Not that I think there's a lot wrong with sitting at home – you've contributed just about as much to the electoral process as a voter in Sheffield Brightside & Hillsborough has.

How do you figure that out aracer ?

A voter in Sheffield Brightside & Hillsborough has contributed one vote to the electoral process.

Someone who just sits at home, has contributed nothing at all to the electoral process.

Where's your logic ?

Neither. I think they're counted and included in the turnout, so you can quite clearly see how many are interested enough to vote but can't find anybody to vote f

I've got quite a bit of respect for your views but I think you've got this one wrong. I bet most politicians don't even see how many slips are thrown away and simply don't consider anything that is spoiled. They don't see it as a political statement, just as someone how can't handle a pen. Even if 99% of people screwed up their vote, the politicians would still regard that as an obvious sign that the public were so thick they needed even more help from our elite polticial masters.

agreed

if 99% of people screwed up their vote, the politicians would still regard that as an obvious sign that the public were so thick

and they'd be right.

they needed even more help

Yes they might try and educate people a little more as to the importance of politics and the impact that it can have on their lives. This would have the added benefit of people voting for policies not personalities and stop all the idiots on lower incomes who do turn out and vote blue.

I think you've got this one wrong. I bet most politicians don't even see how many slips are thrown away and simply don't consider anything that is spoiled.

Not true. Every single spoilt ballot paper is counted.

There were 85,038 spoilt ballot papers at the last general election, which represented 0.31% of the total vote.

Although you're right that politicians are generally hugely unbothered about spoilt ballot papers …..hardly surprising really is it ? 🙄

Sounds like we're pretty much in agreement then. Trouble is, if you vote, it won't make any difference. In fact the longer people vote, the longer politicians will think they're doing it right, which they're clearly not because almost half the people in Britain (what? 30 million?), don't think it's worth backing up.

In my job, if 40% of the people I did work for thought what I did wasn't even worth getting out of bed for, I'd get sacked.

Although you're right that politicians are generally hugely unbothered about spoilt ballot papers …..hardly surprising really is it ? p

Not really, 85,000 is nothing is it? Although now you've pointed that out, I guess if 40 million deliberately spoiled their papers then that might be considered. And that's a fair point.

+1 to ernie.

So, if there was a RON box (ReOpen Nominations), and RON won, just what do you suppose would happen? If 100% of us had to vote (like in Oz), and RON won more seats, just who would do the governing.

Whilst there is a lot of lying, boasting, embezzling, and generally being crap that goes on in parliament, at least having 650MPs discussing stuff is better than having 350MPs spending all their time trying to work out who to suggest to the electorate instead of RON

I'm more concerned that people are voting, and encouraging others to feel honour bound to vote, for the best of a bad lot. If political parties are doing it all wrong to the extent where almost half the electorate feel it's not worth the effort, then some dramatic change is clearly needed. But that's not happening and if people are forced to vote then you can be damn sure it'll never change. I guess it'll never change anyway, looks like the Torys have won this time so they'll be too happy to care and Labour/Lib Dem will carry on blaming the apathetic voters who they percieve to exist rather than questioning *why* people would rather watch telly than choose who should run their country.

questioning *why* people would rather watch telly than choose who should run their country.

Because a majority of the population has its concepts of priority so severely warped that the small matter of who runs the place doesn't matter to them. I think that's actually quite a simple answer. How to change their perception is quite another question.

*why*

Because no matter what you individually feel their are a lot of people who are actually too ignorant, lazy and stooopid to vote. The paper thin excuse not to vote that 'they're all the same, the lying ****' is almost exclusively used by people who try not to think as it causes their brain to hurt, but you are the exception to this rule. Personally I'd rather pop down the polling station and wipe my arse with the ballot than be grouped with that sector of society.

I'd be interested to know the split of voters / abstainers (or not bothered) by educational attainment. I think you'd find that the more educated someone is the more likely they are to vote.

A voter in Sheffield Brightside & Hillsborough has contributed one vote to the electoral process.

Yes, but how much influence does that vote have on the overall result of the election? I'd imagine the politicians pay just about as much attention to a vote there as they do to a spoiled ballot.

Anyway, back to the original point, what we talk about now is the next election 🙄