The upcoming elections

[PanzerKnight]

erm....i see all this stuff bout the upcoming elections but have no clue for whats its for! is it the general or local elections?!!

[Elmo]

no, they're the european elections. And for the record, i'm not voting. It's a big pile of piss and i'm not in glasgow on thursday anyhoos

[Flibb]

Depending on where you live can be European, or Euro and local. My wifes working in a polling station and has been told they can demand the police arrest people, musnt let the power go to her head.

[Big RICHARD]

European elections and some local elections...

[Big RICHARD]

Is it not all postal elections, or is that only in certain areas?

[Elmo]

only certain areas, we've got a polling station down the road. Voted last year, didnt make a blind bit of difference to the outcome. Got our polling cards in the other day, but i'm not here so bleh!

[GreenPiggy]

Got the nice labour man round our house the other day. Told him I was voting for him as always. Go Tony!
He went away happy and I didn't have to listen to his crap for half an hour.
Can't wait for the Tory chap to come over

<--Whats this reputation blob that has just appeared?

[PanzerKnight]

ooo european
cant be bothered to trek to a polling station for that tbh
need internet voting

[TeePee]

Wait, you expected your vote to make a difference? This is politics you realise!

I shall also be suffering from severe voter apathy.

[chriscom]

I'll be out voting come thursday, but then the green party need every vote they can get.

[Rythmic]

Got Euro and Local round here - I'll probably pop along, cause it's on my way to work.

Am waiting for the politicians - had about 50 mailings through, but no smiling goons yet.

[faisal_uk]

They were on about this on the radio and this is my opinion:

- don't know who the f these people are
- i don't really care about europe
- they dont even tell you what they are doing in your area / or say what the stand for
- and now are we not even getting the chance to vote? - we still have no had our voting cards through (in leeds)
- also these MEP's get to ponce around europe, get all their expenses paid for + plus (yes plus) a nice little salary of £55,000

whole thing is just stupid

[iMc]

I would vote if it was clear who and what I was voting for. So I dont think im going to.

[Rave]

They were on about this on the radio and this is my opinion:

- don't know who the f these people are

It's easy enough to find out mate.

- i don't really care about europe

Up to you I suppose, but sooner or later you're going to have no choice but to care because it'll be playing a bigger and bigger role in the running of this country.

- they dont even tell you what they are doing in your area / or say what the stand for

No? Pretty much every candidate local to me has put at least one flyer through my door outlining their policies. In any case, if you can use the internet, I'm pretty sure that every serious candidate will have a website of some sort.

- and now are we not even getting the chance to vote? - we still have no had our voting cards through (in leeds)

I only got mine a few days ago. Phone the council and see what's going on. You don't actually need a polling card to vote, you just need to know where your polling station is.

- also these MEP's get to ponce around europe, get all their expenses paid for + plus (yes plus) a nice little salary of £55,000

whole thing is just stupid

Well, if you don't like the idea of Europe, then there are a couple of Anti-European parties standing in the election; the UK Independence Party is probably the least loony of them. I personally do agree with the idea of Europe (although I agree with you that the system is very flawed and open to abuse) but even though I disagree with you I would rather you voted for an anti-Europe candidate than do nothing and then complain about how you're being ignored.

I sometimes wonder if I should bother to vote in General elections- I live in a safe Labour seat and there's very little chance of an upset here. The European elections use a regional Proportional Representation system though so your votes stand a much higher chance of making a difference. The local council elections are also important; local councils spend an enormous amount of money locally and make a big difference to the way you live. Since people generally don't pay attention to local politics a lot of undesirables get elected by default and a lot of councils don't get run in the interests of the local population.

Come on folks, people fought and died to make sure you still have the right to vote, it may not be a perfect system but it's a damn sight better than living under a dictatorship.

Rich :¬)

[iMc]

Come on folks, people fought and died to make sure you still have the right to vote, it may not be a perfect system but it's a damn sight better than living under a dictatorship.

Rich :¬)

Thats very true.

I just cant decide who to vote for

[faisal_uk]

rich: i think i agree with nearly everything you said - i was just having a bit of a rant.
but i don't think its right that we have to search for what mp's are doing or proposing, we have had stuff through in the past - but last couple of years - nothing! well about 1 leaflet this year and no one has been round, i think they can't be bothered because it's mainly a black/asian area and hardly anyone goes to vote.

I think the other problem is with most black/asian people not showing an interest and no one i know actually votes and this is how people like the BNP get in - because of ignorance. I am just glad they are not in my area - i think the nearest is wakefield or halifax?

But still don't know who to vote for - or if will go