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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Those whose votes don’t influence their seat...

150 replies

GeorgieTheGorgeousGoat · 30/11/2019 21:32

Do you feel less motivated to vote than you wish you did?

To clarify, I will be voting, there’s no chance I won’t. But I do feel a bit flat about the whole thing. I live in a very (understatement!) safe Tory (though this is irrelevant, there must be super safe Labour or other party seats too) seat and I know my vote will never ever make a difference. I know that before walking in there.

How do you find peace with this?

OP posts:
Moanranger · 30/11/2019 23:18

In safe Tory constituency, but LDs have made inroads recently. It is unbearable having a Tory lock, the county council is a nightmare, completely unresponsive to needs of the people.
I do not think LDs have a chance, but I would like to see a big reduction in the Tory majority. If they do win & subsequently cock it up -they will, they will - then we will have a chance to unseat them next time.
Our LD candidate is v good, v personable.
Have to take the long view on this.

Isleepinahedgefund · 01/12/2019 09:07

The thing is you never know. What if the seat is only safe because everyone else who supports a different party thinks there's no point voting because it's a safe seat?

We were looking the other day at registered voters vs majority vs how many people actually voted. Some of the safe seats with huge majorities have a comparatively small % of total registered voters actually voting - if only 40% came out and voted, and most of them voted for the winner, then the seat might not actually be safe if the other 60% of voters bothered to go and vote and voted for someone else.

I live in a safe seat where the candidate has increased their majority year on year - it's who I would vote for anyway because it's never a foregone conclusion. I still go and vote. My constituency also has one of the higher turnouts year on year.

Roussette · 01/12/2019 09:13

I agree ... you never know. Our MP has had this tory seat for 25 years, he is useless, doesn't reply to emails, doesn't hold surgeries, is basically invisible, and has had two hustings lately where he was very rude to the people there. I'm off to one on Wednesday and have my questions prepared [lol]

Unfortunately, I think he'll still get in, but I think his majority will be massively eroded and those that are kicking up about him (like me) aren't going away.

Original poster
GeorgieTheGorgeousGoat · 01/12/2019 09:16

We have a reasonably high turn out here 73% in 2017. That still wouldn’t reach them sadly. I’m not just being a grinch, it’s a genuine issue.

OP posts:
Hepsibar · 01/12/2019 09:17

People who dont vote cant really complain when the party they dont like gets in. I am in an area which swops periodically and so your vote can count. If I was in a completely safe area which was not the party I preferred, I would vote for the next most acceptable which may not be the party of my heart.

stucknoue · 01/12/2019 09:19

Mine is safe labour, council as well, the mp situation I have no issues with but the council is super blasé and there's simply no debate and no one can even get nominated whenseats become available unless they are part of the inner clique

noblegiraffe · 01/12/2019 09:21

What’s draining my motivation to vote is that every time I think I’ve settled on a least worse party, they do or say something totally shit and I’m lost again.

There’s a Save the Fluffy Kittens type candidate standing, maybe I’ll look into saving their deposit.

Damntheman · 01/12/2019 09:21

Safe Tory seat for almost 100% years. I usually vote for the whacky independent candidate and they usually have the best policies anyway. But this year I shall vote Labour in a vain attempt to unseat the twatwaffle currently in power.

Roussette · 01/12/2019 09:24

Damntheman You've summed up what I'm probably going to do. Although LDs and Labour were almost tied in 2nd place last election. I wish... just for this seat, they could get together and unseat the total arse that is our MP.

EnthusiasmIsDisturbed · 01/12/2019 09:26

I always vote regardless how safe the seat is

In a very safe Labour seat I shall vote Green in this election (will not vote for Corbyn)

AnnaMagnani · 01/12/2019 09:32

Since I moved to my current house, my vote has never counted once in any election Sad

Despite this I still turn out.

Poor DH says he has never voted for the successful candidate in his whole life.

I am currently working in London and it was a novelty to me to hear people talking about who they were going to vote for, really engaged as they knew they had a chance of changing the outcome.

No chance here. One of the safest seats in the country.

noodlenosefraggle · 01/12/2019 09:33

I think pp had the best solution. Vote so that the person you want to vote for doesnt lose their deposit- and also a reduced majority may encourage more people to vote for the second placed party next time.

KamikazeIdiot · 01/12/2019 09:35

There is no possibility that my vote will influence anything. I live in a constituency ruled by an especially corrupt Conservative MP (doesn't narrow it down much, I know) who will win no matter what he, his opponents or anyone else says or does. But I will vote. People fought and died to win me the right to vote. And if I don't vote I will have no right to complain about how bad the next government will be (and it will be monumentally bad).

Treaclepie19 · 01/12/2019 09:35

Safe conservative seat here.
I vote as a pp said, so I know it wasn't me who voted him in.

KatherineJaneway · 01/12/2019 09:37

Even though there is no chance of unseating the current MP where I live, I still vote. It's really important to me that my voice is heard, even though I am part of a small minority.

thenightsky · 01/12/2019 09:39

Tory seat forever here. There was a chance it might swing to labour many years ago, but the tories who were in at the time changed the boundaries to make sure it didn't happen.

Duchessofealing · 01/12/2019 09:40

I’m in a very safe Labour seat, I vote because people died so that I can. I vote so that I have played my part in democracy. It’s never futile, it shows the changing or varying support for each area.

jay55 · 01/12/2019 09:43

I'm in a safe labour seat. I find their choice of new candidate unpalatable so I'll vote for the bonkers independent, knowing they won't get in and knowing my vote won't make a difference.

rabbitwoman · 01/12/2019 09:44

But why are these seats safe? Because no matter what, people's opinions cannot be changed, why?

Because more and more over the last few weeks I have seen people saying 'I have always voted Conservative but this time I am voting to get Boris out' and 'I was a member of the Labour Party all my life, but could never vote for corbyn' etc.....

In other words, the election used to be, vote for who you support. This election seems to be, hold your nose and vote for the party you hate the least..... Could have a wildly skewed outcome!

Alsohuman · 01/12/2019 09:47

Very, very safe Tory seat here. It used to be John Major’s and the majority was huge. The current incumbent has seen his percentage of the vote drop a little in each election so I vote to dent it further.

In Wokingham the LibDems seem to be making massive inroads into Redwood’s notoriously safe seat so you never know. My joy if that went LibDem would overflow. Apparently a lot of the Surrey seats - Gove, Raab, Hunt - are also under threat.

yasle · 01/12/2019 09:48

I think we need reform as it's unacceptable for some people's votes not to count. Mine doesn't either and I'm not voting. Not just because of that, but becuase I don't think anyone standing in my constituency deserves my vote.

Add to this the pacts that parties make and some people will find Lib Dems missing from their ballot papers and others will find the Brexit party missing from their ballot papers. This, coupled with tactical voting makes it not exactly a free vote.

Baldcrusader · 01/12/2019 09:48

Says it all when 73% is impressive.

Just vote. The more the merrier.

Not into the idea of a legal requirement to vote but I wouldn't mind an embargo on people who couldn't be arsed moaning about it after the event.

tequilasunrises · 01/12/2019 09:50

I’m in safe Tory seat, held by the same MP since before I was born. I look at his voting record and I’m constantly Hmm why anyone would vote for him though. He has voted against same sex marraige, against the hunting ban and for so many spending cuts on the most vulnerable and young people.

Our Labour candidate is new and doesn’t have much of a following yet but from what I’ve read seems much more switched on to the things I think are important eg education and mental health support.

It is fairly frustrating knowing that my vote will be utterly meaningless but I will still go out and vote.

53rdWay · 01/12/2019 09:50

Mine was a Labour safe seat for about 60 years. Then the SNP won it in 2015 with a huge swing. No safe seat is a safe seat forever.

MrsMaiselsMuff · 01/12/2019 09:51

Don't ever assume a seat is completely safe. Politics is all over the place at the moment and this year is unlikely to follow the normal voting pattern. There will be surprise results.

A decreased majority this time will influence future votes too, it will make other parties more likely to focus efforts on campaigning in the next election. It will also have a knock on effect for local elections too. Change can be very slow, but don't think your vote doesn't make a difference, it does!

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