Struggling to vote

[Major Sinic]

You were in the affluent South you really are a Snowflake Drama Queen , you have no idea how the North of the UK was hammered and devastated no work, no hope I left in 71 to find work I had no other choice, it was either that or the dole for years you have no idea how bad it was.



Don't whinge to me about no bloody pub, we lost dozens of dozens of Cotton Mills, Engineering works that supplied them, Transport Companies, Coal Mines, etc you really have no idea I lived through it, so did my family still up there and endured the slow recovery still got a long way to go.

My Oxfordshire village (sorry Churchill but the affluent South again) had two pubs thirty years ago, both gone now! Whatever the smurf might try to argue the large number of pub closures have had far more to do with alcohol and health awareness along with increasingly effective drink driving laws, and as many closed under the last Labour government as under the Coalition and this Tory one.  



My doctors surgery might not be in my village but with twenty GPs, many with specialist responsibilities along with numerous practice nurses it is massively more efficient than dear old Dr. Findley and his ilk ever was! We even have a newly built Cottage Hospital in our neighbouring market town.



As for buses we have two in and out in the day. Quite enough for a village of 300 or so, and car owning neighbours are always happy to take the elderly into town and shop for the infirm. Too many people expect government and the state to take over from community spirit and responsibility.

[papasmurf]

You were in the affluent South you really are a Snowflake Drama Queen , you have no idea how the North of the UK was hammered and devastated no work, no hope I left in 71 to find work I had no other choice, it was either that or the dole for years you have no idea how bad it was.



Don't whinge to me about no bloody pub, we lost dozens of dozens of Cotton Mills, Engineering works that supplied them, Transport Companies, Coal Mines, etc you really have no idea I lived through it, so did my family still up there and endured the slow recovery still got a long way to go.

I used to drive a Juggernaut to the North of England from 1972 until 1979 and well aware of what a disaster area it was and still is.

The rot reached where I used to live in Buckinghamshire from 1979 onwards.

[Churchill]

You were in the affluent South you really are a Snowflake Drama Queen , you have no idea how the North of the UK was hammered and devastated no work, no hope I left in 71 to find work I had no other choice, it was either that or the dole for years you have no idea how bad it was.



Don't whinge to me about no bloody pub, we lost dozens of dozens of Cotton Mills, Engineering works that supplied them, Transport Companies, Coal Mines, etc you really have no idea I lived through it, so did my family still up there and endured the slow recovery still got a long way to go.

[papasmurf]

You must have been living on a different planet to me then and still are, 69 and 70 made redundant in both years as many thousands of others right across the North of England which got even worse in the years after.

I was living in a village in Buckinghamshire in 1969, the same village now has no shops, no post office, no pubs, no doctors surgery, a close to non existent bus service and no village police.

[BeElBeeBub]

If it's any consolation to the Leavers here, I to have a crappy choice.



This time, I'm not voting *for* who I want to be my MP - which is what we are supposed to be doing.



I'm voting against someone I don't want to be PM.



Our electoral system is crap.



The only people who are satisfied with it are the leaders of the two main parties.



Everyone else be they remainer or leaver is unhappy.



Regardless of the outcome I think we can all agree a change in how our system works is well overdue.



*Note: this isn't the BXP or TIG (or whatever their name is this week)'s "let's change politics" or even Corbyn's "a kinder politics" <snorts into tea>. They are all talking about keeping the same electoral and constitutional structure.



I'm talking about a fundamental change to how we elect our politicians and a how the business of government is conducted.



I'm a firm believer that the players will always adapt their behaviour to the rules of the game (see F1 rule bending). Our current deeply unsatisfactory politicians are products of their environment -  FPTP, hybrid legislature/executive, party politics etc.



If we change the environment so behaviours we encourage result in success whilst behaviour we find distasteful is a disadvantage we may end up with the politics we want, rather than the politics we have

[Churchill]

You must have been living on a different planet to me then and still are, 69 and 70 made redundant in both years as many thousands of others right across the North of England which got even worse in the years after.

[papasmurf]

Nice selfish attitude you have I'm all right Jack pull the ladder up :roll:

It  is the Tories who are selfish, I merely listed what where I lived in 1969 was like. The rot started ten years later.

[Churchill]

Nice selfish attitude you have I'm all right Jack pull the ladder up :roll:

[papasmurf]

My thoughts as well if the comrades win turn your watch back 50 years.

Back to 1969, that would suit me, I could afford a new car back then, and go out every Saturday night for a meal out. Both my brothers had moved out and were buying  their own home. There were two shops,  a post office and two pubs in the village, and a Doctors surgery, and an excellent bus service from 06.30 hours until midnight. Plus a village policeman and a village primary school.

[Churchill]

:hattip Absolutely! I agree entirely. If twenty, thirty percent or whatever can be bothered to show that they consider no candidate is appropriate to represent them, it is a statement of the level of disconnect between our representatives and law makers and the electorate.



My own view is that the present crop of MPs, regardless of political persuasion, is of the lowest standard I have witnessed in my adult years. And like many (most?) voters in this election my vote is motivated most by keeping one party out.



That said the mediocre, uninspiring and ineffectual Tory candidate who I will be voting for would win if she was a donkey, but in general the thought of a British government elected on a platform of marxist economic policy, institutional anti-semitism, confiscation without compensation of private property, support of terrorism and a refusal to agree to take all steps to protect our nation from aggression both frightens and disgusts me.

My thoughts as well if the comrades win turn your watch back 50 years.

[Major Sinic]

I would like to see a box on voting slips of " None of the above" they only count spilt ballot papers they take little notice of them IMO, telling them I don't want to vote for any Party or individual on the ballot paper may just make some of the buggers listen to us for a change.

 :hattip Absolutely! I agree entirely. If twenty, thirty percent or whatever can be bothered to show that they consider no candidate is appropriate to represent them, it is a statement of the level of disconnect between our representatives and law makers and the electorate.



My own view is that the present crop of MPs, regardless of political persuasion, is of the lowest standard I have witnessed in my adult years. And like many (most?) voters in this election my vote is motivated most by keeping one party out.



That said the mediocre, uninspiring and ineffectual Tory candidate who I will be voting for would win if she was a donkey, but in general the thought of a British government elected on a platform of marxist economic policy, institutional anti-semitism, confiscation without compensation of private property, support of terrorism and a refusal to agree to take all steps to protect our nation from aggression both frightens and disgusts me.

[johnofgwent]

No not childish in the slightest. Principled I would suggest is a more accurate description. Spoiled papers are counted and announced. Sitting on your disinterested arse at home is not!

 :hattip

[johnofgwent]

I think every citizen with the right to vote has a duty to use that right. If you  can not bring yourself to vote for any candidate then at least have the integrity to attend the polling station and spoil the voting paper. To simply do nothing in my view renders your opinion worthless.



How any economically literate non-racist leaver can seriously consider putting Labour into government either by voting for them or by not voting or the most likely to be successful opposition depresses the hell out of me.

I agree to a point, but blair saw this as a cash cow, fining non voters. .....

[Churchill]

I would like to see a box on voting slips of " None of the above" they only count spilt ballot papers they take little notice of them IMO, telling them I don't want to vote for any Party or individual on the ballot paper may just make some of the buggers listen to us for a change.

[Major Sinic]

Surely the spoilt paper is a little childish? They know if you don't vote for any of them anyway because they know how many there are of voting age and I expect they see that there are many more of voting age than there are even those registered to vote. It depends on the proverbial, 'would you give them the time of day', as per this view equates to not even bothering to register. Then there would be another set who register but don't turn up, and another who register turn up and spoil the ballot, to those who vote for a joke party to those who vote just to keep the greater of two evils out. If I were in the politics business I would see my career as most uninspiring if the hardcore 'not even bother to register' number crept up the fastest. If you can get them to the voting station it's a similar thing to a capitalist who thinks, well at least my shop is busy.



Anyhow what would get me to the station is a politician who stood up and said we are going to heavily cut our numbers. We're going to let you decide what you want to buy with your own money and our government will just run the few things which makes economic sense to run and just focus on running them the cheapest way possible, like it were their own money they were spending. So from my point of view there is a situation vacant. Someone will hopefully step in and corner this market.

No not childish in the slightest. Principled I would suggest is a more accurate description. Spoiled papers are counted and announced. Sitting on your disinterested arse at home is not!