And for the avoidance of doubt - this is all fine. It’s great that SNP members want to do this. People should be passionate about their cause. They should paint their face to get a striking picture on a front page. Wave their banners high. What they shouldn’t do is get all humpty when people accurately note that this what some SNP supporters actually do. Still less should other people do it on their behalf.
I’m pretty sure that there as many unionists at Murrayfield with blue painted faces as there are on an AUOB march, if not more. And do you really think that the SNP comprises the entire independence movement?
News from the real world: with a heavy heart, but cheered by the thought that there is no prospect at all of an outright win, I voted Labour. Antisemitism, Corbyn and all. I feel dirty.
I’m a left-leaning centrist (or of the centre leaning left, if you prefer). The thing that has so dismayed me over the last few years is that whilst the two major parties have flung themselves to the far right and left, the centrist parties have achieved nothing. It’s a sad reflection of society. If I had voted Liberal Democrat in this constituency it would have been a wasted vote. Fingers crossed for a hung parliament as the least bad option.
The weather here is dreadful - which is supposed to keep elderly conservatives at home and far from the polling stations. Yeah, fingers crossed.
But what if someone honestly intended to vote for Labout? Isn’t changing the title now kind of like changing text in a quote box?
I kid, I kid. In my pretend UK life, I live in a strongly Pro-Remain area, so my vote for the LibDems is not at all a throwaway. I would have, if necessary, voted Labou[del]t[/del]r if necessary to prevent a Conservative win.
Something like this actually affected a UK general election a while back, 2005 perhaps. One of the many joke candidates, who normally never get into 4 figures, gave their party as “The Literal Democrats”. I think their surname meant they appeared at the top of the ballot paper for that constituency. They ended up getting over 10,000 votes. The Liberal Democrat candidate got around 10,000 votes, while the Tory got something like 17,000. It was clear that most people intended to vote Liberal Democrat, but half of them voted for the Literal Democrat by mistake. Incredibly galling for the Lib Dem, but the result stood.
Very kind of you.
Off topic: I have been hanging out on other parts of the internet of late. I always return here for the good moderation and good conversation.
Voted Labour, as usual. Corbyn for life. I don’t agree with all of his policies, and I’m very pro-Brexit, but none of that comes close to out-weighing the disastrous record and policies of the Tories.
Lots of Labour people about in these parts, banging on doors and suchlike. Some kid knocked on my door after it got dark to ask if I’d voted yet.You’d think everyone around here was Labour, even though it’s a moderately safe Tory seat. The Tory is some junior minister, probably doesn’t even know where the constituency is, and the LibDems sent a leaflet.
The Tory lead nationally has been slipping. There have been some recent scandals. The boy on the coats. The fridge incident. So I want to predict a non-Tory victory, resulting in the LibDems teaming up with the Tories once again, given that their leader explicitly ruled out a coalition with Labour.
That would be quite an outcome. Neither the Tories nor the LDs are going to shift their Brexit position, so I very much doubt it can happen. If the Tories fail to get a working majority they’re toast - there’s no party left to trust them in coalition (unless the Brexit Party manage a gain some seats, which is unlikely given their poor strategic choices). More likely is the often touted ‘unity’ coalition, but I only see that as a possibility if Corbyn steps aside. The most likely outcome of a hung parliament this time is another election, but unless there’s some major changes in the leadership of either or both major parties I don’t see how that will have a different outcome.
We really do need to move away from our first past the post system (I’d prefer something like single transferable vote).
So, against my better judgement, I decided to vote Labour for tactical reasons (like quite a few UK Dopers it would seem). Under different circumstances I’d have voted Lib Dem.
SNP for me. I’m an SNP member and supporter of Scottish Independence, and in the enviable position of having an MP who has done (in my opinion) a fantastic job. She is, of course, still my MP this morning, with a significantly increased majority.
