Lots of us about - politicians take note

Yes Kitty I think they already do but it won't do any harm for us all to make our voices felt on whatever subject we feel strongly about so they know what a force we are.

Also we are more likely to vote than younger generation

I reckon they'll do a granny give away budget just before the next election in the hope that we'll all forget what they've done.

vampire hoping we will forgive and forget, but that will take a lot of convincing.

Well, most of us have families of working age, and many have children in education, so they can't con us: we want what's right for all of society. Including us.

I will not know whom to vote for. I've always been left of centre but the coalition has put me right off my own party - Lib Dems - and I'm not sure I'd trust Labour to be any better. I wish the ballot paper had a 'none of the above' where I could put my cross, so that I could register a 'positive abstention' (if that isn't a contradiction), rather than just not voting.

Annobel I totally agree with you, I have been known to spoil my ballot paper with "I abstain" written right across it. I know no one takes any notice but it made me feel better.

I agree Annobel - The thought of Ed M in power makes me shudder but the coalition are not really living up to expectations. Maybe they will improve with time ................ I would hate not to vote as then I would feel guilty about commenting on the mess they make when elected! (Positive as ever!)
There was a good article by Penelope Lively in the Telegraph this morning about us oldies enjoying 'being old'

mrshat I haven't read the article so I don't know what they mean by 'oldie' when does that start? Its the same with 'elderly' how old is that?

I don't think I am old but I am certainly enjoying being retired. I don't have to plan ahead, don't have to ask permission or delegate to go on holiday. Can change my mind about what I am going to do if I get a better offer. No alarm clock most days and best of all I don't have to be polite to people just because I work with them, I can choose who I spend time with now.

Annobel and Alison

Having been a scrutineer at a polling booth many times, i can tell you that abstention votes are noticed. Voting is compulsory here, and blank ballot papers and 'informals' ie ones where the intention is unclear, or ones full of rudeness are counted. So we ring up the booth tally saying, say, labour 500. conservative 400, informal 20. It has to all add up to the number of names crossed off the voters' list.

Scutineers are party workers watching the count to make sure nowt untoward happens. As party members they have a good look at the informals, and tell their MPs and party officials what the trend has been. Eg lots of blanks, lots of people wanting candidate X who was not standing, lots of Donald Ducks.....

BUT if you want the Tories out, vote Labour, even if you have to hold your nose to do it. Use your vote - people had to fight for it.

Well, I can't see that the country was in such a wonderful state after 13 years of Labour government. Ed Balls for Chancellor? I don't think so....

I've done that too, Joan, on a number of occasions. I would just like to be able to say 'I abstain' more formally. The 'best' spoiled paper I have seen was evidently a postal one which had been folded several times and a neat cross cut into it so that when it was unfolded, there was a pattern of eight crosses. Ingenious, but why?

Yes I agree with you vampirequeen - some greasing of our palms will go on before the next election. I think it most unlikely that they'll take away our bus passes, fuel allowances etc. We are a big proportion of the voting electorate.

There is such a lot of apathy at election time - perhaps voting should be compulsory.

I certainly think the French way of everybody being registered to vote automatically is better. Voting isn't compulsory, but at least you don't have the additional problem of getting people to register in the first place. I have a friend who works with communities, trying to get them to vote and he says quite often only 30% register and then only 30% of the 30% vote. Very sad, I think.

@ mrshat - re coalition not living up to expectations. Love to know what those expectations were. Mine were that just maybe the Libdems would be a slightly tempering influence on the outer reaches of "we've never run anything but we are filled with reforming zeal madness" of the Dave and George show. Not to mention Gove. This expectation has not been met.
One thing that has frustrated my on GN is that when everyone has got very exercised about a particular topic there has been very little enthusiasm for exercising that other big demographic right: contacting your MP
In my experience MPs always contact the minister involved and always reply.
Ministers take notice.
If you want to influence a minister this is the best route.
And you can always go and see MPs in their "surgeries" if you are really cross.
The website www.writetothem.com makes it incredibly easy to email your MP.

JessM It is possible that Gransnetters do contact their MPs about the issues that exercise them on here but don't bother to post that they have done so. After all, the most interesting thing on these sorts of threads is reading the opinions of other Gransnetters.

Yes I know, but there have been a particular couple of examples where everyone is saying something is a complete disgrace....
Occasionally I think that our generation were all battered into feelings of powerlessness by Thatcher, never to recover.

Thatcher may have started it but Tony Blair did his best to complete the task, but we haven't all given in yet.

I am sure my MP is getting thoroughly fed up with my letters and emails! I wonder if he's on Twitter...

jess I have written to my MP on a number of occassions and I don't think she has actually read them because the replies all seem to be set paragraphs picked out by an assistant. Not one of them has been an actual reply to what I have said and in the last one I asked that she did not just tell me how the system worked as I already knew that. Guess what, yes, she wrote and told me how the system works! One she didn't even reply to.

Maybe one day I will go to her surgery but you can't just drop in, you have to make an appointment in advance. I would have to steel myself to broach her in person.

There is no evidence she has passed anything on to the appropriate minister even when I have asked her to.

She is however very good at getting her face in the local paper most weeks.

Jess I've not contacted my MP as I've not been impressed with the last 3 MPs from my area regardless of whether they have been red/blue/yellow I just did/do not have a lot of time for them. Being a bit of a cynic, I don't think any letter from me would make the slightest difference.

As for 'expectations', what I meant was a general feeling (from friends/colleagues) that the coalition would be a vast improvement on the previous government .............. perhaps naive in hindsight!

Did not mean to upset anyone.

Politics, eh!

Alison The article was mainly about retired folk. Penelope Lively is in her late 70s and was speaking mainly about how she was enjoying life. An interesting and entertaining article.

Have now tracked down my MP on Twitter so will be able to harass him that way as well.

Poor man! He won't know what's hit him!