony as a joke, than someone who is very interested in politics, but sees our process as being fundamentally wrong.

 

[dylans]

I thought long and hard the last 24 hours and decided that in all conscience I couldn't endorse another labour term. After Iraq, after the attacks on benefits and single parents, after the dismantling of civil liberties etc, much as I loathe the tories I couldn't vote labour so not voting was the only option.

 

[madzone]

Madz, would you mind fleshing out the particlular social responsibility/woman bit? I find it an interesting idea?

I feel the same about voting as I do about getting clean water out of a tap
Particularly as a woman I can't help but think that people died to get me the right to vote and I owe it to them to make use of it. I just think that given the situation in many places we are incredibly lucky to have at least a semblance of democracy.

 

[stupid dogbot]

In the past, I've spoiled, on the basis that none of the people represented my views in a way I was comfortable with.

However, we're a Tory seat from last time and I cannot bear to think that I've contributed to another Tory in Westminster, so I shall be voting today instead.

 

[Idaho]

Also, low turn out and the first past the post system favours extreme groups like the BNP.

No particular party ticks all my boxes, but I'd rather register some sort of support to a party that is the closest to what I want for myself and the society I want to live in.

OP - what do you achieve by NOT voting?

Low turnout does favour fringe parties. And that's what I would like to see. More independents, more alternative parties.

 

[kabbes]

I have to be honest -- I do think that there is a little bit of a tendency (amongst those who don't vote) to expect to have a candidate that magically represents their exact views and beliefs. This one isn't left wing enough on this one policy, that one doesn't have a green enough policy for this particular thing, the other one has a policy that isn't liberal enough in one regard.

Representative democracy is never going to result in the ideal candidate for anyone. You have to make compromises for the sake of arriving on a common consensus.

Now, NONE OF THAT is intended to imply that you should vote for the three main neo-liberal parties, who all occupy the top-right of the political compass. But it's still an impression I get from reading the posts of this board over the last three years -- many people won't be happy unless they have the perfect candidate standing for the perfect party that perfectly represents their views.

 

[madzone]

This is such bollocks. As if only the holy act of participating in a fucked up system gives you the right to complain.

So someone in Banbury who knows or cares nothing about politics has more right to complain because they voted Monster Raving Loony as a joke, than someone who is very interested in politics, but sees our process as being fundamentally wrong.

Yes, because they at least got off their arse and tried to do something about it.

Spoil your ballot paper if you don't want to endorse any of the major parties.

 

[madzone]

Low turnout does favour fringe parties. And that's what I would like to see. More independents, more alternative parties.

You want the BNP to get in? Or UKIP?

 

[cesare]

I have to be honest -- I do think that there is a little bit of a tendency (amongst those who don't vote) to expect to have a candidate that magically represents their exact views and beliefs. This one isn't left wing enough on this one policy, that one doesn't have a green enough policy for this particular thing, the other one has a policy that isn't liberal enough in one regard.

Representative democracy is never going to result in the ideal candidate for anyone. You have to make compromises for the sake of arriving on a common consensus.

Now, NONE OF THAT is intended to imply that you should vote for the three main neo-liberal parties, who all occupy the top-right of the political compass. But it's still an impression I get from reading the posts of this board over the last three years -- many people won't be happy unless they have the perfect candidate standing for the perfect party that perfectly represents their views.

Well, I'm not of that tendency. Just sayin.

 

[danny la rouge]

I won't be voting because I don't want any of them thinking I endorse them; I don't.

As for the point about those who campaigned for a universal suffrage for working class men, and then for women - those people hoped that having a vote would made a difference, that there would be a real choice, and that because everyone had the vote, then everyone would be represented It hasn't worked out like that. The opposite has happened. We can choose between three brands who all represent the same interests.

 

[madzone]

OP - what do you achieve by NOT voting?

This as well ^

 

[madzone]

I won't be voting because I don't want any of them thinking I endorse them; I don't.

As for the point about those who campaigned for a universal suffrage for working class men, and then for women - those people hoped that having a vote would made a difference, that there would be a real choice, and that because everyone had the vote, then everyone would be represented It hasn't worked out like that. The opposite has happened. We can choose between three brands who all represent the same interests.

How does not voting make a difference?

 

[kabbes]

Well, I'm not of that tendency. Just sayin.

No, I wouldn't want to indicate a universal stereotype or anything. People have their own reasons. Not to mention the fact that many constituencies ONLY have the three main parties standing and I can't blame people for not wanting to vote for any of those shower.

 

[dylans]

I have to be honest -- I do think that there is a little bit of a tendency (amongst those who don't vote) to expect to have a candidate that magically represents their exact views and beliefs. This one isn't left wing enough on this one policy, that one doesn't have a green enough policy for this particular thing, the other one has a policy that isn't liberal enough in one regard.

Representative democracy is never going to result in the ideal candidate for anyone. You have to make compromises for the sake of arriving on a common consensus.

Now, NONE OF THAT is intended to imply that you should vote for the three main neo-liberal parties, who all occupy the top-right of the political compass. But it's still an impression I get from reading the posts of this board over the last three years -- many people won't be happy unless they have the perfect candidate standing for the perfect party that perfectly represents their views.

Oh come on. It's not about wanting someone to represent my exact beliefs but its about seeing that all 3 parties are preaching exactly the same thing and that exact same thing is attacks on the poor and the most vulnerable in order to benefit the wealthy and the powerful. Why should I endorse that?

 

[danny la rouge]

You could at least make the effort of going along and writing "yer all caaaaaahnts" on the ballot paper.

But by doing that you are saying: "I am a principled abstainer, unlike the mass of abstainers". It is an essentially patronising position which says that the mass of abstainers have not made a rational choice.

 

[madzone]

So, as Pootle said - what does NOT voting achieve? The same old shit just trundles on but we're more likely to get the worst of the three parties. It's the apathy that gets me. What exactly do you think you're achieving by not voting?

 

[fogbat]

Oh come on. It's not about wanting someone to represent my exact beliefs but its about seeing that all 3 parties are preaching exactly the same thing and that exact same thing is attacks on the poor and the most vulnerable in order to benefit the wealthy and the powerful. Why should I endorse that?

My difficult decision at the moment is deciding whether I can be arsed to go in to draw cocks on my ballot paper.

 

[Idaho]

You want the BNP to get in? Or UKIP?

I want democracy. If that means that the views of the country are accurately represented, then so be it.

 

[Cobbles]

had there been a green candidate I may have voted for them as they are probably the least offensive policy wise but of those i do have a choice from none of them have policies that are in line with my world view.

Well, if you actually gave a toss, you could always have stood as a candidate.