UKIP's colouring book comment - who votes for these idiots?

[SnowBells]

Link to BBC article here

If you don't want 16-17 year old teens to vote because they've been brainwashed by colouring books and later on even university research projects - does that mean you don't want the young to have a vote at all? So at some point, you will only grant pensioners a vote?

Because - you know - all the young ones are tainted now. They should have no say at all.

Well, let me tell you... Ms. Suzanne Evans, spokeswoman for the UKIP party. It is the future of these young people you're playing with. They have to live in this world with the mistakes made by previous generations long after you've gone. Because of this, I think there should be a system whereby the vote of the young counts more.

Currently, too many pensioners and soon-to-be pensioners have too much say due to the sheer number of people in that age group. They are the ones shaping the world of tomorrow - a world they are unlikely to live in for long. Hence, politics tends to be a lot about short-term benefits rather than taking a real long-term view.

After that comment by UKIP, I really think that whoever votes for them must be a bigger idiot than their spokespeople.

I absolutely think 16 or 17 is too young to have any kind of grasp of the issues involved. Most teenagers have at best very black-and-white thinking about politics, and more likely not a scooby about what's going on. Whatever reason you give, under-18s should not be voting on something as important as EU membership. Or indeed in general elections.

OhTheHugeManatee Your reasoning is more acceptable thN the freakin' colouring book explanation they gave.

I think 16 and 17 year olds probably have as good a grasp of the issues as the rest of the electorate tbh.

That's not saying very much, admittedly, as I think most people have a very poor understanding of what they're voting for, but that's the nature of democracy, isn't it?

Othehugemanatee, if voting was restricted to people who had a grasp of the issues involved, who had a Scooby about what was going on and who didn't have black and white thinking I'd guess 80% of the current electorate wouldn't be getting their voting cards....

Exactly gin!

Let 16 year old vote. There are overy 18 year old with odd ideas voting.

Perhaps this is the politically-charged brainwashing colouring book they are referring to?!

When I was a very smug 16 or 17 year old I was very politically conscious. I would have used my vote wisely. Unfortunately I felt too many of my class-mates lacked political astuteness, and should not be given the vote....

At 42 I believe that, on the whole, teenagers are more likely to use their vote in a considered fashion than I do. I'm old, and cynical, and tend to think that politics is simply a game. I think a bit of idealism in politics is a good thing - and giving the vote to 16 year olds can bring this idealism to the table.

However, my 13 year old ds, and 14 year old dd are deeply suspicious of the vote, and think that it should be reserved for 18+ year olds. I'm not even sure that they don't think a return to a voting age of 21 is called for.

I must check DS's stance on the Common Agricultural Policy when I get home. I'm pretty sure they covered it in the KS1 art curriculum.

I think 16 and 17 is too young to vote. The socialists always want that age group to vote because they think they have a better chance of catching them. As they grow older, they grow wiser and that is when the socialists begin to lose them.

Have you seen the patronising Joey Essex voting stuff? I wonder who funded it? It wouldn't surprise me if it were some sort of charidee (handing out free colouring books) funded from the pensioners' purse? Politicians will be there to scoop up the vote and some of the PPEs will be speaking mockney, highfiving and saying "cool" to get down with it.

This UKIP policy confirms what I thought all along. UKIP are the common sense party, and some of the other Joeys and the luvvies have lost it.

Here's Joey. I'm surprised it wasn't combined wih charidee Red Nose Day.

"The star, who has been open about his lack of political knowledge and the fact that he has never voted, has raised eyebrows after referring to Nick Clegg as Nick Leg and vowing to vote for Ed Milliband, despite only knowing that he represents a 'red' party."

www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-3014343/Joey-Essex-set-grill-main-party-political-leaders-ahead-General-Election-despite-having-never-voted.html

Sixteen is too young?

You can get married and leave home without permission (in Scotland) but you aren't old enough to vote?

'It comes after reports the Lib Dems, if in coalition again, would only agree to a poll if 16 and 17-year-olds and UK-based EU residents could take part.'

So Nick Clegg, the College of Europe graduate, would deny a referendum on the European Union to everyone in the country unless 16 and 17 year olds were included. I wonder why. Does he think the rest of us wouldn't fall for his College of Europe claptrap?

Surely the precedent has been set with the Scottish referendum vote, which included 16 and 17 yr olds. I think that if they are actually bothered to go and vote then that's a big improvement on the huge numbers of over-18s who can vote but can't be bothered.

I would have voted completely sensibly aged 16/17, and probably for the same party as I do now. So much for getting "wiser" as I get older!

Joey Essex, the luvvies' mascot, was on TV last night and told a BBC reporter that after meeting Nick Clegg, he discovered that his party was called the Liberal Democrats rather than the Liberal Democats and he said that Nick Clegg was "an honest man". The rest of us are too long in the tooth and have been round the block too many times to fall for Nick Clegg's chirpy chatter, we know all about the College of Europe crap.

'Surely the precedent has been set with the Scottish referendum vote'

Yes, the "progressive" parties will try to use that as a precedent, but we have seen that the common sense party, UKIP, will oppose the progressives.

Who is Joey Essex and why do I care about what he says?

Can you tell me why you thought letting 16/17 yr olds vote in the Scottish Referendum was shown to be unwise? What effect did it have on the results?

'Who is Joey Essex and why do I care about what he says?'

He is a TV star from TOWIE (The Only Way is Essex). You should care because the luvvies use slebs to try and get the vote out for the youth, and of course the message that is sent out by the slebs may affect the youth vote which is why the luvvies promote them. The luvvies want to lower voting age because they think that will help them win elections.

'Can you tell me why you thought letting 16/17 yr olds vote in the Scottish Referendum was shown to be unwise?'

I don't know what happened in Scotland as I didn't follow it closely. But in general, I am against giving the vote at such a young age because many young voters won't have lived through enough of the issues or won't know teh background to policies and they can be easily influenced by slebs, pop stars and all the other people the luvvies promote in order to help them win votes.

'What can be done to tap into this potentially powerful section of the electorate?'

You can't turn the TV on without seeing charidees, luvvies, pop stars and slebs getting lots of air time in an attempt to get young people to vote. You won't see that amount of money, charidee or air time given to any other segment of the population.

The young vote is a vote that can be easily swung and influenced as young voters are less experienced and have not seen the luvvies come and go, and that is why the luvvies are all over the young vote and not the pensioner vote for example.

Here is someone from a not-for-profit (not sure whether it is the same thing as one of the charidees)

"Jazza John, digital manager at Bite the Ballot, a not-for-profit movement encouraging young people to vote, said: “The youth vote makes up over five million people. If all of these people went out to vote it could make for a real change ."

'The NUS is running a national competition involving the nation’s 600 student unions to find ideas to get their members to vote. The best will receive up to £10,000 to fund events and projects.'

Who pays for that?

Rock Enrol!

"A government learning resource to introduce registering and voting to school classes and youth organisations. The games and materials in the resource aim to inspire young people to discuss and debate what they care about whilst considering why they should register to vote."

Taxpayer money. "Games and materials" but not as UKIP mentioned, "colouring books", because that was apparently primary level.

"The [Electoral] Commission launched a nationwide public-awareness campaign on 16 March."

Taxpayer money when we have a huge deficit.

"Bite the Ballot

A not-for-profit group campaigning for schools and colleges to encourage young voter registration. Their Verto smart phone app aims to rebrand politics in an interesting, engaging way and help young people decide who to vote for. Their Democracy Day on 15 April will encourage young people to organise registration rallies and voter-engagement sessions."

More 'not-for-profit' Who pays for it?

"VInspired

This charity are running a #SwingtheVote campaign"

A charidee.

'The League of Young Voters

A UK-wide campaign to get young people voting, The League of Young Voters is helping people decide who to vote for through a “Vote Match” quiz. It is also training and supporting Young Voter Champions to campaign and mobilise people locally, as well as encouraging young people to share political messages, stories and ideas in creative ways.'

Who funds it?

'Votes@16

A national campaign aimed at changing UK law to allow teenagers to vote at 16. Young people are encouraged to email and lobby their MPs, organise debates and run their own campaigns either locally, through their schools or at university.'

www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/generalelection/election-2015-how-to-encourage-young-people-to-vote-10141461.html

Lots of campaigns and money and charidees and movements.

"SwingtheVote campaign"

Lots of good people, but are there some senior luvvies, who have nothing to do with all these campaigns and movements, trying to swing the vote and influence easily influenced young voters?

I am against all forms of trying to influence people's votes by money, airtime or charidees apart from proper political debates where the public make their own mind up.

If people are not interested in voting or find it boring or are uninformed and don't want to vote, then that is their prerogative and I don't agree with luvvies spending public taxpayer money trying to influence and swing an uninformed vote.

The luvvies want to win elections and they like voters who can be easily swayed. They often don't like informed voters because may vote against them.

When all else fails and the luvvies can't swing easily influenced votes, then they begin to call for compulsory voting in an attempt to force uninformed voters, who can be swung, to outvote the informed voters.

"Making voting obligatory could be a way to counteract the demobilisation of centre-left voters who have traditionally come from socio-economically marginal groups.

To this end, centre-left parties in several western democracies are defending compulsory voting as a policy to promote political and social equality that is effective and universal,. Such rhetoric enables them to introduce compulsory voting as a technical means for rallying their discouraged voters, as well as to reclaim their symbolic role as the primary defenders of social democracy. By doing this, however, they end up by a curious route defending the very electoral reform that their predecessors for many decades opposed."

www.academia.edu/6983247/Electoral_Reform_and_Ideological_Contingency_Has_Compulsory_Voting_Moved_from_Right_to_Left_2013

I am against coercion, compulsion and spin.

claig

Stop deadening this thread with your long essays full of holes. Anyone can find he's in ANY party's. Blaming a colouring book is one step too far. I have seen your posts before. You obviously work for the moronic UKIP party.

Phone sent off too early.

claig

Stop deadening this thread with your long essays full of holes. Anyone can find a fault in ANY party. Blaming a colouring book is one step too far.

I have seen your posts before. You obviously work for the moronic UKIP party. You write essays - copied and pasted. Do you keep them in a file somewhere and copy and paste them on forums as and when required? Like "customer service" people do?

If you do not work for UKIP, then you are downright scary. You sound like the British version of a Tea Party member who worships Sarah Palin.

And yes... I prefer politicians to be progressive, and know that there are other countries outside of this tiny island.