How did you vote and why today

julieray

Having been a poll clerk and done the count in previous years I’m afraid the spoiled ballot papers don’t get passed on to the candidates. All sorts of messages are written on them - some quite personal - I suppose it serves as a way of venting anger but they just get put in the spoiled votes pile. Better to use your vote constructively

I’ve never understood people spoiling their votes. I couldn’t ever imagine any party seeing these messages.
Just don’t bother to vote. Full stop.

I am in Wales so our voting was for the Senedd, not the local council, I based my vote on the candidates as well as well the party, I knew who I didn't want to vote for but was pulled between Plaid and Welsh Labour, although Welsh Labour have had a lot of bad press I thought it was more to do with having been in power for the last 25 years , I leaned towards Plaid but their candidates were all from outside of the area they were representing, so I didn't feel they would have the local knowledge , it has been a tough decision. I just hope Reform don't get to much of a foot in the door as I think it will be a sad sad day for Wales.

MissAdventure

I can barely walk with a frame currently.
The holes in the paths and roads here are so bad, it would take a herculean effort to go and vote.

You should apply for a postal vote, so much easier than going to the polling station.

fancythat

All the people saying everyone must vote - sometimes this forum seems so out of touch with what actually happens.

The anti Reform posts - them too.
No matter what names they are called. Diversion tactics used etc.

Personally, I prefer older people to live in the real world a bit more sometimes.

Glass half empty!

We just want people to feel engaged, and it is needful to look at why people don't vote.

Glass half full = we want to make the best out of our democratic system, whoever we favour politically.

Choose "glass half full" is a good choice as we age.

The greens scare me much more than reform.

Last time I looked labour hadnt won a single seat in Newcastle.

I'm watching the Scottish results coming in. It will be an SNP majority.

At least Reform haven't done as well as they had hoped but they have squeezed in in a few places.
Who votes for Farage ? I've never met anyone who admits to but perhaps I have led a sheltered life.

Voter Turn out for local elections is traditionally way lower than for General elections.

Voter turn out at local elections between 30- 35% is the norm, sometimes as low as 25%. Some put this down to the public perceiving that local elections are not as important or not having as much impact on their lives than national elections.

Voter turn out at General elections is always higher, though has decreased over time. Eg 83.9% turned out to vote in 1851, 76% in 1979, 71.4% in 1997 and 59.9% of people turning out to vote in the last 2024 General election.

Bye elections seem to fall somewhere in between. Recent Gorton and Denton bye election saw a 47.5% turn out.

I know they do Galaxy but you haven't met our local lot.

Attempts to smear Zak Polanski have abjectly failed. And when all is said and done, he is Jewish and proud of it: he just decries any racism. And that does go down well with those who wish to see a more peaceful living together.

The other issues that I know do concern you have just not been alluded to by voters.

Grammaretto

I'm watching the Scottish results coming in. It will be an SNP majority.

At least Reform haven't done as well as they had hoped but they have squeezed in in a few places.
Who votes for Farage ? I've never met anyone who admits to but perhaps I have led a sheltered life.

Good.

I suspected that Wales and Scotland would keep Reform out and go for their own national preferences.

Sorry Wyllow but when I see anyone falling for Polanski I am absolutely agog, but that is probably no different to calling reform voters stupid. I think andrew gilligan has done some excellent work on highlighting the antisemitism within the greens.

No elections here in North Yorkshire. I don't know why and really couldn't be bothered to find out. So quite relieved that I didn't have to come to a decision on who to vote for.

I would have voted Labour but we don’t have any elections here this year. I just hope that all those who vote Reform understand exactly what they’re voting for 😬

Definitely call it out, Galaxy, wherever it is.

But it's a bit insulting to call the Green voters I know capable of "falling for" someone - it's a policy issue decision generally, and locally the good work they have done.

Glad to say my local tactical voting worked. 🙂

Maybee70

In your opinion.
.

Galaxy

Last time I looked labour hadnt won a single seat in Newcastle.

Interesting results! At the time of writing, Greens have most seats, LDs second and Reform third in Newcastle City Council. Most seats haven't been counted, but if this pattern continues, it will be a hung council. The Greens and LDs will have to come to some kind of arrangement.

Turnout tends to be low for local elections and Reform is winning seats with less than -30% of the vote. I take comfort in this as it means 70+% of those who have bothered to vote did not vote for Reform. I don't think that I am unusual in that I would vote for any other party other than Reform if it kept Reform out. My daughter lives in Wales and would normally vote Labour as would her partner but they both voted Plaid. She thinks that lots of people have done this in Wales in order to keep Reform out. I hope so.

You're not that unusual. In my area, chatter on local Facebook groups for a few weeks has been about how to keep Reform out. It worked.

It's very possible Reform has reached a peak. All the polls show that about 25-30% of voters have pro-Reform views. In the past, there hasn't always been a candidate they could vote for. That percentage of people with certain opinions has been consistent for years.

In a FPTP system, it is possible for a party polling 25-30% to win every seat. It depends where the concentration of seats falls. With the massive injection of funding which Reform has had, it's likely that they will become more politically savvy and concentrate their resources where they are most likely to succeed. The LDs have been doing that for years and have a finely tuned system.

As voters become wiser, it's very likely that there will be more tactical voting. In a way, that's a shame because it means there will be fewer people voting according to their convictions.

I always vote, sometimes for the less of all the ones I can't stomach. I wish we had had an independent candidate. Looking at the local Facebook pages, lots of people voting Reform and some Green, judging by their comments they have no idea what they are voting for or what the County Council actually have control over. There are going to be a lot of dissatisfied people by the time the next election, I wonder where their protest vote will go then.

Some people vote differently at local elections than they would at GE- as posters have indicated. So their voting pattern may change.

Plus the voter turn out is likely to double that for the next GE as it has been for local elections.

Reform UK would need to put forward a credible candidate, with a realistic prospect of success, for 650 constituencies to have any hope of winning a General election. Currently it has neither the capacity or credibility to do so.

Sadly the local elections are not only being hijacked by national issues, but also by international issues.
I have always voted and will continue to do so, but this time it was with no real enthusiasm. It is all very depressing, I wonder if there will be any buyers’ remorse in the future when those who have voted Reform or for Gaza parties realise what they’ve lumbered themselves with.

Galaxy

Sorry Wyllow but when I see anyone falling for Polanski I am absolutely agog, but that is probably no different to calling reform voters stupid. I think andrew gilligan has done some excellent work on highlighting the antisemitism within the greens.

Indeed. I am afraid they have been infected by entryism. Nothing like the days of Caroline Lucas.

I think we need to all be a lot more patient and proactive as a society. After the Conservatives mad and disgraceful behaviour. Did we really expect Labour to come in and fix everything? Of course not, but they have been a stabling influence for the country. These things take time and should be judged after their elected 4 years and not 2 years. The outcome of the war has caused unprecedented costs globally and shown us that Brexit was a big mistake that the populist Boris played a big part in. It's now recognised that we need the EU now more than ever. Starmer knows this. The problem with elections of any kind is we fall for the same clap trap every time. We can do this and we can do that. They all say it because they know the great British Public will oust them out if they don't do it quickly. Governing doesn't work like that. Also local communities maybe need to speak up and ask their local MP how they can enable some parents to parent better. Towns are full of youngsters causing mayhem and causing great distress to residents. At least Labour have been the first to say that parents should be made more accountable for their kids behaviour.

Greetings from the Great Northern City in the Northern Powerhouse.

Not saying who l voted for
But l did not vote for the complacent and arrogant Labour Candidate who are lost a massive majority.

He has been a Councillor for over 25 years.

A protest vote.
Made my day.

Yes local elections. Should be about local issues but they are always swayed and affected by National Issues.

Lets see how much longer Starmer lasts for.

Meanwhile in Wales, the word on the street is that Mr Farage has cancelled his triumph speech in Newport tonight.