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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to be completely horrified at my neighbour's nonchalance?

96 replies

ILoveDrKarl · 05/05/2011 13:25

So I'm heading down the street this morning and bump into one of my neighbours...

She asks if I'm off to the park with the kids. I reply that I'm actually just heading out to vote.

AIBU to be completely horrified that her response was "oh right! Bit of a pain with all the kids isn't it? (I had my 3 pre-schoolers with me) It'd be easier not to bother!"

I replied that it was no different to going to the shops or doing the school run or nipping down to the post office - and obviously much more important!

She then said "Do you think? Well I'll not be bothering anyway - kids are off school today so we'll enjoy it rather than doing pointless errands" Shock

I was in such shock I just smiled and walked on, but now I'm thinking I should go round and speak to her about why it's so much more than a "pointless errand"!!!!

OP posts:
MarionCole · 05/05/2011 13:27

Voter apathy is a massive problem. It's really hard to see how we can engage the public again. I bet turnout is extremely low today.

UpJacobsCreek · 05/05/2011 13:27

Did you polish your halo when you got home ?

thaigreencurry · 05/05/2011 13:28

People feel disconnected from politics and still don't trust politicians so although I will be voting in the local elections I can't say I blame her really.

Ragwort · 05/05/2011 13:30

I remember being horrified to learn that more people vote for Big Brother than at elections. I don't understand people who continually complain about local/national issues yet can't even be bothered to vote.

Hmm
yoshiLunk · 05/05/2011 13:31

I'd leave it, you will not persuade her otherwise, waste of time.

TobyLerone · 05/05/2011 13:32

Ugh. Stop being so smug.

Some people don't vote. There are various reasons for this. And until/unless it is made compulsory, it's really none of your business.

LaWeasel · 05/05/2011 13:32

Do you live in a safe seat? If so I understand her attitude! It really is bloody pointless...

I do normally vote, no matter how much it irks me. (This is the 3rd tory safe seat I have moved to, why, locals, why?!)

Yellowstone · 05/05/2011 13:32

If she's not a political animal and has no strong views either way then surely it's better that she doesn't vote - that's the truest reflection of her view.

EvenLessNarkyPuffin · 05/05/2011 13:33

I'm always torn about this. Part of me wants to try and convince them of the importance of exercising their right to vote. The other part thinks that if they're such fuckwits that they can't see that it matters, it's much better that they aren't voting.

Yellowstone · 05/05/2011 13:33

LaWeasel I think the AV vote is one man one vote.

DiscoDaisy · 05/05/2011 13:37

For the first time ever I'm really torn about voting or not. Where I live we have a choice of 2 political parties neither of whom I want to vote for. So do I go and vote for people I don't want to vote for , do I go and spoil my paper or do I just not bother for the first time since I have been old enough to vote (which has been some years)?

EvenLessNarkyPuffin · 05/05/2011 13:37

LaWeasel, if you live in a safe seat AV is more important. Even in a safe seat the top candidate won't have 50% of the vote. So under the system of AV being proposed, the lowest polling candidate would be eliminated and the votes redistributed to the other candidates. This would be repeated until a candidate hits 50% of the vote. If we had AV seats would be a lot less safe.

LaWeasel · 05/05/2011 13:38

I know Narky - I would really like AV to go through. I think it would really help the absolute shittiness of being in safe seats.

Unfortunately we can't vote as we didn't realise we'd been missed off the register when we moved house, and old place is too far to go back to vote today.

SandStorm · 05/05/2011 13:44

I know people who aren't voting this time because they simply don't understand the AV issue and don't have local elections at the same time.

dickiedavisthunderthighs · 05/05/2011 13:44

YABU

EvenLessNarkyPuffin · 05/05/2011 13:44

I think that today is the first time that I would have joined in with an orchestrated campaign to spoil ballots to express my general disgust at this coalition. Unfortunately, despite all the social media sites that would have maid this easy to organise, nothing has happened, so it would pass unnoticed.

The system of AV being proposed isn't the one the Lib Dems actually want. It's just the crumbs from the Tory table. So they have sold out all the people who voted for them, for a referendum on a system they don't actually want, which is on course to be voted against by a vast margin. But at least they got to sit on the big boy seats.

EvenLessNarkyPuffin · 05/05/2011 13:45

Blush random waiting staff in there

EvenLessNarkyPuffin · 05/05/2011 13:46

Sad LaWeasel

LaWeasel · 05/05/2011 13:47

I would hope that if AV was passed (yeah right) then at the very minimum the other candidates would BOTHER to campaign.

Because that is the worst things about safe seats imo. They know they won't win, so they don't even try, wtf is the point of that. You really want it or you don't.

squeakytoy · 05/05/2011 13:47

horrified and in shock over this??? Hmm

Pagwatch · 05/05/2011 13:49

Horrified?

Really?

Fucking Nora, you don't get out much.

gawdblimey · 05/05/2011 13:53

its not compulsory

maybe she is registering her protest about the calibre of politicians by not bothering to vote

kerala · 05/05/2011 14:04

I think voting should be compulsory actually. The Australians I used to work with were in a panic when their elections came up as they had to prove they were in the UK and therefore not able to vote/had to arrange a postal vote or they would get a fine I think it was. Quite right we should definitely do that here.

DiscoDaisy · 05/05/2011 14:05

Keral - what do they do if there's nobody that they want to vote for?

DiscoDaisy · 05/05/2011 14:06

Sorry Kerala Blush