Why? Leave them to make their own decisions, they are grown-ups.
Over 160 pages in, you're saying we shouldn't be debating it with people?
I just don’t understand why anyone would vote Tory/reform, I don’t know of anyone who’d vote that way either.
I understand people voting for Reform. If you're completely disengaged and know nothing about politics, reforming sounds like a good idea. Again, we saw this with Brexit, a vote for Leave to a lot of people was seen as opposing "do nothing," a rejection of the status quo.
I cannot comprehend how any 'normal' people, politics aside, would look at where we are now and go "yup, more of the same please, it's been great" before voting Tory. It genuinely baffles me.
queue out of the door
We went about 6pm, 6:30? There was one other voter there.
Just arrived at my venue for the Election Count. Got an hour or so to check in, get everything set up then at 10pm, the postal vote verification and counting begins.
Ballot boxes as and when they arrive from the polling stations. Estimate is that we're likely to be here til about 4am.
Secrecy rules forbid me from having a phone in the count hall but if I see any entertaining spoilt papers I'll try and remember them for later publication.
Stop wallowing in self pity, get off your arse and go and vote. There are many countries where people can’t vote, use your vote.
Agreed. The correct thing to do, if you're so disheartened, is to spoil your ballot. Not voting when you have the ability to means you can't rightfully be annoyed about anything that happens under the next parliament.
Get out there TJ and make your voice heard.
benpinnick – its not reality. He has lied about brexit repeatedly. He is now pro brexit and is lying and gaslighting
That's just reminded me TJ, didn't you claim that Starmer's alledged pro-brexit stance would cost Labour votes because the electorate are now pro-rejoin and the rejoin parties would benefit?
Are you still sticking to that prediction?
"A friend is working the polling station, said its the busiest she can remember
People queuing out the door at our little village voting station.
Stuck in a huge huge great queue to vote at the moment
My daughter and I have just been and it’s the busiest I can remember, queue out of the door.
Just out of the polling station after voting. Never ever seen so many voting"
I left it late to go and vote, still a queue. LibDem teller outside said it had been really busy.
Elshalimo who? the brexiteers? The candidate who lied to my face? the party of the liar Carmicheal? there is not even a decent independent to vote for.
I read every candidates bio. I read every manifesto ( well the main points) I have wrestled with my conscience. I just cannot do it.
I'm with binners here...
No vote no voice.
No ones perfect but you've got to pic the least worse option.
Also calling out people for not believing in what you believe is a dangerous slope. Balanced arguments fine. But sweeping generalisations against folk not so much.
We're due a change. Any party whos been in power for a certain time needs a change
Voted after work, the polling booth is in the local Tesco so hard to tell how busy it is! They did say they'd had a good turnout so far and we're waiting on the rush after 5pm. About to go to bed so I can be up around 3am to watch the results unfold.
Mefty is just on a wind up, there is no sane person alive in the country who is so * stupid/pig ignorant/thick as shit/complete ****erwomble bat shit mad that would vote for yet tory * ups
You see this is the difference between Conservative voters and Labour voters........no Conservative voter would be so impolite towards their political adversary.
It reminds me why I shop in Waitrose and not Tesco.
That’s just reminded me TJ, didn’t you claim that Starmer’s alledged pro-brexit stance would cost Labour votes because the electorate are now pro-rejoin and the rejoin parties would benefit?
Yes -. Obviously other factrors are more important and will have a bigger effect . You yourself pointed out the lack of enthusiasm for labour with them getting no more votes than Corbyn did - perhaps even less. Its the divided right and the tiredness of the SNP that will give him the majority. here there is no enthusiasm for labour at all. I have not seen a single labour sign in a window.
Lib dems are going to do well and they are more pro eu but have been quiet about it
I know several life long labour voters like me ( until a decade ago) who are not voting labour because of their brexiteer stance.
Yes -. Obviously other factrors are more important and will have a bigger effect .
So not quite the effect that you had predicted. Although if you still believe that a pro-brexit stance is going to have a negative effect on support for a political party Nigel Farage will be worried.
Ai, fair, and I do respect your choice to abstain.
(And in a none serious way, I’m looking forward to all the red card posts!)
You yourself pointed out the lack of enthusiasm for labour with them getting no more votes than Corbyn did – perhaps even less.
You can't compare a 3 horse and a 4 horse race in absolute % or # terms.
Christ my half a beer is kicking in, I'm getting excited for the exit poll?
No ones perfect but you’ve got to pic the least worse option.
I tried to find one. I really did. there isn't one. I have the luxury of knowing the tories have no chance here
My children’s school had mock elections this morning - Reform got 47% of the votes with Labour the other 53% and no other party getting any votes. The Reform voters, when asked why, in general said ‘so they could send all the “insert non white demographic here” home’. I was truly shocked when I heard this.
"Well it’s a dirty business but someone has to do it, so good for you!"
I used the provided pencil, not a leaky fountain pen, so nice and clean.
"It reminds me why I shop in Waitrose and not Tesco."
I can't believe you turned your back on Tesco
You yourself pointed out the lack of enthusiasm for labour with them getting no more votes than Corbyn did – perhaps even less.
For the record I never made that claim.
I simply pointed out that recent opinion polls have put Labour on no more than they received in the 2017 general election, despite a predicted huge Labour majority.
The purpose was not to emphasise a lack of enthusiasm for Labour but to emphasise how first-past-the-post can massively distort general election results.
"He is now pro brexit"
That is an absolutely bloody ridiculous interpretation of the situation. He doesn't love Brexit any more than you do. However he's (hopefully) going to be in charge of a country that doesn't want to go back over it, so he can't. That does not make him bloody pro Brexit.
He can't do whatever he wants. He has to be pragmatic. End of story. Stop extrapolating to absurd extremes.
Aspirational Marxism?
“My children’s school had mock elections this morning – Reform got 47%”
Read an article online today where the journalist spent a day with Farage. They referenced the number of teens/early 20year olds that were drawn to Reform.
Anyone else getting the once in a generation vibe from this GE?
I sure am.
@tjagain I respect your stance mate, so this isn't aimed at you. Genuinely. ?
With what's going on in Ukraine and the terrible price they are paying in order to have self determination and a leader they want rather than one Putin wants... Well, it's kind of given this GE a new dimension for me.
This GE feels historic, whether it turns out to be for good or bad reasons and I had to be a part of it.
Having read the earlier posts I thought I would take a wander to the polling station to see how busy it was - pretty quiet - most of the people there were those running it
I've voted Green for the first time ever - it's an issue which needs to be bumped right up the agenda
Managed to persuade a few (younger) friends to go vote - several didn't have much of an idea what the parties stood for so I put together a quick bullet point summary (well ChatGPT did) for them and pointed them towards the website where you're asked questions about policies and it suggests who your views align with most
From what I can tell seems like Lib Dem was the consensus - Ed Davey's campaign has been great - seems to have raised the profile of the party and been fun at the same time
MOlgrips - Of course he is pro brexit as he now supports it and has both lied and gaslit around it. Its an utter disgrace. Its the lies that get me. "no case to rejoin" " we can renegotiate the withdrawal agreement" Both outright lies.
@oceanskipper
Full Member
My children’s school had mock elections this morning – Reform got 47% of the votes with Labour the other 53% and no other party getting any votes. The Reform voters, when asked why, in general said ‘so they could send all the “insert non white demographic here” home’. I was truly shocked when I heard this.
What age group mate? Apparently Reform have had marked success on TikTok... Grim6 what I know of TikTok its ideally suited to offering simple solutions to complex problems. ☹️
"My children’s school had mock elections this morning – Reform got 47% of the votes with Labour the other 53% and no other party getting any votes. The Reform voters, when asked why, in general said ‘so they could send all the “insert non white demographic here” home’. I was truly shocked when I heard this."
Be interested to know the age of the kids and where the school is.
As a teacher that result kind of terrifies me!
So we should have an idea of the size of the Labour majority in about 20 minutes.
I can't believe how long I have waited for this. As from tomorrow politics is likely to become very interesting.
Tuning in to channel 4 now, think it’ll be a good show/s whatever the result.
Just got back from the pub quiz. Has anything happened today?
This is the first time I’ve felt any political optimism since June 24th 2016
What channel we all watching? I'm starting with ITV at 21:50, then over to the Beeb later. That guy that does the analysis knows his shizzle.
I truly hope Sir Kier doesn't give Dianne and Jeremy a job in government! And lets keep Trident with Putin about.
I had just about steeled myself to vote labour then came Starmers latest pro brexit announcement. I just cannot vote for a party that is a brexiteer party
I do sympathise with TJ and he has obviously thought long and hard and done his research. I don't agree with the outcome.
On the failure of Labour to push rejoining the EU as a priority: I was skeptical that the EU was interested in hearing any more bullshit from the UK about this. They're much more interested in Serbia, Macedonia, Ukraine and even Armenia - getting them in the bloc makes EU members safer and unlocks infrastructure opportunities. Those countries have also spent decades working towards integration.
Recognising that isn't being pro-Brexit. Jean-Claude Juncker is not a Brexiteer. In the last couple of days:
ON BREXIT: “When you leave a boat, you can’t get back on the same boat,” says the man who — with Michel Barnier — led the EU’s side of Brexit talks. Never? “In a century or two, yes,” he said, eyes sparkling mischievously behind his glasses. He notes that no British political party fighting today’s election wants to rejoin the EU (with Labour Party Leader Keir Starmer — who is widely expected to be the U.K.’s next PM — saying the country would not rejoin the EU’s single market in his lifetime). Britain is “currently discovering the consequences of its vote, and the consequences correspond exactly to what we told them they’d be,” Juncker says.
Oh that line up is going to be ‘interesting’
ITV's coverage has been streets ahead of the BBC in recent elections in my view - much quicker with results and Osborne and Balls make a good analysis team
Vera is finishing (at my mum’s) then BBC.
Beer time… just the one mind.
This is the first time I’ve felt any political optimism since June 24th 2016
I have just realised that I am shit scared of what the exit poll will predict will be Reform UK's total tally of seats.
If it's as many as 15, as one poll predicted, I will be devastated. More than that I will be comatosed
