Westminstenders: One Pepperoni Pizza Please. And a Milkshake To Go.

[RedToothBrush]

On the Eve of the EU Elections that we never met to happen, and we don't know what the next hour next mind day might bring.

Farage is enjoying the theatre of milkshakes. It means he gets attention and gets to play the victim. And avoid talking about his dodgy friends and even dodgier financing. The Brexit Party are polling so highly its possible he could be PM. And boy does he know it. The temptation is there and its too much to resist.

May has refused to resign so far tonight after a day of asking her to. The 1922 Committee refused to change the rules to help oust her - possibly because they don't want the next PM to be beset with challenges to the leadership at the drop of a hat. Graham Brady is seeing her on Friday... The ERG are not happy bunnies.

May is still apparently planning to plough on with the WAB with a referendum possibly attached. Though this remains to be seen.

Meanwhile Leadsom has just quit the Cabinet. She was one of the Brexit 'Pizza Club'. Rumours are this might be the Cabinet withdrawing support for her. Though Gove has said he doesn't intend to resign (tonight at least).

Rumour is that May's senior staff have abandoned her to let her make the decision to go. And rumours are that when Leadsom rang May to tell her she was leaving cabinet, May didn't tell her senior staff. This comes two weeks after rumours where that Phillip May was at the point of telling her it was time to resign. The rumours of course may be just that, rumours but it's hard to see how or why anyone would tell her to carry on now.

And so tomorrow. Who would vote for this utter shower of shit? Even if you were the most loyal of Tories?

The thing tomorrow is to get the remain vote out. It doesn't matter ultimately what people vote for. Every vote cast for remain keeps the Brexit Party popular vote down. Even if it doesn't win seats. And that is psychologically important.

Tomorrow make sure EVERYONE you know who is anti brexit party votes. More so if they are a Remainer voting for a Remain party, but also if they are solid Labour or the rarest of things, a true blue.

It MATTERS. Narratives will be set.

If you are not sure if you are registered to vote, please TRY ANYWAY. The worst case is you are turned away and have lost 20 mins of your life. But you might also be able to vote and that might change the course of events.

Talk to people tomorrow. Remind them. Make sure it's about preventing a hard right foothold. Apathy will destroy our futures. Being fed up of politicians so refusing to vote is actively shooting yourself in the face.

Who am I voting for?

Still no idea. But I will vote.

pmk

Back from voting where there was precisely ... me in the polling station. The road was deserted on the way up, the church hall was deserted when I got in there, no one arrived whilst I was there and no one walked up the road as I came back down it.

I’ve voted (LD), seemed like a regular stream of voters, an older couple coming out as we arrived and a younger one going in when we left plus a couple of cars going in as we left. In the SW, v Conservative area normally. Oddly there was a polling station on my way home from work that looked to be in a portacabin in a farm shop car park. Never noticed it before so maybe it was in a different place to usual. Tried my best to persuade a couple of school mums to vote (they were “just fed up of it all” and weren’t planning to).

Voting Greens tomorrow (Molly Scott Cato) for the second time.

I hope not, the election is TODAY in the UK.

Daddybegood well isn't that bloody interesting? Thanks

Well.

Went to cast my vote, plus DH's proxy vote. He 'wasn't on the list'. This despite the correctly-completed form having been posted the day it was announced that the Euro elex WOULD definitely take place, ie well within the required time-frame. And despite exactly the same process having happened (successfully) with the local elections.

I expressed my polite displeasure and disbelief at this and the very nice and helpful polling clerk offered to ring the council and check. They said no, he definitely wasn't on the list.

I reiterated that the correct form had been sent as early as possible and I was very unhappy about him being deprived of his vote. The clerk kindly fed this back and they said they'd check again. Whereupon.....magically it turned out he WAS on 'another list' which had somehow not made it through to the actual documentation in the polling station. The clerk then wrote DH's details on the printed list (I had his polling card), and I got the ballot-paper.

This makes me very uneasy. If I hadn't pressed it a bit I'd quite possibly have gone away without having voted. OK, probably cock-up rather than conspiracy, but still.....

To add: voted Lib Dem with the clothespeg

It was very quiet at the polling station.

I hope that means that Leavers aren't bothering, thinking that they have it sewn up. Fingers and toes crossed, and some silent prayers sent up.

@L1minal, can you get that story to C4 and Guardian? Bloody hell.

L1minal

Like this?

@lisaocarroll
Most extraordinary development #deniedmyvote
German couple in my story just been told the can, after all vote. Tower Hamlets checked the CCTV footage after my call for day they said they submitted their paperwork and found the mistake was theirs.

We knew EU citizens could be stopped from voting, yet those with power did nothing

Read more: metro.co.uk/2019/05/23/we-knew-eu-citizens-could-be-stopped-from-voting-yet-those-with-power-did-nothing-9667461/?ito=cbshare?ito=cbshare

My polling station was busy.

L1minal s experience suggests that the ground is already laid to blame the voters.

"You should have done "

Not great, is it?

I suspect in my area Leavers and Labour and Tories won't be arsed.

The Lib Dems and Green voters have more incentive to turn out I think. But I don't know how big the postal vote is, which has always previously tended to favour Tories in the past - so it's all to play for.

From the Guardian rolling news:
{In an extraordinary development the London borough council checked the CCTV footage at their offices for 2 May, the day Kat Sellner and Moritz Valero said they handed in their forms.

They have spent the last two days trying to persuade the council that it was their mistake that they had not received a ballot paper.

When they arrived at the polling station on the Isle of Dogs this morning they found their name was crossed off and were put in touch with the council again who told their paperwork didn’t arrive until 16 May, two weeks after the deadline.

In a phone call videoed by the Guardian they insisted again that was a council mistake and they would not be “silenced”. They warned they would make a freedom of information request for CCTV footage of 2 May.

Six hours later Tower Hamlets said they had phoned them with the “good news”. They had checked the CCTV footage and agreed that it was their mistake and told them could vote. }

Well that's 2 votes in!

well done for pressing, though L1minal

I would love your football group to be representative Daddybegood - that's a ridiculously high pro remain vote and a much lower than expected Farage one ... we can but dream.

In a phone call videoed by the Guardian they insisted again that was a council mistake and they would not be “silenced”. They warned they would make a freedom of information request for CCTV footage of 2 May. Six hours later Tower Hamlets said they had phoned them with the “good news”. They had checked the CCTV footage and agreed that it was their mistake and told them could vote. }

They should submit a small claim for £50 in expenses to rectify the councils mistake. Then the council can either pay it, or defend it.

The clerk kindly fed this back and they said they'd check again. Whereupon.....magically it turned out he WAS on 'another list' which had somehow not made it through to the actual documentation in the polling station. The clerk then wrote DH's details on the printed list (I had his polling card), and I got the ballot-paper.

There is an 'emergency proxy vote' whereby you can ask for a proxy vote up to 5pm if you are unexpectedly prevented from getting to the polling station because of last minute work issues or sudden illness. I wonder if on the QT they decided that your DH qualified under this rule, because they had cocked up?

I think the lesson here is to make sure you chase them up as soon as is feasible. With a proxy vote, both the proxy and the voter should get a letter telling them that it's been allowed. I think this goes out at about the same times as the poll cards, so if you don't get anything then, chase and chase again.

L1minal s experience suggests that the ground is already laid to blame the voters.

"You should have done "

The evidence of that is already here on this very thread in HateIsNotGood's comments

.

Voted green just now. Polling station said its been a bit quiet today. There were queues for local elections.

Peregrina the polling clerk referred to the sudden illness thing while hanging on the phone to the council and was telling me that this would be the only exception that might allow a vote when they came back and told her that it was OK, they'd found DH on 'the other list'.

Voted. Steady trickle of people.

stripey PM away

At what point do international election observers get called in? Seriously, this is disgraceful treatment of EU citizens and totally unnecessary. As I understand there is absolutely no obligation under EU rules for this bit of paper.

As an Irish citizen, I lose my right to vote there after I've left the country 18 months. I have 2 Senate votes in Ireland linked to my degree (which have limited impact) and my vote in the EU and municipal elections here in France. I take these votes very seriously and I would be fuming if they were messed about with. I really feel for EU citizens in the UK who first are told that they are basically not wanted by half the population and then denied their democratic rights. I don't think at this point it matters whether it is by design or incompetence. The message is well and truly clear: your opinion doesn't matter. Give us your tax money and fuck off. I spent 8 very happy years as a migrant in London and it is shocking to read about what is happening. The last few years have been one insult after another to all of us EU citizens.

Talk about a hostile environment.

I called the Council to check and I was not registered to vote?
it's a 90mile round trip and I'm disabled so didn't want to drive it unless I knew I could vote.
At least 1 Farage vote is down though.

Sos, whats your local area like. I have a vague recollection of you saying before but just want you clarify, before I raise my eyebrows either way.