eu election results

Smooth Hound · eu election results

they werent good were they,

you got to laugh

otherwise youd cry, ill be able to go to bed tonight and think, yes weve got some good people representing us in europe now,

one lot that are determined to rip europe to bits, and another where you cant be black

what a laugh

myra

I didn't bother to vote so will have to accept those elected without criticising them - can't moan if I did nothing to try to change the situation. It's the first time I have failed to vote in my life, but felt so dis-heartened by all politicians just thought "what's the point?"

Ina

Smooth Hound

34 % turn out, and thats why weve got bnp and conservative, you may not be able to moan

but i can,

i voted,

myra

am the first to admit that I should have voted, no excuse really just feeling of "why bother". Would have been interesting in nobody had bothered though!
Yes, SH, you voted so can have a good moan - will have to direct all of my complaints via you!

Ina

Diana

I votes too, so I can moan

earthroots

IMHO if the 66% were offered a genuine alternative to the existing system then perhaps we would vote - the lack of voters is not a reflection of an apathetic population but of a corrupt system. Many folks refuse to vote on principle, myself included - I think the farce that has been the Labour government so many people had high hopes for back in the Thatcher era has made us realise that if we want change we have to do it ourselves and stop putting our faith and hope in the hands of power mongers. There is no existing party that I could give my consent to as I have no doubt that their policies will always be severely limited by corporate entanglement. If 'our' representatives had my vote I would feel in part responsible for the abuse, torture and denial of human rights that result from their policy making - I can only truly say that these things don't happen in my name because I never gave them my consent by putting a cross in the box.

The BNP of course have a hideous ideology and their growth is generally wielded about to scare us into voting for the lesser evil - there is no such thing in our political system - this system exists to support capitalism not human rights or social justice and our government has been killing literally thousands of non-Aryans in Iraq for the past couple of decades. The detention centres where whole refugee families are being imprisoned in this country are appalling. Surely all that is different between our government and the BNP is rhetoric and the fact that the BNP haven't had their shot at the board table for a while.

The low turn out at the polls is happening at a time when people are reclaiming their lives from an unsustainable system, when a growing global movement is creating change within communities, creating workers, food, land and housing co-operatives, community land trusts, social enterprises, mutual aid structures - real change is the stuff that people create together and for each other and it's happening precisely because we see through the lies and empty promises of our politicians.

okay - rant over - feel really rather passionately about this issue

Smooth Hound

Smooth Hound

im only joking by the way myra, you moan as much as you like

ground

I don't see how not voting means you can't moan about the government.
I too refuse to give my consent to the government to govern us. It's what we do outside the polling station that counts . Manufacturing consent to the act of putting a cross in a box once every few years is not democracy. People and communities having power of their own actions and lives is.
voting merely encourages them.

Smooth Hound

i would have thought having 2 b np candidates representing us in europe would prove otherwise,

surely it matters,

misteralz

I think the high incidence of BNP and tory votes has pretty much everything to do with Gordon Clown signing pretty much all our rights away to Brussels. If it means a shift in power back in our direction and gives the 'Labour' party a firm boot up the arse it can only be a good thing, right?

Smooth Hound

i suppose in a way yes, but that still doesnt get away from the fact we now have 2 rascists representing us in europe, as a british person i am ashamed of that, the conservatives is another thing, im not a tory ill be honest, but they are a legitimate party, and thats just my opinion, personally im for europe, but once again thats my opinion.

but nick grifiths

too much for me that one,

have you ever listened too him, hes a rascist thug for god sake

IainC

Don't you find it mildly amusing that so many people voted in parties that are very anti-EU, to be MEPs?

I'd have thought (and hoped) that the BNP type votes, were purely anti Lab/tory/LibDem votes. That, plus the fact that they do actually have a few supporters, but I'd hope that they are still very much a minority party.

End of the day, they scored something like 6.1 or 6.3% of the vote, yet the Pirate Party in Sweden got over 7.1% I think

Smooth Hound

yes i do find it amusing, in an ironic way, its ridiculous really

Fia

You may be interested to sign this:

http://action.hopenothate.org.uk/page/s/notinmyname

I have probably said this before here, but... women died for us women to be enfranchised. With mindfulness of them I always vote, and have educated my daughters to understand this point. There have been times I have deliberately spoilt my ballot paper, adding another box and ticking "none of the above". All spoilt ballot papers have to be agreed as such by all parties.

The reason the BNP did so well is probably that unhappy labour voters did not vote. Unlike many other countries, we ALL have the right to vote. Spoil your paper if you wish, but please exercise your democratic rights. Electoral systems notwithstanding IMHO we have a franchise unimaginable a mere century ago. I know folk older than that

We have a vote. So use it. In whatever way you wish, but please use the rights that others before us have died for.

IainC

We registered for postal voting, and they pay for your "stamp" so it costs nothing more than a min or two of your time and the ink from your pen.

Julie

I don't see how a protest of failing to vote can sit comfortably with anyone who claims to feel passionately. If you don't exercise your right to create change then everything else you say is just hot air.
Whatever your politics you should stand by your principles and be counted.

Smooth Hound

DiddleDeDum

Honestly - get a grip - not voting is making a stand!! What absolute rubbish. If you feel that strongly you need to stand up higher than everybody else - not hide behind some hopeless principle that nobody can see! Get out there - stand for election on the things you really believe in - let people know what you think - and if you are right and people believe in and understand what you are doing then they will vote for you.

We are incredibly lucky to have a democracy - and it is one - our Politicians are not really corrupt - stupid definately - the rules were entirely wrong but most of us will push the rules as far as we can - they took money from us that wasn't theirs to take but on matters of policy I think, on the whole they do what they think is the right thing.

There are plenty of countries with really corrupt governments where life is really hell.

We have the most appalling press in Britain and it makes people so desperately negative.

earthroots

the suffragettes struggle was to me about demanding equality, not demanding compulsory voting - they fought for our right to be able to make the choice to vote at a time when it was still believable that voting could change things. We live in different times. Every vote in this country is a vote for capitalism and I refuse to believe that 66 % of the voting population are apathetic or have hopeless principles.

Really what it comes down to for many non voters is the belief that the system cannot be changed from within, that it in fact exists to sustain the global market - this is becoming more and more the case - even if politicians begin with ideas of justice their hands are tied. refusing to consent to being governed by war criminals and capitalists is, I believe, a worthy stand to make - many non voters have been to been to jail, lost their jobs, suffered state violence and even death as a result of standing up for what they believe in through non-violent resistance and campaigning against the atrocious policies of our government.

Also, when i mentioned corruption earlier i wasn't referring to MP's expenses - that is a mere drop in the ocean compared to the bank bail-outs, the international trade agreements, the arms trade etc that support the race to the bottom that is global capitalism. The corrupt governments of the plenty of countries mentioned are often supported and manipulated by western 'democracies' - so yeah - while life in this country isn't too bad - we consent to our government exploiting the people and resources of these countries to keep our status quo. But the time will come in Britain too when the 'race to the bottom' will finally collapse our economy - and that will be a very scary time i reckon - to save ourselves from this we need to focus on decentralising control - meeting our needs locally - investigating all the work being done for social change through mutual aid structures brings great optimism and being involved is an incredibly uplifting experience.

On average people get the chance to vote 15 times in their life - but each and every day we have the chance to be the change we want to see.

Smooth Hound

you could of voted greens,

Julie

Of course voting can change things, that's the whole point. If all the people who abstained had voted, we would have a realistic picture of what the majority really wanted.
We don't have a true democracy in the real sense of the word. If we did, anyone could stand up in parliament, as they did in ancient Greece, and spout their views and wishes. We have the next best thing - one adult one vote. If you chose to waste yours in some futile way then you can't expect those who take part in the best way they can to take anything you have to say seriously because you simply don't have the courage of your convictions.
Have you also considered that by not using your vote, you may be helping to maintain the situation that you so despise? All the zealots went out and voted for the extremist nutters and as a result we have a few undesirables representing us in Europe now. How likely is it that they would have even kept their deposits if everyone had used their voice.
I see your apathy as part of the problem.

Smooth Hound

if nobody voted as a statement, then i would imagine a state of emergency would be announced and there would be marshal law

i cant see that being the target

misteralz

Since this is already getting silly, has anyone seen V for Vendetta?

IainC

Yup... I'm with you

Smooth Hound

which is the silly bit

earthroots

not sure what the silly bit is either but feel that it's good to discuss this issue in a manner where folks can be honest about why they choose to vote or not and actually be heard - I wouldn't presume, for example that those of you who have chosen to vote have done so for any other reason than you have stated, for example, to honour the suffragettes or because you believe it can bring about positive change or indeed because it keeps the nasties out - these are all perfectly valid reasons to vote and perfectly valid ways of thinking - I and many others feel differently and we have our reasons some of which I've tried to outline - why then folks have decided to make up other reasons for my actions - eg, apathy, not having the courage of my convictions, c'mon nothing i have said indicates this. You may not agree with me but that doesn't give you the go ahead to make assumptions about me.

i joined this discussion because i wanted to defend the many people like myself who CHOOSE not to vote from those who have us labelled as apathetic but seems that nobody's really hearing what i'm saying. But hey that's okay I can handle it

and by the way I love V for Vendetta!!

Julie

Actually, that's a fair point. I shouldn't make assumptions about your motives, point taken. I still think it's a terrible waste of an opportunity though.