To urge all Londoners to vote tomorrow to keep out the BNP

[DilysPrice]

Obviously if you are already completely au fait with the operation of your 3 ballot papers then I am being U, and a bit patronising, in which case, sorry, move along, nothing of interest to see here.

But my impression is that the vote for GLA members has been comprehensively overshadowed by the mayoral vote, so many people may have forgotten its details.

Paper 1 (pink) is your mayoral vote - only point to remind you of is that you can safely vote for whoever you fancy with preference 1, safe in the knowledge that you have your second preference to use as your "Keep Out Boris/Ken" fallback.

Paper 2 (yellow) is your vote for your local GLA member, standard first past the post voting system.

Paper 3 (orange) is the interesting one. You vote for a party, not an individual (except for the "independent" candidates), and the proportion of votes cast on this ballot governs the allocation of "top up" seats from the party list into the GLA. Hence, a party that has a steady level of 10% support in every area, but not enough in any one area to win a local seat on FPTP will get recognition via this ballot and end up with 10% of the seats. (it's complex in practice, but that's the gist, see www.londonelects.org.uk for full details)
There is a threshold of 5% below which you will not be allocated any seats. Therefore, if you do not want to see the BNP represented on the GLA, it is in your interests to go out tomorrow and use your third ballot for any other party you can stomach. We want to dilute the BNP vote to less than 5%.

The National Front are also on the ballot, but their chances of polling more than 5% are negligible. There is also a reasonably professional party rejoicing in the charming name of "Christian People's Alliance - Supporting Traditional Marriage", I don't know if they have any chance of making the 5% target though.

At the last election one BNP candidate did get a seat by the top-up method - fringe politics being what it is, he is now an independent.

So in summary: do whatever you fancy, but if you do not want the BNP represented on the GLA I would recommend you find another party you prefer and use your third ballot tomorrow.

Last year whilst coming out of the polling station there was an Asian couple walking slightly ahead of me. Two white youths were approaching who looked a rough as f**k I might add and shouted 'Pakis Out' at the poor couple. They got into a car and drove away however I was left walking along the street with the two nutters who proceeded to ask who I'd voted for and asked if I'd voted for the BNP. I was cringing in case people passing by thought I was actually with them

Bump for anyone who's debating whether to get out there and vote.

There's also the Greens and the Trade Union and Socialist Coalition, none of whom belong in City Hall. So make sure you vote to keep out these extremist nutters too.

Can't work out if hamster is being serious or not

If people want to vote bnp then that's their problem but I have exercised my right to vote based on my political beliefs. Everyone else should do the same regardless of whether it's to keep the bnp out. I say this because people take the flip approach of not voting because there's no point which I think is silly.

Semi-serious. Just lumping all the 'fringe' parties in together.

None of the fringe Socialist parties have a hope in hell of getting 5% and the Greens are pretty sure to get more than the threshold, so actually even the best campaign to get the floating vote out would make no difference to them.
If Respect (or any of their splinter groups) were standing then that would be different but AFAIK they're not represented on the orange ballot.