to think that an election on the 12th December is a bad idea because it will affect Christmas at primary schools?

[chomalungma]

How many Christmas plays will be on on that day?

I am sure some will be able to be altered - but it's a really crappy time to close a school for voting when there are parties, school plays and the end of term atmosphere.

There are other reasons as well - but this is just one that may not have been thought about.

WTF is wrong with people? Are they so disorganised and scatty that they can't spend 5-10 minutes popping to the polling stations during the 15 hours they're open?!  Any play or party or works Christmas lunch or whatever isn't going to take 15 hours! Just pop and vote first thing in the morning, (before you go out,) or go in the evening!
Many people don't work close to home though - say, have to catch the 7:15 train into town, then stay after work for the Xmas party. Not a simple 5-10 minutes popping out to the polling station.
But then these people could arrange a postal vote if they are organised.

Wow, you do know there’s an entire world going on out there outside of your kids’ primary school! Words fail me!

Have I missed something? Is there an ancient decree stating that all school nativity plays MUST be performed on Dec 12th?!?! Cripes, the suffragettes must be spinning in their graves....

Is DD in the running for Mary OP?

Anyone who’s DC is third donkey or tree in forest (still disappointing 45 years later) will be happy for a legitimate cancellation that can absolutely be blamed on bastarding politicians.

Maybe we can cancel Christmas

I’d vote for that!

Don’t say that Lovenote every poster in the Christmas section will go into tinsel meltdown.

It is extremely unusual for a general election to be held in any month other than May, June or July.

There is good reason for this. Bad weather keeps people away, dark evening keep people away, snow and ice keep people away. Have is in August and people are on holiday.

Voter turnout is shockingly low at the best of times.

Lots of the venues used as polling stations are likely to be busy over that period so it's not just schools that will be disrupted
Schools are often used but community halls etc also have bookings months ahead for December (we couldn't accommodate the last election in the community centre as we couldn't get all the bookings for that day re-arranged) so the council had to find somewhere else - WI finally took them in
It's harder than it used to be as councils don't own a lot of these buildings any more so they have to deal with other organisations who don't always want to jeopardise their regular relationships.
Weather and it being a busy period of the year will almost ensure that you lose some turn out - however it's hard to know what turn out will be as there is a combination of voter fatigue but also motivation as nearly everyone is pissed off with the current situation no matter what side of the debate you sit on

I think some people are missing the point about schools closing for the day - it's the knock on effect of those kids needing an extra day of childcare plus the timetabling issues for schools that is the impact not people not having time to pop out and vote.
I suspect that finding venues will be harder as less of them are council owned these days so cannot be forced to accommodate the election - which is why schools were often traditionally used as the were LA owned, in good central locations with good access - now they are academies they have more autonomy on whether or not they let out their premises for the day

Wow, you do know there’s an entire world going on out there outside of your kids’ primary school! Words fail me!

You've completely missed the point.

It's not that nativity plays are more important, it's that this is totally the wrong time of year for an election to take place. School calendars are released months in advance so parents can book leave and arrange work accordingly. Other polling station venues like guide halls, village halls, scout huts etc. will have been booked up for Christmas events and parties months ago.

Add in poor weather (including potential ice and snow), dark evenings and things like Christmas parties, work events, school discos etc. and lots of people aren't going to bother going to vote. You might think it's sad, but historically poor weather = low turnout.

This thread has been a bit of an eye-opener for me because clearly the logistics of running a general election are not well known by the majority of posters! The highest turnout in my area was 72% in June 2015 - over a quarter of the electorate didn't bother to vote and rain knocks that figure down every time. Really bad weather would decimate it! Local elections are even worse - 31% for our last one.

It's not about the OP missing her child's school play and never has been. It is about the knock-on effect it will have.

@CaptainMyCaptain my DD's school does just that. One hall is the polling station and the rest of the school is as normal.

Come on the state of the country is much more important than a bloody Christmas play! Get a grip, there's more than enough time to reschedule them

Won't it be for those schools asked to allow usage for an election to decide what's more important?

And of course weather impacts on turnout. This is not a controversial point. There are logistical issues to an election in mid-December that arent there in spring.

Voter registration happening Dec 1.
Difficultly procuring suitable polling stations locations- as everywhere booked for Christmas events.
Possible poster strike - affect postal ballots
Poor weather and darkness all known to reduce turnout.
Parents suddenly having to find childcare right before needing to cover Christmas as many polling stations are in schools and some still need to close completely for safety reasons.
Schools timetable being disrupted and parents getting annoyed as they try and juggle work to see their kids in plays and school events.

There are lots of reason not to go to polls in December – and last time we did apparently it was a hung parliament. So no I don’t think the logistics have been considered and there is apparent concern it could backfire as people might get even more pissed off.

Won't it be for those schools asked to allow usage for an election to decide what's more important?

PP have said they can't say no - which seems to ring true with Kent ast least.

www.kelsi.org.uk/news-and-events/news/primary/guidance-on-school-use-as-a-polling-station

Local returning officers have the power to require a school to act as a polling venue and may choose to do so where no suitable alternative accommodation is available. Whether or not the school then has to close is a decision for the headteacher.

Decisions about closure will usually depend on what arrangements can be made for voting to take place separately from the rest of the school premises. If pupils and the voting public can be kept apart, with a separate entrance and exit, and without compromise to the school's controlled access or interruption to education, it may be possible for the school to remain open.

Oh that's interesting. I don't suppose they'd want to force the issue given that it would piss people off though. Posters can complain all they like about people prioritising a kiddy nativity over an election, but those people have the vote!

I think I will get a postal vote as I have a course all day on the 12th in Birmingham! Where I do not live!

Our school stays open for polling.

Come on the state of the country is much more important than a bloody Christmas play! Get a grip, there's more than enough time to reschedule them

It's not as easy as that, though. Okay, so there are still roughly six weeks to go until December 12th. It sounds like plenty of time. But.

• End of term is full of various events. Nativity Play, Christmas Fayre, Assemblies, Concerts - it's not as easy as just re-arranging for the next day.

• Parents will have already planned and booked time off work. Lots of work places don't allow much (if any) time off over Christmas so rescheduling wouldn't work for lots of working parents.

• Closing the school for an election means finding childcare - again not easy due to the time of year.

Even if the election goes ahead and schools are forced to change plans or close, there will still be the following problems:

• other places which are primarily used as polling stations will also have been booked up months in advance due to the festive season.

• poor weather. Argue against it all you want, but poor weather always leads to a lower voter turnout. Add in the dark evenings and parents being busy with school/end of term/Christmas and it will be even lower than usual.

• the Royal Mail strike will no doubt have an impact on postal votes not arriving on time.

It's not just about the nativity

Oh fuck I forgot about the strike. Don't send cards so it went over my head. Ok, proxy it would have to be!

Come on the state of the country is much more important than a bloody Christmas play! Get a grip, there's more than enough time to reschedule them

Problem is, a GE and a Christmas play have about the same chance of changing the state of the country. And a Christmas play is more fun.

I already have a postal vote - as do my parents who wouldn't want to go out in poor weather due to moblity issues.

If there is a postal strike - You can hand it in at the nearest polling station.
www.gov.uk/voting-in-the-uk/postal-voting
If you’re too late to post your ballot paper
Take it to your local polling station by 10pm, or Electoral Registration Office before they close.

My family can ask other family members to drop theirs off and one of us should be able to drop ours off. Though I image they'd have some kind of plan to deal with postal strikes.

I thought there was going to be some witty punchline from the OP but, no. It seems she's serious about this.

There are a lot of reasons why a general election on December 12th, or at any point before Brexit is sorted one way or another, would be a bad idea but disruption to school nativity plays is not one of them.

Anyone who’s DC is third donkey or tree in forest (still disappointing 45 years later) will be happy for a legitimate cancellation that can absolutely be blamed on bastarding politicians

Yes! This is what I thought

I'm sure it's not hard for schools to move their plays to a day before or after, but I do agree with a poster further up that turnout will be terrible because of weather. Only people who own their own cars will be unaffected. Can't imagine why the tories would do this 🤔

@CeefaCasperTheFriendlyGhost
I'm just gutted the election's not on the same day as my school's Christmas fair.....having to make 30 bloody bags of oats & glitter a.k.a 'reindeer food' with my class, then ending up having to buy the leftover bags (!) for my own kids on Christmas eve is shit I can do without year after year

Please don't use glitter. It's so bad for the environment and wildlife. Get the kids to bring in autumn leaves and use a hole punch to create reindeer food. If you can use craft punches, especially Christmas shaped ones, even better.