MEP Elections

[spacein_vader]

And they pretty much even only matter that much if you're in a marginal seat. Quite a proportion have such a natural built-in party majority that short of something utterly outrageous, like .... erm, moats or duckhouses, .... once you've got your chuff into the seat, you pretty much have to retire or die to get you out of it.

I spent some years where the extent of the influence of my vote was whether the blue-rosette incumbent, whatever his/her name, was elected with a 25000 majority, or a 24,999 majority.

Agree with all of the above.

Local councils control schools, most roads, a lot of health and social care services, libraries, bin collections, planning applications and many other parts of everyday life and yet very few bother to vote for them.

My local MP is Peter Bone. If I organised 500 residents in my area to all vote against him if he did something we didn't like it'd barely register in his majority. If I did the same to a local Councillor there's a very good chance they'd lose their seat.

They control far more of our day to day and we potentially have far greater influence over them and yet electorally we tend to ignore them. Weird.

[TooNice]

The lack of interest could be because U.K. citizens don’t particularly feel European, and the workings of a “foreign” bureaucracy is irrelevant, or that the perception is that European Parliament is a toothless body and isn’t worth spending time and effort voting for. I don’t know who my MEP is, and I can’t think of any issue that I would take to him or her - but I’m far more likely to engage with my MP.

It could also be because people are more likely to act if there is something they don't like, and if they think that everything is fine as it is, then a larger proportion will grow complacent.

A bit like online reviews, those unhappy are more likely to want their voice heard.

That is why I still wonder if, despite all the campaigning etc. the remain camp wasn't caught off guard at the referendum. The leave camp was likely more passionate for their cause, and likely to vote and remain camp underestimated the risk of the result going the way it did.

That is not to say that the leave camp doesn't command huge numbers.. and for all I know.. and I would very much like to know, may still command a majority today. But in the past few years I think that remainers have become more passionate about remaining in the same way that brexiters were already about exiting so there would be no excuse for another remain loss.

Though that is why I find it split between remain leaning parties frustrating. Instead of capitalising on the split between Brexit and UKIP (with the former doing far better in the polls), the LD, Green and and ChangeUK are all doing their own thing without any single party nearly as successful as Brexit Party in the polls. Tactically idiotic. And if May is seen as a remainer PM in a largely Brexit party, Corbyn is basically a Brexit leader in a largely pro-remain (or 2nd Ref) party. Ironic, and it means can't count on Labour to be real opposition to the Brexit party either.