Strategic voting, democracy and change

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MontyVeda

a short-tempered ill-controlled small-minded troll
Not sure who to vote for this time round... all i know is i won't be voting UKIP and am very much tempted to vote against them, which i think they call strategic or tactical voting. but being a bit dim, where would a vote against UKIP best be cast?

I have a general distrust of politicians and often abstain from voting, but that's not going to change anything. How can democracy bring about change when all we can do is vote for politicians?
 

classic33

Leg End Member
A "None Of The Above" option!
 

classic33

Leg End Member
When i have abstained, i've done so because it feels like the 'none of the above' option. I know people who routinely spoil their voting slip... but that just makes sure the politicians that someone else voted for gets in, a bit like abstaining.
If they were to count the "None Of The Above" as votes, there'd be a wakeup call for the rest.
 

albion

Guru
Location
South Tyneside
Russell Brand's problem is that being rich he is too 'comfortably' detached from any possible reality of not voting.
The worst that can happen to him is that he becomes a bit more like everyone else when his vote is not made to count.

So yes, I'd say spoil your paper if you are voting no one, at least that shows you are taking part.
 

Gravity Aided

Legendary Member
Location
Land of Lincoln
http://www.worldaffairsjournal.org/article/strange-bedfellows-putin-and-europe’s-far-right
It might be good to get involved. Democracy as we know it seems to represent those who participate. Otherwise, it is open to those who do participate, who may be only a few, who see their needs represented inordinately. An apathetic democracy is replaced by something else, eventually.
 
OP
OP
MontyVeda

MontyVeda

a short-tempered ill-controlled small-minded troll
Russell Brand's problem is that being rich he is too 'comfortably' detached from any possible reality of not voting.
The worst that can happen to him is that he becomes a bit more like everyone else when his vote is not made to count.

So yes, I'd say spoil your paper if you are voting no one, at least that shows you are taking part.
wasn't Russell Brand's point more... if you're only going to vote for the sake of it, don't bother. If you're going to vote, make sure you've considered who you're voting for.

Spoiling a ballot paper seems like such a waste to me. I want to vote and i want it to count. I know who I'm not voting for, but am trying to decide who to vote for.
 
Try to get a party that is in favour of voting reform to be part of a coalition government and then get the government to hold a referendum on voting reform.

..oh hang on ... done that... and most people voted to keep the same crap system and then sit there moaning about it.
 

gbb

Legendary Member
Location
Peterborough
Trouble is Monty, you might seriously agree with one party or another on ONE thing or another in particular, but find yourself unable to accept a lot of the other stuff that that party backs..i know I do all the time.

What REALLY gets my goat is cheap political promises when an election is looming, they're all doing it and seriously expect voters to be swayed by piffling promises that are just window dressing in the scheme of things.

I gotta say, when the Lib Dems got in, I had high hopes that something might really change, away from the big two...bit naïve eh :tongue:.
Personally I like the idea of a coalition, keep them in check a bit so's to speak, all this lurching from one ideology to another every 4 to 8 years is bad for the country. All the major institutions (education, NHS. armed services etc) suffer because everything the previous government put in place gets torn up and they start have to all over again..no wonder we still have kids leaving school unable to read etc etc. Christ, they've been on about it for my 40 years as an adult, you'd think we could have got just that right wouldn't you ?
 

shouldbeinbed

Rollin' along
Location
Manchester way
What would the outcome if 'none of the above' gets the majority? A second place win?
The unacceptable and hideous prospect for politicians that they may have to interact with the great unwashed outside of the parliamentary bubble and adequately represent our views to obtain our vote.

Which is why there is more chance of me being a UKIP prime minister than there ever being a None of the Above option on a ballot paper.
 
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