Council elections today. Remember to vote.

Gideon Lorr said:
Not even sure who I want to vote for. Top level politics especially is ridiculous- one party comes in, goes too far left/right, justifying it on the actions of the previous government. Then the next government comes in, goes too far back the other way, again basing its actions on the previous government. Meanwhile the country gets dragged back and forth all over the place.

Suppose at least we get more of a choice than in the US.
I live in Labour heartland anyway, so regardless of if I want them in or not, that's who will get voted in today.
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But this isn't top level politics, this is local level and arguably the decisions by your council will effect your life far more than governmental decisions.

It'll be interesting who wins in Glasgow, typically a very very safe Labour area but it's likely the SNP will win. It's a shame that people do vote for party lines, in stead of seeing what the candidates offer. Many just campaign under a party title for funding reasons whereas they may offer something quite different to the national party. Boris is a good example of this.

I, annoyingly, think that Labour have done an alright job with Glasgow. However, there is mass mutiny in the ranks and many of the councillors are defecting.
 
My local council elections are today too, waste of time for me, all the candidates live on the other side of the village and want to bring in some new traffic measures that will devalue hundreds of peoples homes on my road >.<
 
Ahleckz said:
But this isn't top level politics, this is local level and arguably the decisions by your council will effect your life far more than governmental decisions.
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Don't worry I'm fully aware of that. But like I said, Labour heart land for both national and council elections. A few Lib Dems will get in, maybe a Tory or two. Apart from that it is all red. Very little effective choice.

None of them have even bothered to stick a leaflet through the door or anything. Guess that means I'll have to find and read up on who is standing, what they promise, and for incumbent candidates, what they say they've achieved whilst in office. The good thing about council elections at least is that what they promise are usually 'small' things, so they're more likely to keep promises.

Just checked and there are 4 Tory councillors, 35 Labour, and 9 Lib Dem on my council. Of those, 2 Tory, 9 Labour, and 5 Lib Dem are up for voting.
 
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I have a local residents association, they had about 1/3rd of the seats on the council.

I vote for them. They make sure pavements are even and street lights are on.

Im pretty sure they are centre right aswell.

TBH it was that or some Muslims or fascists...
 
GAC said:
only two people up for ellection in your area ??

we only have 3 here in the boonies.
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We had 3 to choose from but there's no point actually voting for anyone other than the Conservatives or Lib Dems where I live.

In the end I voted for the ones I felt were least likely to put council tax up, however both parties were doing things I don't approve of and wasting money.
 
We're quite a small area, so you do get to see your Councillor around quite a bit, plus if you're active in the local community you can have a far greater impact on local policies.

Not pointing any fingers, but I find a lot of people who moan about the local systems are the same people who don't interact with the local community and just sit at home whinging when things are changed. The voting system is just one very small way in which you can affect things, it's a system provided for everyone, if you want more influence, be pro-active, complain to the right people, help with local causes/campaigns/issues, do something!

I suppose the above is easier to do in a smaller area, but still..
 
I have no idea who to vote for. Been trying to find the parties'/councillors' manifestos online but no luck. Might end up spoiling the ballot if I can't decide. Kings Worthy (Winchester City Council) if anyone can point me to something worth reading up.
 
A good thing there are no elections here - I have absolutely no idea who I'd vote for. Traditionally a Lib Dem voter but they're not getting my vote again.
 
Uther said:
I'll vote again once they put a 'none of the above' box. :p
Totally sick of the whole system now, and I voted for over 20 years.
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There is that option - cast a vote with nothing crossed or spoil the vote. I do feel that everyone should vote even if it is a spoiled vote. If it was reported that 50% of voters spoiltedheir vote it might make parties pay some attention.
 
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I think they should put spoilt votes in two camps: Purposefully spoilt, and spoilt because people can't fill out the forms correctly. In 2007, there were so many spoilt ballots because people were too thick to fill it out correctly. Seriously, it's not hard to number candidates in preference.
 
Turn out at my local polling place has been poor so far. Probably doesn't help that the incumbents have switched party (William O'Rourke being one of them) and only the two SNP candidates have been campaigning locally, not had so much as a leaflet through the door from the other 7.
 
Uther said:
I'll vote again once they put a 'none of the above' box. :p
Totally sick of the whole system now, and I voted for over 20 years.
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There is a none of the above box....... you just need to get creative. Usually I find myself writing something abusive about each candidate on the paper and why i think they are unfit to represent the people. Then pop it in the ballot box.


if accomplishes nothing save the internal peace of mind I get knowing I have at least participated in the democratic process.
 
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