So those people sitting outside the Polling station...

To you and @ArabellaScott - my school was a former secondary modern turned comprehensive in a primarily unemployed former coal town. Of 193 A-level exams taken only 2 scored A grades (and neither was me).

My children’s school is a bog standard high school in a city.

“Shit school” meaning blazingly incompetent not to tell students the basics, rather meaning than a private or privileged school.

I don’t have a degree, I’m not more bright than average and the only privilege I’m assuming is an ability to read English fluently and not have a learning disability preventing understanding of things set out in the Explainer sections of the BBC (or other news outlets). Which are written to be accessible to most.

I don’t know whether that makes me one of the great unwashed or not, maybe Arabella could check.

Tellers have been part of U.K. elections as long as we’ve had them. It’s hardly arcane or a scam.

I think there should be a notice that states that the people standing outside the polling station are not part of the official voting process.

For years, I had assumed they were and on one occasion we had one of them on the doorstep, in the evening, asking whether my husband (who had chosen not to vote on that occasion) would like a lift to the polling station - which was funny as we live directly opposite the venue.

Now, when accosted by them, I no longer give them any details. I observed one of them, today, speaking quite aggressively to a member of the public who had evidently challenged them about this practice.

That makes perfect sense. I've always lived in places that have changed hands or been very close which is why I assumed that they were at every polling station in the country. You learn something new every day!!!

I’ve just read that they are allowed to ask if you have your Voter ID and I really disagree with that. They shouldn’t have been allowed that - that makes them sound somewhat official.

To be honest, they issue the polling cards - possibly mainly as an official notification that there is an election and you get a vote in it - and say that it's easier if you can take them with you; but today, I was glad that I left mine at home, and would deliberately do the same in future.

That way, there's no chance of a teller stealing a glance at it, or even asking for one and making me look like the unreasonable one for declining - or getting dirty looks or remarks from others in the queue who assume that they are official electoral stewards and I am being stupidly obstructive.

Just one way of making politics more transparent and work better for all the people, eh?

My husband is doing that for the LibDems today, and I did briefly too. Just took polling card numbers rather than names and addresses to later ascertain who hasn't yet voted..it's a fairly close run thing between long standing Tories and LibDems in our area so it is worth doing.

They should be outside. They’re allowed to go in to vote themselves or for things like assisting a disabled voter, but they’re not allowed to stand inside to ask questions.

I once reported a teller
for voter intimidation (he was a CON teller for balance - this was a previous election). He was telling people they needed their polling card to vote in the polling station and intimidating the woman who arrived at the same time I did to the point she left before going in. He had just tried the same tactic with me.
Anyway, he was quickly "reassigned" by the local party apparently due to complaints - i wasn't the only one to report him.

I was a bit taken aback by them at our polling station, because they were inside and seemed official so I wasn't aware I could choose not to give them my information. She didn't introduce herself or anything like that. Surely that's not allowed?

Yes, my school was shit. Shame on me for being one of the poor unwashed, eh?

I'm very interested in politics, but am not aware of every archane and technical detail. This particular scam isn't something I'd heard of before, but at least I'm aware of it now.

😃"are we there yet???"

Or insist on singing One Million Green Bottles before they will get out of the car

does anyone ever say yes please can we stop at tesco/the pub on the way?

Even if you personally went to the best school in the land and are super intelligent, you are still assuming a great deal of those who are not so privileged.

Politics should be for everybody, even those who are below average intelligence and/or went to rough schools.

Something like 7% of people in the UK go to ANY private/public school. What percentage of that small minority go to Eton? Yet more than one third of all of our Prime Minsters were educated there. Probably only a looney conspiracy theorist who would see anything odd or undesirable in that, though, eh?

Not to derail, but I really cannot believe the breath-taking arrogance of petitioning people in one area where you have never lived to elect you to represent them in all of their specific local concerns.

I have no knowledge of or interest in football whatsoever, but if Gareth Southgate ever resigns, I might throw my hat into the ring for the job of the new manager - I'd make a name for myself and the money is good, so stuff whatever the football fans think, eh?

@bergamotorange to be fair I’m not keen on any local activists of any party - in a moment of madness I got involved as an independent - and encountered some really nasty people. One of the LibDems did say to be fair that it was all good sport and nothing personal, but others were very unpleasant. The Conservatives were all just very old or very peculiar.

You may be right; but I personally have grave suspicions.

Again, if you are the proud local candidate for X party for Y town - or their trusted representative - and you genuinely believe that you are doing a valuable job for the local community, enabling folk to engage more easily with the democratic process and arranging lifts for those who need them... why would you NOT want to introduce yourself as such, or at least have a prominent badge with your name and party on it?

Sorry your school was shit.

I was taught this in secondary school. My children who took history (or politics) in the last few years were also taught this (I just asked). In fairness other one wasn’t. Perhaps as the school was a polling station they felt it useful to spell out who did what role and why.

The BBC always runs stories on their front page of news on election day explaining who Tellers are, what they do and why. Again, anyone even vaguely interested could find out.

Tellers generally wear a rosette.

Anyway, no one outside a polling station should ever be assumed to be neutral. The neutrality is enforced within the polling station and ballot box. Outside is fair game.

If, as a citizen of this country who has reached the voting age, you aren’t interested enough to know how your political system works then yes, it is ignorance.

Screenshot of BBC News article for first time voters explaining Tellers:

Indeed it does - however, in our case, it's the Tory from the other side of the county and the Labour person from London.

One other minor party candidate is also from London and the rest are from our town/area. Only four out of seven candidates wanting to represent our area actually live in our area.

None of the major parties are above doing this, it seems.

I think it is more a case of them not understanding that many people don't know about tellers.

People are less informed about politics now - it used to just be the norm.

Many tellers are pretty advanced in age as the younger activists are door-knocking - it probably doesn't occur to them that people don't know!

That doesn't seem a big slander to me. All the parties make a thing of why their opponents are not local.

I take it you are not keen on the Lib Dems

@bergamotorange - well, one thing was stating other candidates were not local. Once it’s on their leaflets it’s out there, even if there’s a retraction later. Doing this once might be a mistake, but twice?

The care home thing - it was actually reported by another home. I don’t know if anything came of it.

I've no issue at all with political activism. But anybody who is confident and proud of what they are doing in that sphere will make no secret of who they are - and will not have their colleagues loiter outside polling stations with the obvious intent of making the uninitiated assume that they are neutral electoral stewards.

Technically, you may be right that they are not expecting people to show them their polling cards; but neither do they usually ask, in a way that makes it very clear that it's an optional request from somebody with nothing whatsoever to do with the electoral process.

I live in NE Wales.
Our Labour MP lives in our town.
Lib Dem candidate lives in another town but still NE Wales.
Plaid Cymru candidate has the most stereotypical Welsh name and address physically possible.
Meanwhile the Tory Candidate lives in London. Says it all.

There weren’t any at my polling station today when I went. However there was one at the station I went to be a proxy for a family member. Normally I don’t mind sharing if they ask but I found this one quite rude when I hesitated. Also petty on my behalf but I didn’t like the way I was asked- it didn’t feel like she was giving me the option. Plus as it was as a proxy vote I felt it wasn’t my data to share.