h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Welcome to my world.

It would be interesting to know if those voters previously voted Labour or SNP.

Do you think Scottish voters started to abandon Labour when their senior Scots left? (Blair, Brown, Darling...)

Things here tend to be slightly distorted by the sectarian divide; Protestant Labour supporters will find it very difficult to bring themselves to vote SNP if they choose not to vote Labour whereas Catholics move very easily to the SNP, but the old loyalties are clearly beginning to breakdown.

I was interested in the result for our mayoral election, where we had a 1st & 2nd choice vote. Tory got majority in first round but not enough to win outright against, LibDem was second. Most of the 2nd choice votes went to the LibDem, but Tory got enough extra to win.

I'm frustrated that so many voters have so little influence, with our current system. It's relatively few constituencies that will determine the outcome.

Ah, the problems of democracy, which is the worst system except for all the others.

~ "Democracy is the worst form of government ~ except for all the others" ~ ~ Winston Churchill ~
https://richardlangworth.com/worst-form-of-government

I'm further disheartened at the 'man in the street' who says they'll vote Tory instead of Labour (or vice versa) because they're no longer happy with their previous choice. As though there's only a choice of two.

Rarely does anyone say they might consider one of the other parties such as Green or LibDem.

Or UKIP.

Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!

PP.

Well we were given the chance to vote for proportional representation and turned our backs in favour of first past the post. Seems it was our choice to stick with the status quo.

To be fair to the general public, it was a poorly run campaign by the LibDems.

And I was one of the 30% who wanted it. It did at least get a reasonable turnout.

Which lizard was he again?

Isle of Wight politics is very interesting at the moment. The Island is by far the UK's largest constituency (110,000 people, the second largest is 85,000 and the smallest constituency only 21,000) and in my lifetime has swung Lib Dem or Tory. Recently the MP has been the Tory Andrew Turner, an MP who 'always voted at my party's call, and never thought of thinking for myself at all'. He was expected to continue as the Tory candidate up until last month, when he was visiting a school, asked if he would attend Isle of Wight Pride and replied 'homosexuality is wrong and dangerous to society' and by the time he got was asked to resign.
Since the Tories' campaign, which was focussed on Turner, has self-destructed there is a growing momentum for the Green Party, which came third in the last election, narrowly behind UKIP. Unlike the national parties, the Green leaders are campaigning seriously on the Island and announcing their national policies on key areas such as Education and the NHS on the Island. Islanders like the idea that politicians actually care about the Island and know it exists. There are a large number of Green Party banners around – I've seen more than for any other party. Of course the presence of a comparatively small number of very passionate supporters doesn't win a campaign, but I reckon they have a real chance.

<BB<

I'll be off leafleting for the NHA party later. The Green stood aside for her, and the Libs and Labour activists, although fielding candidates, will be campaigning for her. At the weekend I met one of the 'Godalming 3' (Labour activists expelled from the party for supporting this progressive alliance).

Bluebottle, it's always good to see a line from Gilbert and Sullivan, politicians haven't really changed that much since their time!
You're lucky to have a Green Party candidate to vote for and, even better, one that actually has a chance of winning. Here in Scotland the Greens seem to have given up the idea of being a serious political party.

So far I only have a leaflet from the Tory incumbent..I doubt I'll get anything from anyone else because all other parties seem to have given up in this town.

Same here in this constituency. I intend to vote against the sitting Tory and then send him a note to explain why, as it's nonsense to think that anyone who's been incumbent for almost 35 years takes any notice of anyone voting against him: he hasn't acknowledged us in 35 years and is in likely to start now.

we've got such a pile of leaflets now.... - I think some of teh ones in the pile are still from the local council and the mayoral elections just a few weeks back - the level of activity over the road, at the labour party office building is looking dangerously frantic... their lights were on last night, until about 1 AM (I thought maybe some poor soul having to print ten million copies of something!), a skip appeared outside the building today, and there were meetings in gain there tonight, over the road... - They really could do themselves some favours... and dress a bit more smartlyk, not wearing dirty clothes might be progress I predict a further flurry of activity there tomorrow, and soon no doubt door to door visits spreading ou in the area, along with the daily doormat full of tree...

I've had a bundle of leaflets too. Got rid of all of them.

Labour - gave it to my neighbour.
Tory - sold it to another neighbour
Lib Dem - gave it away free with the Tory one.
Greens - recycling bin.

PP.