To not vote in the election

[Instituteofstudies]

I can't bring myself to vote for Cameron, Clegg or Milliband. I don't trust any of them to do what they say they will do, or trust them to sort out the NHS, education, the economy. UKIP are dangerous, the Green Party not up to the job either.

I was brought up to always vote because women have fought so that I can. And I do believe that. But if I genuinely can't decide between all the hopeless bunch available, then what to do?

I am (rushed off my feet that is!) and I won't be doing a postal vote as I am guessing organising that would take time again - that I don't have. I am happy to do things when I can see a point to them. As said above, I'm happy to listen to others' thoughts on why I should vote but I don't tend to do what people tell me because they ordered me to and pulled stupid faces.

YANBU, as long as you don't complain about a single fucking thing for the next five years.

In reality, the differences between th parties, however slight you consider them, do make a difference to people whose survival is on the edge. Even if you are all right, vote for the people least likely to screw over the marginalised.

Women died so that we were allowed to vote, not to be forced to or be guilted into

If you don't want to vote, then that's fine, but I would urge you to reconsiderr. Even if you can't bring yourself to vote for any single party, spoiling your ballot paper sends a much stronger message.

No-one can make you vote - although I think it should be made compulsory but that is whole different discussion. Just remember that people with some of the most extreme views (think BNP, UKIP etc) WILL vote. If people with reasonable views don't vote, it leaves the door open for extremist parties to get a foothold and no-one wants that!

Mytartanscarf - I applied for a postal vote this year and it took me about five minutes.
OP - I think you should research the parties' policies and, nearer the time, the candidates standing in your area, and vote for the one with which you are most aligned. MPs can also affect local issues; for example although I didn't vote for him, our local MP is a good constituency MP and has been very supportive of our local struggling hospital.

Mytartanscarf, doing 3 jobs sounds stressful, though would still allow 5 minutes free here and there, I mean you're on MN.

I'd imagine that only people with a charmed existence would have nothing that they cared about enough to use their vote for.

In some ways, I'd rather people who didn't have the time or a strong inclination to vote didn't vote, because those are the people who auto-vote the same party every year and are half the reason we end up with the same old faces every election.

Adam Hills speaks the truth bette06 I'd vote for him if he was standing! I don't know who to vote for either OP but I do think it's important to vote, I dislike aspects of all their policy manifestos but some more than others.

On a Sunday afternoon, after being at work from 6:30 until 14:30; I think I've earned that!

The point is, in all honesty, during the week it would be extremely difficult for me to vote and while I would do so - I don't feel comfortable or confident doing it.

All the three main parties have policies I strongly disagree with and policies I strongly agree with. I don't want to vote 'for' any of them as that would mean buying into something I'm against even if I am in agreement with some of their other policies. I hope that makes sense.

Furthermore I don't feel educated about politics. I know someone will scoff 'learn' - see above, I have three jobs!

I like my local MP, very much, but he has a safe seat.

Have you read the manifestos?

You're not voting for individuals - we don't live in America - you're voting for parties.

I have read the manifestos Iggly. I know for sure whose I'm not voting for ie UKIPS but somehow the manifestos seem to be 'nice ideas' rather than 'stuff we are actually going to do/be able to do.' - so I've no faith in any of the parties to follow through.

If I wanted to vote tactically then, who do I select to take votes away from UKIP?

As someone else said, vote for any party that will mean UKIP don't get in

I agree with LurkingHusband and others. You'll change fuck all by sitting on your arse and hand-wringing about how none of them represent you. If they get elected they WILL represent you (and many of them are very good at it - irrespective of political allegiances) so you may as well have a say.
If you don't vote you don't get to moan about the next government.

I think you raise a very important point, Mytartanscarf when you say,
I don't feel comfortable or confident doing it.
I don't known if this is true in your particular case but often people who have never voted had parents who didn't do so either. I remember going to the polling station as a child and voting for the first time with my DM.

I've always taken my DCs with me when I vote so that it seems normal and comfortable to them, DS went twice one year as his CM took him too!

I'd love to see the voting age lowered to 16 so that issues could be talked about in schools and 16/17 years olds could go after school to vote, with their mates.

YABU.

Nothing more to say really. Oh, except you're also being stupid.

I'm not sure. I imagine my parents did - positive my dad would have.

I used to be quite politically minded - liked to watch Question Time and wanted to be a politician, but that vanished when I was a teenager.

I've never voted. I'm 32.

If enough people who feel the same as you vote for an independant candidate, or one of the small parties like the Greens, it will send a real message to the main political parties.

I think you should vote for whichever of the three main parties you think is least bad to be honest. I think a lot of us are in this position. Both Tories and LibDems are tainted by government and Labour has a most peculiar choice of leader. I'm really torn myself but you should definitely vote.

I don't blame you op. They're all self serving cunts. Can't remember the exact quote but it was something along the lines of "if voting changed anything we wouldn't be allowed to do it"

Completely pointless exercise designed to give an illusion that we have any choice as to who our masters are

You could spoil the ballot if you mind that much. People died for the right to vote, the least we can do is participate, even if it is to let them know we're unhappy.

Tiz I feel that if I vote (and I will, in the name of democracy and the sacrifices made by the women who fought for the right for us to vote), I will be making a totally uninformed choice, because I can no longer get my head round the increasingly difficult to fathom, and spin-tangled world of politics.

All you who don't vote - you never complain about any aspect of government or local policy, right? Right?

Because you are absolutely entitled not to vote, if you don't want to, but it means everything you say on public policy for the next 5 years is invalid. If you can't spare the time to make a single cross on a piece of paper, in less time than it takes to buy a cup of coffee, then you don't get to complain when the opinions of those that do make time decide public policy.

If you don't vote you give up the right to complain about the government.

It took me years and cost me thousands of pounds to get the right to vote in this country.
I WILL mark a paper

it may well say none of the above

AND
If the 60% of people who did not bother to vote all spoiled there ballots, the pressure to get rid of FPTP and make every vote count would strengthen.

Not voting is like asking a stranger in the street to do your shopping for you and then complaining about what they buy