To think my vote doesn't count & not feel guilty if I didn't vote

[FuzzyPillow]

I keep on being told repeatedly and forcefully, mostly by twats on social media that "every vote counts" and that "women died for your right to vote", however.....

1. I live in one of the safest Conservative seats in the country. Conservatives usually win by a margin of 15-20,000 votes, which is about 80% of all votes roughly. We have not been non-Conservative in living memory (almost).

1. I don't subscribe to the idea of inter-generational responsibility / guilt. Yes, the suffragettes fought to get votes for women (and I'm a woman). But if I decided to fight for [pick random cause] it would not follow that all future generations affected would have an obligation to take advantage of the rights I had won in order to honour my death. (Though if I do die fighting for the right to turn my porch light on at night even though it annoys the neighbours I'd be very pleased if all future generations did the same to annoy my neighbours )

So WIBU to think my vote doesn't count & not feel guilty if I didn't vote for genuine reasons (not voter apathy).

Well done for voting OP!
I can't believe that almost a third of the country didn't vote - 15 million people!
Tories have the most seats and also overall the most votes in the country. There is no way Labour will now be able to form a minority government (despite the rubbish that John McD is spouting on the BBC this morning).
Perhaps their chances could have been much stronger had all the labour voters in safe Tory seats had voted. We will never know!

Well done for voting, every vote does matter and the argument that it doesn't will be blown out of the water when the Kensington vote is finally announced. It's down to the edge and if Labour take that seat it is going to be a MASSIVE shock. It's considered one of the safest Tory seats, it proves no seat is truly safe and your vote will make a difference!

Does anyone know which were the closest and/or most surprising results? Seeing exactly how your vote can count is incredibly motivating, even if you live in the most stolid safe-seat area.

In Richmond Park, it looks like Zac Goldsmith (Cons) beat Sarah Olney (Lib Dem) by 45 votes. More than 63,000 votes were cast. Richmond's not anyone's safe seat, but to decide it on 45 votes is insane.

In Canterbury, Rose Duffield (Lab) beat Sir Julian Brazier (Cons) by 187 votes, out of 56,800 cast. Brazier had been MP there for 30 years, and 2 years ago he beat Labour by about 10k.

I'm in the same circumstances and I feel that too op. My vote doesn't count. But I hope that the increase in votes for other candidates standing gives them the hope to carry on. It would be dreadful if nobody else stood and there was no choice at all.

The Kensington thing is also amazing, Bunbunbunny. Regardless of the eventual result, the fact that it's come so fucking close makes it the perfect example for this thread.

Last month, John Cleese (who lives there) said he wouldn't bother voting, because it was such a Tory safe seat and so his vote was 'utterly useless'.

The Kensington votes have been counted: too close to call.

Recounting has just been suspended because the counters are too exhausted to be accurate. Will resume later.

Rumour is there may be 35 votes in it. Entirely feasible that the apathy of thirty-odd John-Cleese-types helped decide the result.

Every vote counts. Always.

If just half of the people that didn't vote, voted against our 'safe seat', it would not be safe any more.

That is the issue with not voting because you think it doesn't count...they are relying on you not voting to keep getting in.

Every vote counts - North East Fife was won by a margin of just two votes.
Perth and North Perthshire was by 21 (from a 9000 lead in 2015).
Imagine what would have happened with a proper turnout.

Southampton Itchen had a conservative win by 31 votes. (And I know of 12 people who would have voted Labour but didn't bother voting as 'it wouldn't make a difference). Not hard to guess that there were probably more out there

A margin of two? I think that must be the winner, unless Kensington ends up hanging on a single vote.

This is reminding me of the film 'Election', where one candidate decides to vote for his competitor (out of mistaken niceness) and it ends up losing him the student presidency and starting a train-wreck of attempted interventions and other disasters. Reese Witherspoon is the terrifyingly ambitious would-be leader. Just a viewing suggestion if you're burned out on real election coverage by this evening...

Not RTFT but I live in the safest Tory seat in the country. I still went out and voted for my chosen party who came 3rd. I do get what the OP means but you still have to go out and show the incumbent that not everyone thinks they deserve their seat.

Maybe one day we will have PR and this will no longer be an issue.

think of the poor souls in Buckingham - convention dictates that the major parties don't field candidates to oppose the Speaker of the House of Commons.

If you didn't vote you have no right to any opinion

Your vote will help avoid your chosen party losing their deposit, it will also increase their share of the "Short" fund which is money given to opposition parties. It will also be included in national statistics about shares of the national vote.

This. Also there have been a few high profile people ousted from "safe seats". Right now Kensington which has been Tory forever are still recounting because it's so close. Nothing is certain anymore.

Approx 30% of people don't vote. These people could change the status quo in a huge amount of places.

think of the poor souls in Buckingham - convention dictates that the major parties don't field candidates to oppose the Speaker of the House of Commons.

And the Speaker doesn't vote either! So how are the people of Buckingham represented?

Now wondering what the result was in your constituency!

It was as expected - Conservatives held their very safe seat, but the margin they won by was lower than last time by a long way. This time they "only" won by 20,000 votes (Labour came second), which means they lost about 5,000 votes to Labour this time. Which is a good start.

That sounds both frustrating and encouraging, FuzzyPillow. My home town is still Conservative by a solid 15k, exactly the same as 2015. But at least UKIP didn't come in second this time, and the Labour vote was up 7k.

The Kensington result is in - Tory safe seat overturned by just 20 votes, out of 38,000 cast. It's been Tory since 1974, and in 2015 the Conservatives won by 10,000, so this is amazing.

I don't know who John Cleese wanted to win, but he's made a fool of himself saying there's no point voting there. (And it was quite low turnout in that area, too: 63%, very frustrating in such a close race.)