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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

My vote isn't going to make one jot of difference is it?

78 replies

TheoriginalLEM · 03/05/2015 11:36

I live in a safe tory seat, there is no way this will change i am told, so really? what is the point even, of me voting? It will make no difference locally and even less nationally.

:(

I am going to vote, i haven't decided who for yet, it is between labour and green, but honestly, i may as well vote monster raving looney for all the difference it is going to make.

Someone please tell me that this isn't so?

OP posts:
Jackieharris · 03/05/2015 13:28

Go and vote so it's counted in the national total. It's important your party know where it's support is even if it's not huge support.

specialsubject · 03/05/2015 13:32

I'm also in a safe Tory seat - but who knows? Perhaps people have changed their minds. Perhaps there are different people here now.

the only way this can work is for us all to vote for the people we want to govern us.

my problem is that of my five choices, four have some policies I strongly disagree with, as well as policies I want implemented. The fifth lot is easy to eliminate as I disagree with all their policies, but that still leaves me with a problem.

ladymarian · 03/05/2015 13:53

I strongly believe that you should ALWAYS vote. Less than 100 years ago ordinary women were not even allowed to vote! I saw an interesting stat on Facebook (sorry) that in the 2010 election there were 15.9 million non voters. If all these people had voted the result could have been very different! It is disheartening if u live in "safe" seat but you should still have your say for all the good reasons given by previous posters

RedToothBrush · 03/05/2015 13:54

DrHarleenFrancesQuinzel

Electionforecast.co.uk have a couple of good tools by seat:

www.electionforecast.co.uk/tables/predicted_vote_by_seat.html
www.electionforecast.co.uk/tables/predicted_interval_by_seat.html
www.electionforecast.co.uk/tables/predicted_probability_by_seat.html

And then there is also the bookies by seat
www.oddschecker.com/politics/british-politics/sheffield-hallam/winning-party
This link is set to Sheffield Hallam, but you can change to any seat you like if you go to the drop down menu which says match select just under Sheffield Hallam - Winning Party Betting Odds

DinosaursRoar · 03/05/2015 14:01

are you certain that your seat is a safe one? did the last winning candidate get more than 50% of all the possible votes, or just hte most of a small turn out? There are many seats where if the people who didn't bother voting had turned out to vote for the number 2 (or 3) candidate, they would have won.

While you might be right about hte Conservative candidate winning again this time, if you get closer to it looking less 'safe', then there will be more attention paid to your area in the future, and possibly your MP not take you for granted.

stubbornstains · 03/05/2015 14:04

There's also a good site called www.may2015.com, which gives you all the results of the latest polls and predictions. I think it has % predictions for all seats, too.

If I was in your position OP, or in the position of many people in safe seats, I would vote Green (if you personally support their policies, that is). I don't think they're going to gain that many seats in the coming election (would be great if they did though), but the more percentage they gain of the total vote, the more encouraging it will be for them and their supporters to carry the momentum on and aim for more in 2020.

Yes, I think some of their policies are a bit woolly on the details at the moment too, but does that matter at this point? We will not be having a Green majority government this time around! They've got a long, long road ahead of them on which to both grow support and refine those policies.

MovingOnUpMovingOnOut · 03/05/2015 14:05

For all those adamant about that safe Tory seat have a look at this you too if you enjoy watching a smug Tory getting his comeuppance

kerstina · 03/05/2015 14:06

I don't know much about it as I don't need to do it but there is something called Vote swap . They were talking about it on the wright stuff . Definitely worth a google ?

stubbornstains · 03/05/2015 14:08

I've registered with Vote Swap, as Labour may - just- have a chance of toppling our useless Tory incumbent, so have a Green vote on me, somebody! Grin.

MovingOnUpMovingOnOut · 03/05/2015 14:10

Ahhh, it never gets old Grin

Grantaire · 03/05/2015 14:10

I live in an ultra safe Tory seat. The majority is thousands.

BUT

I used to live in an area that had been Tory for 70+ years and slowly, the gap between the incumbent and the opposition decreased until the year the Conservatives were nearly beaten. I can't tell you the excitement and hope in the air when that happened. The following election, the opposition candidate smashed the election and he has enjoyed a massive majority since and he's been a really brilliant MP. So change can happen. I've seen it.

I hate the fact that I know this time round, I won't make a difference to the immediate outcome but it's a long game and my vote does count. It does get included and I have to hope that things will shift. I do believe in the party I vote for and I'm proud to offer them my vote in the hope that one day they can take it and run with it. I'm also proud to vote in general given the historical sacrifice that allows me to do so.

kerstina · 03/05/2015 14:12

I just watched that Steven twigg win brilliant stuff lets hope a few safe Tory lib dem seats can be overturned . Can anybody go to watch the results in your local places or do you have to be official members of parties?

MovingOnUpMovingOnOut · 03/05/2015 14:16

Anyone can go. But it does attract the nutters so beware the swivel eyed!

I proper laughed at the camera zooming in on Portillo's face with the rictus grimmace Grin Grin

stubbornstains · 03/05/2015 14:20

By the way, one of the breakdowns you can look at on www.may2015.com, is voting intentions by age. Older people are much, much more likely to vote Tory/ UKIP. So, unless people change their allegiance as they get older (I know some do, but I'm not convinced that the majority do), I can see the country moving gradually to the left over the next couple of decades (prays fervently).

AndHarry · 03/05/2015 14:28

I live in a safe Labour seat. I intend to vote Green anyway because that's who I agree with the most although I think some of their policies are dotty. I did consider voting Labour as the closest match with a chance but if everyone votes tactically then nothing will ever change, so I won't.

fedupbutfine · 03/05/2015 16:40

You know, I'm in a marginal area with a long history of the Conservatives winning so whilst I believe it is unlikely there will be change, it is possible. I will, therefore, be voting Labour because my personal desire for the next 5 years is 'not another Tory Government'.

I would, however, prefer to vote for what I believe in - which is Green - but round here their share of the vote stands at less than 2% so that's not going to help me with the 'not another Tory Government' goal. That you are able to use your vote for what you genuinely believe in would be for me, I think, a far more satisfying experience and which is why we need a proportional representation system to make the politicians and would-be politicians sit up and actually think about what people in this country actually want.

Please vote.

SaskiaRembrandtWasFramed · 03/05/2015 17:12

YANBU I was thinking the same thing earlier. I am going to vote, but living in a safe seat it does seem pointless.

peggyundercrackers · 03/05/2015 17:14

I believe in voting for who you want to win. don't believe in tactical voting - that's like voting for someone you don't want - don't understand why anyone would do that...

TalkinPeace · 03/05/2015 17:21

If you cannot face voting for any of them, go and spoil your ballot to show that you are angry, not apathetic.

Not voting implies acceptance of the outcome
AND
if everybody who felt pissed off with FPTP stated such, we might get electoral reform

so share of the ballot counts for something, even if it does not change your local result

peggyundercrackers · 03/05/2015 18:50

Talkinpeace - not everyone is pissed off with fptp - I would rather this than the mess we would end up in with any other system. Imagine a system where no one agrees nor leads and everything is about compromise - it's the worst possible outcome.

TalkinPeace · 03/05/2015 18:54

Imagine a system where no one agrees nor leads and everything is about compromise - it's the worst possible outcome.
Such as ?

Under FPTP the government is only voted for by a very small minority of the electorate.
Hence why the UK's turnouts are so low.

Merguez · 03/05/2015 19:05

Lots of good reasons on this thread why voting for a minority party in a safe seat does make a difference.

And your vote will also count towards the overall vote share for a particular party - and if it's a party known for a particular issue (e.g. environment) a big increase in their vote will influence policies.

And the more people that vote for the minority parties the more likely there is to be a shift to a different form of government eventually - as happened in New Zealand.

SaskiaRembrandtWasFramed · 03/05/2015 19:08

FPTP would be great if we only had two parties, but that isn't the case. I have a choice of 7 candidates, only one of those will win, and only two of them have a chance of forming a government.

As I said I will vote, I always do, but I do understand why so many people don't. We need a better system that places equal importance on every single vote.

Original poster
TheoriginalLEM · 03/05/2015 20:09

dp is considering spoiling his ballot but surely that is the same as not voting.

I feel so confused by all of it.

My priorities are:
protecting the nhs with more spending on mental health.
Education: you only have to look on the "staffroom" threads on here to see that we cannot keep messing with the education system the way it has been in recent years. teachers don't know which way is up and who in their right mind would train as a teacher just now?
Housing: The property market has been allowed to get out of hand. Buy-to-let landlords seem to have free rein to charge what they like and i worry it will all implode.
Fair taxes where people who can afford to pay more do so, within reason. The tax threshold needs to be raised as does the higher rate threshold.
Childcare: the tories are promising free childcare for 3+ but i think this money might be better spent helping parents of school age children with school holiday childcare which appears to consist of summer sport camps that cost £££'s.
no fracking - are they MAD??????

So, who to trust

OP posts:
TalkinPeace · 03/05/2015 20:15

dp is considering spoiling his ballot but surely that is the same as not voting.
No, because it is stating None of the above
rather than
I'll accept what other people decide

Not voting is like letting a stranger order your food in a restaurant.

Spoiling your ballot is saying you think the restaurant is crap.