Local Elections 06

[c0da]

So, a question for you Brits. Who did you vote in this years local council elections?

What were your motivations? Protest vote? Always voted for them?

:tuna:

 

[Mr. Hair]

There wan't any council elections 'round these parts, but if there had been I'd have voted Tory. I tend to agree with their local policies, and it's not like local elections have any real meaning on the national scale. I don't feel under much pressure to live up to my liberal ideals...

 

[Yerda]

There are no council elections here, but I've spent time trying to convince people I know not to vote BNP.

 

[Ernesto]

There are no council elections here, but I've spent time trying to convince people I know not to vote BNP.

Good for you, the BNP don't deserve to be running anywhere, at all, ever. It shocks me how racism can be tolerated even to that extent in what is supossed to be a multi-cultural nation.

 

[Fluffy]

This was the first time I was eligible to vote so I I gave my support to the Green Party. People tell me that a vote for anything other than Labour will let the Conservatives in but if that mentality continues, nothing other than Labour and Conservatives will ever get in and this isn't acceptable.

 

[c0da]

It is worrying that people are overlooking the BNPs racist views for the sake of promises of tougher police and tougher immigration policies.

Where I live, Labour have almost always got in so the minority of Conservative supporters in the area usually don't bother voting. I'm still only 16 so I can't vote till next time around, but I'll probably pick the Conservatives, and even though on a local scale Labour have done an alright for my area, I don't want to give any support to them higher up.

 

[Mike182]

weren't any round my way either, Nordic.

if there had been, i don't know who i would have voted for, as i have not seen any policy information for any of the parties..... but safe to say i would have voted!

i guess i would have voted for who ever was gonna help me the most as a student, but that's only because im thinking of myself :bounce

i would also concider voting for the BNP, i just seem to agree with them on all accounts :biglaugh:

 

[Mr. Hair]

if there had been, i don't know who i would have voted for, as i have not seen any policy information for any of the parties.....

One of the reasons for this is that local councils have extraordinarily little power to actually do anything. We have one of the most centralised governments in the West, and it's very difficult for any political party to honestly have any local policies. In my experience, most people either tend to vote according to national issues (Rendering the whole point of council elections pointless) or choose minor, single-issue parties.

The only reason I would have voted Tory this time around is because they were the only mainstream party to actually say anything concrete about what they'd do locally.

 

[michel]

We didn't have any in Dorset. To be quite frank, my own personal view of local elections is that they are a total waste of time.

In this area, the councillors are deeply entrenched, and for good, or bad, we are stuck with them. I am not even sure that it makes any real difference for which party they stand.

The elections will be used to rub Tony Blair's nose in the dirt for having such an unruly party...........such is the absurdity of these local elections.

 

[Nehustan]

I have always voted Liberal since I began voting, on account of being touched by the writing of John Stuart Mill. However today I did not vote as a result of the disgraceful behaviour of the Liberal Democrats toward Charles Kennedy. They spoke about viable leaders...what a joke...the whole point about Liberal politics is that it is consensus, ask for charismatic leaders...and you're heading down a road that leads to trouble in my opinion. I liked the fact that I used to watch the party convention see people I thought looked like complete geeks, with not enough charisma to bring ten people to a cheer, and yet solely on the grounds of what they said, its integrity, honesty, and truth, they often made me want to do that...let out a little cheer. So the fact they turned on a leader who I believe helped to party, while not being an oil painting, and having problems like we all do, his being the bottle. So they turned on him like Brutus et al. upon caeser...well they have lost my loyalty for the forseeable future.

 

[Unedited]

I can't vote. :sad4: I found out a while ago, because of the way my citizenship is set up, I can't vote anywhere.

 

[c0da]

I can't vote. :sad4: I found out a while ago, because of the way my citizenship is set up, I can't vote anywhere.

Ouch! How come you can't vote?

 

[Unedited]

Ouch! How come you can't vote?

No clue. It was explained to me, but it didn't make much sense. It has something to do with me having dual citzenship, and the fact that I'm apparently not supposed to have dual citzenship.

 

[Mr. Hair]

Since no one else has posted the results, I'll do the honours...

Party --- Councillors --- Councils
Con - 1568 (+250) - 67 (+12)
Lab - 1063 (-254) - 24 (-18)
Lib D - 782 (+19) - 13 (+1)
Other - 166 (-14) - 0 (0)
NOC* - N/A - 59 (+5)
After 163 of 176 councils declared.
*NOC = No overal control

@Unedited: That seems really strange to me. Have you actually applied for dual citzenship, and who did you see about this? (If you don't mind answering of course )

EDIT* I'm kinda assuming you're still in the UK... (Though I can't see why anyone would leave )

 

[James the Persian]

I didn't vote. I've always voted Liberal Democrat but I simply couldn't see the point of voting for anyone because, a.) I can't bring myself to vote for Labour and b.) a donkey would win in Barnsley if it wore a red rosette. Local elections never really change anything anyway. Now, if we could get a sensible PR system in place I'd vote at every opportunity as my vote would actually count for something. This stupid first past the post system we have simply renders my vote futile.

James

 

[Yerda]

a donkey would win in Barnsley if it wore a red rosette.

A donkey with a red rosette did win in my constituency. We've been through so many Labour MPs and councillers that you'd think people would click on...

This stupid first past the post system we have simply renders my vote futile.

Our next locals are under the a PR system, I imagine it's the same down your way.

 

[greatcalgarian]

The vote appeared to have an influence on Tony Blair, and look at the re-shuffling of his cabinet
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/4975938.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/4976414.stm
I was so happy that Jack Shaw finally was talking some sense, not blindly tailing Bush, and now he is gone......

Jack Straw is demoted from the Foreign Office brief to the House of Commons, following in the path of his predecessor the late Robin Cook.