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Turn out in UK General ElectionsI didn't want to take the shine off the result in the USA this morning, which IMO is full of hope. But Eileen's thread did get me wondering about the apathy in this country when it comes to General Elections, so I googled! Bad news here: http://www.psr.keele.ac.uk/area/uk/turnout.htm
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I think that is to do with a) the calibre of the parties b) extreme cynicism following the Iraq invasion c) a general cynicism with politicians, not helped by themselves or our media. d) my joke from yesterday - "No matter who you vote for, the government always gets in" The falling away is a very recent phenomenon - I hope it may be reversed. I often wonder what would happen if we were 'forced' to vote, like Australia (you could always spoil your paper, write 'none of the above' etc). On the whole I think it's best left as it is. If people don't have the interest or the nous to vote, the system is probably better off without their random X |
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There has been a sharp decline since 1992 according to that chart - and I would agree with your points above, except that the decline started before the First Gulf War. |
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I think it's very sad. The essence of freedom is the ability to vote; if you don't than you can't complain about the government that you've got, IMO. May I inject a bit of personal history here, which explains perhaps why I'm so gung-ho about voting? The District of Columbia is not a State, hence we have no representation in Congress. I was a grown woman in my 30s when we in the District finally got the right to vote in Presidential elections! That was a very meaningful moment to me. We have been struggling for over a century to get full representation in Congress; perhaps now with a Democratic President and Congress this injustice will finally be reversed. We pay taxes and send our men and women off to war, but have no say .... |
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I had no idea Eileen - that would certainly bring home to anyone the iniquity of not being able to vote. I always think of the struggle of our Suffragettes which was longer ago than your own struggle. I am much afraid that some countries in the so called "First World" preach "democracy" without actually practising it! |
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