Best way to register a protest vote?

[AIstolemylunch]

What's the best way for someone that having see all the manifetos now can't vote for any the mainparties?

One - Cross through all the boxes on the right and write 'NO VOTE' across names - so they know it's a specific no vote and gets recorded as such, rather than as 'voter intention unclear'

Two - Don't go out to vote so contribute to 'historic low voter turn out' to indicate disatisfaction with all the main parties, and indeed British politics today as a whole?

Three - Vote for an independent (if standing)?

unless you change the meaning of the word "none" it really doesn't.

Because if the "none of the above" votes were numerous enough to affect the outcome, we would end the election in exactly the same place as we started ... but £115m poorer, two months wasted and everyone mightily pissed off?

(The £115m figure is based on the cost of the 2015 GE. It's probably more now)

But if your point were actually to come true, doesn't that accept that there is a huge amount of the population that are already dissatisfied and "mightily pissed off" already?

I don't think there's any point in a spoiled ballet or protest vote. Really I doubt any one takes much notice. Pick the candidate that fits your values the best and vote whether they have a chance or not. Nothing will be perfect. I'll be holding my nose and voting Lib Dem, tactically. If you don't feel strongly about voting the present shambles out then either don't vote or pick one 🤷‍♀️

I was thinking more that they'd be pissed off with the massive waste of time, money, labour and thought spent on an election that resulted in no one getting elected. Or the incumbent staying on without a mandate simply because nobody felt enthusiastic about the other candidates.

It's definitely believable that a lot of people are dissatisfied with the current political options - we can see that on here. But the answer isn't to offer a solution that will result in no change, at great expense.

NOTA doesn't at the moment offer a solution to it, currently (if implemented) it would be a method of counting those that are dissatisfied with the current system.

That's the thing about a first past the post system. somebody will always win even if they have far fewer votes than those that do not want them to "serve".

Even if you choose just 1 policy from a manifesto, you are still voting FOR something, rather than from a negative position. If you really dislike them all then take a step back and look at it from a national perspective.

This election is only the first step towards change. The best outcome is probably if Labour win with a small majority in the HoP, and have had rockets firmly placed up backsides in safe seats, so that they get the message that voters won't be bullied or hoodwinked any longer.

The next step is getting voters to continue to engage with their elected representatives after the election, and to keep demanding what they want, instead of what they don't want.

If votes are spread across more parties, those parties will then do surveys to see why people voted for them and what the key issues are and hopefully it will become more apparent at national level where to start clearing up the mess.

That’s why a vote for none of the above is effectively a vote for any of the above. Somebody will always win. You will not have chosen them nor given any indication why not or who or what you would prefer.

Yes somebody will always win. But they have done so without my vote.
NOTA would allow people to register their desire/want to vote without ratifying any of the parties or their policies.

I am not sure why you and others cannot see this.

You haven’t made the case for the change you want.

And you haven't made a case for those changes not to happen.

You can't make a case for the change you want by voting for a party whose plans you don't agree with; you're giving them the green light that you support their policies / manifesto by voting for them.

They aren't going to happen if there isn't a case for them! We will just stick with the status quo.

I feel that "none of the above" is only a valid voting option if 1) there is compulsory voting and 2) it triggers some kind of action at a certain threshold.

Otherwise it just does the same job as abstaining and abstaining costs less to all involved.

If you want a change to the voting system your best bet is to vote lib dem rather than spoiling/abstaining.

It's a shame so many people weren't interested when we had the vote on it in 2012.

This is the first election ever where I really don't actually want to vote. NONE of the parties seem.to have any real answers to the problems the UK is facing. I don't like the Tories but I'm worried what will happen to women's rights of Labour get it. The Greens call women ' non men and are even more ideologically captured than Labour. Lib Dems have taken huge payouts from drug companies pushing puberty blockers/ wrong sex hormones. I couldn't vote Reform, so really there is nobody...

So until you get a party that ticks every single box for you, you won't be voting?

Broad principles and direction of travel isn't enough? Because that's how I vote.

I can see that including NOTA on the ballot would tell us the number of voters who are not happy with any of the candidates or political parties. What I can't see is what possible purpose it would serve beyond that.

People choosing NOTA would do it for a million different reasons. For every voter who ticks it because they want a party to say "woman = adult human female", there will be one who ticks it because they want a party to really go to town on trans rights (for example). It will lump together the libertarians, the anarchists, the cranks, the people worried about the Uyghers, the people worried about the death of the high street, the people who just really hate politicians. No one political arrangement could possibly please all these people. And so you'd just end up back where you started.

Democracy is definitely a "least worst" system, but as such, I'll take it.

Please don't forget these words from Labour

No, but women's sex-based rights and the safeguarding of children are my red lines, which rules out Labour, Lib Dems and Green. I won't vote Tory or Reform. And my indie candidate hasn't responded to my questions yet, so I don't know if he's suitable.

I am allowed red lines, you know!

"I don't like the Tories "

Just vote Tory. Their policies are literally shortening the lives of millions of British women, but they absolutely hate trans people and will definitely be legislating to remove as many of their rights as possible. They're probably the best party for you, given that this is a priority for you.

😴
I think people are wise to snippets of quotes out of context now.

Democracy is definitely a "least worst" system, but as such, I'll take it.

But there are better versions of it than FPTP, that represent more of the population.

As for being lumped in together, that is exactly what you are asking people to do when you want them to vote for the least worse option.

What "huge payouts" have the lib dems taken? Is it on the same scale as the £15million donation the Tories got from racist misogynist Frank Hester?

That's not what women's sex-based rights or children's safeguarding is about.

As you don't understand the issue, it's not worth discussing with you.

Irrelevant in the context of safeguarding children. Donations from puberty blocker manufacturers is hugely troublesome for some of us.

But you throw your whataboutery about. To people who obviously aren't voting Tory, as we're discussing how best to spoil votes.