..to abstain from voting in the next election?

[lessonsintightropes]

I know that women died and were imprisoned to gain us the vote. However...

Can't vote Tory due to the out of touch nature of their politicians (cf Gove and teachers, and withdrawal of HB for under 25s - I work for a homelessness charity and this really is a lifeline for kids leaving care or abusive families and is often very shortlived, or for single parents - would the Tories let those children starve? Doubt it)

Can't vote Labour as there are still politicians on the opposition front bench who voted for the illegal and bloody war in Iraq which cost 100s of 1000s of lives

Can't vote Lib Dem as they are opportunistic shysters who turned their back on promises made (cf tuition fees).

Options???

Whatever - no vote from you means one more counted vote from me !

Spoil your ballot, you attended, but registered that you didn't want to vote for any party by spoiling. You will thereby count towards the percentage who did not vote for the winning party.

Yabu but I do understand your reasoning. Voting is a luxury which is not enjoyed by a lot of other countries.

You sound like a smart sorted person, maybe you should become a politician.

I have the same problem for pretty much the same reasons. I'll vote green I think but have lost a lot of naïveté faith in our political system seeing this coalition doing their best to dismantle the NHS and the welfare state. I might have to vote labour just to try and make a stand against that

or see what your independents are offering.

Lessons, even if you go along to the ballot box and spoil your paper you will have done a lot more than people who sit and moan but do nothing.

If none of the parties sit well with your philosophies in life, best not to vote but at least turn up. Otherwise, it may need to be a compromise, because no party can tick all the right boxes IMO.

I am thinking of voting UKIP but will probably regret it! I couldnt vote for any government that is prepared to squander £52 Bn of our money on a High Speed bloody train set. UKIP are the only party to outright commit to cancelling it. I am prepared to vote tactically just for that!

I live in a very safe Labour seat in London and to be fair, our MP is a great local MP. When she was part of the government she voted along party lines, but engages well with local community groups and causes, so I'm not sure a vote against her would do any good. Spoiling my ballot paper sounds like the best plan!

It's about the lesser evil though, surely? You can vote to get the vicious Tories out, while still lobbying the Labour MP to oppose warmongering.

YANBU
I'm a very disillusioned, liberal conservative.
Gove is an idiot and Ofsted are self serving bastards.

The benefit cuts, bedroom tax and CB changes have been done with no thought as to fairness or workability.

The way they announce policies without engaging brains is just scary.

As a poster upthread said, it is about the lesser

eeeeeeeevvvviiiilllll......

Sorry, thought I would make that a dramatic EvIl as I posted to early.

Fine to choose not to vote, however, if you want to register your feelings about lack of choice, go to the polling station and spoil your paper. Otherwise you just looked apathetic and as if you don't care.

at Lumpy

StarBallBunny I know... very heartening to see people across the political spectrum with the same concerns about recent policy announcements. A teacher friend of mine said she heard on BBC News about the changes in retake policies. To quote (when I asked her why this was a bad thing, as I sort of thought he had a point):

"Consider the disengaged child who, if given one chance will possibly fail. With the opportunity to re-enter, we may get that child a pass grade, or even a grade C, depending upon their ability. If taking and retaking doesn't lead to as good results, consider my school: for the second year running we have 100% of students obtaining a grade and 73% achieving a grade C or above last summer, with value added that put us in the top 2 percent of schools in the country. All that for an inner city school, in an area with high levels of poverty. Not bad but Gove would have us and similar schools gone..."

She teaches in the north east.

Well, I do personally think YABU, as it is the major was of registering a voice in how we are governed but, as we live in a democracy, however flawed, you have the freedom to make that choice. Sounds like you are thinking about the issues, anyway, which is what voting should entail ..... [Grin]

I agree with BOF.

As those great political satirists at Spitting Image once said - "No matter who you vote for, the government always get in."

I shall vote. Safe Tory seat here unfortunately though so suspect my X will make not a jot of difference.

FlapJackOLantern
Whatever - no vote from you means one more counted vote from me !

^^

This is why you should vote. I hate the Tories but I'll take Scameron and Gideot any day over Farage and his merry gang of mysoginist racists.

Sorry FlapJack, I wasn't implying that you vote UKIP, your post just illustrated a point.

I'm voting Green - I agree with a lot of their policies - some I don't but I can't vote for Labour - I think Greens are more ethical and the issue of global warming and climate change have to be dealt with.

It will be a 'wasted' vote to some but it's registering my voice and my opinion is heard.

Please vote - we don't know how lucky we are in this country to have the right to vote - imagine having no choice?