Your vote for the 2015 General Election

[Citizen66]

did I? seems unlikely, why would I care whether or how you vote. I care about the outcome of the election, millions of votes, but only you care about your own vote.

I edited my post. Anyway, you make a valid point. The only person who cares what I vote for is me. So I'm keeping my conscience clear.

 

[SpackleFrog]

sorry, I missed this post.

So what. Only you care. Nobody else knows or cares how you vote. Because only you care about how you vote, only you can think it through, taking into consideration whatever arguments you please. It's your decision and yours alone. So I can't characterise your personal decision.

But for myself, when I think about it, prioritising some consistent position does nothing for my self respect, millions of others are voting to keep the tories out and to me that matters much, much more. As it doesn't matter in slightest to anyone but me, I know that if I choose to care about "If you're anti-capitalist you're voting for capitalism, end of." I'm doing so for self indulgent reasons. But that matters only to me (for all the fact I'm trying to write it out), in my head I can use whatever self-righteous arguments I please, just as you can in yours.

 

[newbie]

I'd bold the bit that goes millions of others are voting to keep the tories out and to me that matters much, much more.

 

[Pickman's model]

when the votes were counted the tories won. Please don't preach at me about Thatcher, she won those elections because people voted tory in their millions. Insufficient people voted to keep them out. You're presenting no case at all for not voting.

i'm questioning YOUR claim that voting has some effect.

 

[newbie]

the votes of millions of people have some effect.

 

[Pickman's model]

when the votes were counted the tories won. Please don't preach at me about Thatcher, she won those elections because people voted tory in their millions. Insufficient people voted to keep them out. You're presenting no case at all for not voting.

1979: tory 13,697,923 (339) labour 11,532,218 (269) liberal 4,313,804 (11)
sorry, how was it that insufficient people voted to keep the tories out when by plurality the liberal-labour vote exceeded the conservative one? i think you miss that there are in the region of 650 SEPARATE elections in a general election, rather than one single election for the whole country.

 

[Pickman's model]

the votes of millions of people have some effect.

and what effect is that?

 

[newbie]

1979: tory 13,697,923 (339) labour 11,532,218 (269) liberal 4,313,804 (11)
sorry, how was it that insufficient people voted to keep the tories out when by plurality the liberal-labour vote exceeded the conservative one? i think you miss that there are in the region of 650 SEPARATE elections in a general election, rather than one single election for the whole country.

I wasn't missing the fact, it's just not particularly relevant since that's the way the government is elected, and, just to reiterate, you'll get a government whether you want one or not.

"it's not fair", so what. Whether or not you vote, spoil or don't vote doesn't affect that. Millions of people not voting or spoiling also don't affect the outcome. Millions of people voting does.

 

[newbie]

and what effect is that?

it changes the balance of power in the house of commons. are you really so bored?

 

[Pickman's model]

I wasn't missing the fact, it's just not particularly relevant since that's the way the government is elected, and, just to reiterate, you'll get a government whether you want one or not.

"it's not fair", so what. Whether or not you vote, spoil or don't vote doesn't affect that. Millions of people not voting or spoiling also don't affect the outcome. Millions of people voting does.

yes. but you seem to think there's a 'choice' when there isn't. other people above have pointed to the similarity of the policies of labour and the conservatives. but what hasn't been addressed is that it is an utterly artificial choice. you can form the newbie party or the pickmans party but it is wholly unrealistic to expect even a whiff of power. it is a choice between tweedledum and tweedledee, with no option, and no possible option, for the dormouse party - or a parliament without the permicious influence of party at all.

 

[newbie]

yes. but you seem to think there's a 'choice' when there isn't. other people above have pointed to the similarity of the policies of labour and the conservatives. but what hasn't been addressed is that it is an utterly artificial choice. you can form the newbie party or the pickmans party but it is wholly unrealistic to expect even a whiff of power. it is a choice between tweedledum and tweedledee, with no option, and no possible option, for the dormouse party - or a parliament without the permicious influence of party at all.

all true. so what.

 

[Pickman's model]

all true. so what.

so why do you think there's a choice when there isn't?

 

[skyscraper101]

Living in a safe seat is actually quite a liberating experience. If it was a swing seat I might actually be forced to decide If I could bring myself to vote Labour, but as it's not going to happen I can spoil my ballot as I wish.

 

[Pickman's model]

Living in a safe seat is actually quite a liberating experience. If it was a swing seat I might actually be forced to decide If I could bring myself to vote Labour, but as it's not going to happen I can spoil my ballot as I wish.

another spunking cock then

 

[newbie]

so why do you think there's a choice when there isn't?

I'm going to get a vote, so there is a choice. I exercise mine to keep the tory out.

 

[Pickman's model]

I'm going to get a vote, so there is a choice. I exercise mine to keep the tory out.

good for you

 

[newbie]

well you did ask.

 

[skyscraper101]

Has anyone ever tried to push through anything else into the election box? Something to really fuck shit up, like a lit cigarette with some gasoline or a bunch of split ink cartridges or some ants or even spiders?? Someone could take out a whole batch of votes if they were being inventive enough.

 

[DotCommunist]

wouldn't want to damage workers on a count

 

[Pickman's model]

Has anyone ever tried to push through anything else into the election box? Something to really fuck shit up, like a lit cigarette with some gasoline or a bunch of split ink cartridges or some ants or even spiders?? Someone could take out a whole batch of votes if they were being inventive enough.

spilt ink cartridges would have negligible effect

 

[skyscraper101]

spilt ink cartridges would have negligible effect

Wouldn't they have the potential to mark a bunch of votes as illegible / spoiled?

 

[Pickman's model]

Wouldn't they have the potential to mark a bunch of votes as illegible / spoiled?

i think they'd have to obscure the 'x' or make it look like there were two preferences expressed. but ink cartridges won't spill much ink. not to mention it wouldn't exactly be that subtle. anyone trying to thrust spiders into a ballot box might find themselves up for animal cruelty.

 

[skyscraper101]

If someone put Anthrax or Ricin into a ballot box, could it potentially wipe out an entire constituency count and would they have to do a re-run?

 

[krink]

My Greek buddy told me they put slices of sausage into postal votes so the grease leeches through into the adjoining postal votes in the pile.

 

[newbie]

I'm voting for meself Don't want to win though. Which is fortunate cos I won't

srsly? are you a prospective GE candidate?

 

[Citizen66]

it changes the balance of power in the house of commons. are you really so bored?

The balance of power shifts from privately educated chaps representing big business, to privately educated chaps representing big business.

 

[newbie]

The balance of power shifts from privately educated chaps representing big business, to privately educated chaps representing big business.

that's right. so what. not voting does not change that one iota.

 

[skyscraper101]

My Greek buddy told me they put slices of sausage into postal votes so the grease leeches through into the adjoining postal votes in the pile.

Maybe a lot of people just get confused when they hear about 'Grease Elections'

 

[krink]

Badum-tish

 

[newbie]

Look, telling me in lots of different ways how dreadful the British electoral system is, or capitalism is, is going nowhere. "it's not fair" yes, I know, and have done all my adult life. These arguments are not new, nothing has changed, nothing at all. At each election the same stuff is said and then there's the count and all the collective millions of non votes make no difference whatsoever. And then everyone talks about something else till the next time.