Will you vote Tory next time?

We have a local Conservative councillor who does very good work for the community. We also have a great Independent candidate who is as committed to our town.

I could vote for either but I will vote for the Independent as I cannot and will not put my cross besides a Conservative candidate in any form as I will feel I am condoning the behaviour of her party in general and I cannot do that.

Morning volver; bright and sunny here too - Spring has sprung!
Maybe you missed my thoughtful input at the beginning of the thread.

That’s always my approach in local elections GrannyGravy. You need your local councillor to deal with all sorts of mundane but locally important issues. The chap I last voted for is a Lib Dem, he’s really excellent and I will vote for him again but if he were to stand as an MP he wouldn’t get my vote. Why potentially sacrifice your ability to have a councillor who really looks after local things that are important to you and your community just to ‘send a message’? Cutting off nose to spite face comes to mind.

Never have, never will and to be honest for the very first time ever, I'm considering not voting at all. Hobson's Choice a leader here obsessed with Independence at any cost, or Conservative- no thanks. Voting for Greens which is the same as voting SNP and who bang on about the environment and greenspaces, while destroying greenspaces in my county as Scottish Government overturns planning objections. Or vote Labour or Liberal, the lot of its a complete waste of time. I really don't care anymore, this country is stuffed.

One thing is for sure in the coming local elections I shall vote for the best candidate, if they are standing again I will look at their last achievements.

I will not adopt the anyone but a Conservative mindset just to oust what could be a perfectly good and honest councillor just because they are sporting a blue rosette.

Good morning Chewbacca Its a nice day here. How is it with you?

I look forward to your thoughtful input on the matter at hand. ☀️

Agree with you 're 09.36 Germanshepherdsmum

Don't you need to keep it for yourself volver or do you have a plentiful supply?

Yes you can write 'none' but the 'nones' aren't counted and registered in the official counting, they are lobbed in with spoilt ballots that can be for a variety of reasons. I want there to be a box that registers none as a positive choice over the shower standing for election..

You can write NONE Rosie. I believe the candidates are shown the spoilt papers.

I’m a gobby woman and have been known on occasion to wear a cardigan. Doesn’t make my political opinion less valid. Why aren’t men described as “gobby” I wonder?

I have long said that the ballot paper should include a box for "none of the above" then at the declaration the total votes for "none of the above" would be registered. As it stands a 'spoilt' ballot paper can be for a number of reasons, not necessarily a register of discontent with the parties standing for election.

Men?

You mean they are letting women in now?

Shocking.

Hang on I'll get you a bigger wooden spoon.

I remember the days when Labour consisted of credible men in suits (Blair, Brown, Darling etc). Now my overriding impression is of gobby women in cardigans.

Bazwheat

Is there a credible alternative?

Yes.

Next question?

Is there a credible alternative?

I agree about spoilt ballot papers. I think writing none is a political statement showing that you do believe in democracy, but do not think any of the candidates represent you.
The numbers of spoilt papers are usually given at the count result.
I wonder if it’s possible that none can win?
Not turning up to vote can be interpreted as not interested.

What is the point of spoiling your ballot paper?

Let's imagine that you don't think any of candidates deserve your vote. And lots of people think like you. You have 2 options: don't turn up to vote, or turn up and spoil your ballot paper.

You don't turn up, then the press and everybody else says "low turnout, how awful! Only x% of people can be bothered!"

You do turn up and spoil your ballot paper, then the message is "Good turnout, but so many people feel they don't have anybody to represent them!!"

Spoiling your ballot paper is not a neutral act.

glammagran

I’ve always voted Conservative apart from in 1997. It was with great reluctance I did so in 2019 as I really don’t like BJ. Also, in our constituency our MP had had an affair while his wife was suffering from cancer. But I was one of a great many who voted conservative to keep out Corbyn. So many labour MP’s come across as thick as mince - can’t bear gobby AR and DL who said it is possible to surgically implant a cervix to make a man become a woman. No party would get my vote if they are unclear as to what a woman is.

Unless there is a great sea change and Boris and quite a few others from the cabinet are shafted I will probably spoil my next ballot paper.

What is the point of spoiling your ballot paper?

Vetnry

Of course - look at the good they’ve done - and even more importantly, LOOK AT THE ALTERNATIVE!

The good? Please elaborate...

Vetnry

Of course - look at the good they’ve done - and even more importantly, LOOK AT THE ALTERNATIVE!

Could you expand on that ?

Of course - look at the good they’ve done - and even more importantly, LOOK AT THE ALTERNATIVE!

As I have already mentioned, I live in a safe Tory seat, so it doesn't really matter who gets my vote. (It won't be the Tories!) It irks me, though, to know that our useless MP is certain to remain in place after the next election.

In all the years that he has been my MP, I have written to him on four occasions - three of them since the current government came into power. Once, at the behest of the Woodland Trust, was about the continued destruction of ancient woodland. I received an automated acknowledgement and nothing else. Then I wrote to complain because I was angry about Dominic Cummings breaking lockdown rules. That one got a standardised reply - evidently a lot of people had written to him on that subject.

Then I wrote to him to ask him to vote against breaking the Triple Lock, something which his party had promised to protect. I also wrote to ask him to vote in favour of increasing resources to speed up the reduction of the waiting times for cancer operations since Covid, and gave him a personal example of how it had affected our family. Neither of these requests even got an acknowledgement.

And I am angry now about partygate but I won't be writing to my MP because... Well, what would be the point? He won't do anything, the Cabinet are closing ranks around Johnson, and I wouldn't be surprised if the Pm sails through this disgace as he has done through every other scandal that has hit the party under his leadership. The Conservatives have absolutely no integrity now and no apparent sense of shame, but why should they care as long as enough over-65s keep voting for them?

I’ve always voted Conservative apart from in 1997. It was with great reluctance I did so in 2019 as I really don’t like BJ. Also, in our constituency our MP had had an affair while his wife was suffering from cancer. But I was one of a great many who voted conservative to keep out Corbyn. So many labour MP’s come across as thick as mince - can’t bear gobby AR and DL who said it is possible to surgically implant a cervix to make a man become a woman. No party would get my vote if they are unclear as to what a woman is.

Unless there is a great sea change and Boris and quite a few others from the cabinet are shafted I will probably spoil my next ballot paper.

And me JaneJudge. Local MP, Tory, Cabinet Minister, has no constituency office, rents a cottage in the "posh" part of the area and only appears if it is a photo opportunity with industry. As useless as a chocolate teapot, but too many who will vote for a monkey as long as it is blue

Fashionista1

Spoilt ballot papers are not counted they go in a sompletely separate envelope to The Count and are not even looked at at the Count. So spoining a ballot paper is a waste of your time actually bothering to vote and makes no difference to anybody. I have worked on the elections for nearly 45 years and it amuses me that people think they are making a statement.

Sorry to disagree, that may have been the case where you come from, but I covered election counts at all levels for many years and spoiled papers were always counted. I've seen candidates and agents called over to look at spoiled papers.