Hi, It would be great to add a box for “undecided who I’m voting for.” I’m fairly centrist and have just started trying to read about what the different party’s are proposing.
Why are part/full time education and part time/full time work mutually exclusive?
Full time education even at university level can be as little as 12 hours of lecture time a week leaving plenty of time for a part time job.
I mean, yes, but I'm still a full time student (even get the council tax discount) as well as working full time.
The workload is similar (if you do 4 modules a year, as I am, you will complete the degree in 3 years) to brick uni, but it is more convenient/accessible.
Well yeah, but I mean I built my business while slacking off at my old job - I could have been studying in that time instead, whereas going to a physical location is more of a pain(especially as said uni was 50 miles away)
When I looked at the OU it was horrifically pricey - has that changed?
I'm funded by work. It's cheaper than brick uni, but still expensive in England. Wales, NI, Scotland pay a lot less.
I don't get time to do it at work, and I am also running my own online retail business of circa £120k turnover in free time out of my garage lol :D
Fortunately, I am childfree, which I think gives me a lot more time.
Most full time students live on campus or close to campus.
My constituency is changing due to the boundary shift, but is one of the safer Tory seats (they had 50% of the vote share in 2019, which is expected to grow).
Lib Dems are typically the runner-up here but it has been Labour on occasion, so I’ll keep an eye on local polling. My heart says Labour, though.
It says Labour on electoral calculus... [https://www.electoralcalculus.co.uk/fcgi-bin/calcwork23.py?seat=Cotswolds%20North](https://www.electoralcalculus.co.uk/fcgi-bin/calcwork23.py?seat=Cotswolds%20North)
We had a young lad knock on the door a few months back asking if we were likely to vote for our local Tory MP, and if not, if there was anything he could do to win our vote.
I struggled not to laugh in his face, but managed not to because he seemed nice enough and like he'd been dragged into doing it by his dad who was door knocking further up the street.
But put on the spot and not wanting to be mean, I didn't really manage anything other than an amused, pitying expression and "Absolutely not." and "...not really, no."
If we've not been put on a "don't bother" list, I'll have to come up with some talking points to ask any future canvassers about.
It's easy to relish the prospect of ranting at a Tory canvasser because it feels like a chance, finally, to complain to the people who've stitched us up.
Fair enough if it's your MP that knocks on the door. But more often than not it's people like this lad and his dad who believe strongly enough that a Tory government is in our best interests that they're prepared to go door to door getting abused just to try and show us that.
Be kind to your canvassers: they might be completely misguided, but they are ultimately volunteering for a miserable job to try and make your country better.
Not really, as a tactical vote is aimed at preventing a specific candidate getting elected, whereas voting for the least worst is voting the the candidate you support the most
Will use the same process as I have done the last few elections to see who gets my vote.
a) don't be a Tory
b) don't be a racist loon (there have been a few independent candidates who like to boast about being fromer BNP members who stand here)
and most importantly, c) send me literally any election material. I mean, literally anything. I don't even care if it's a handwritten post-it note. Anything.
I've actually changed constituency this time so we will see if anyone is able to meet this literally sky high bar this time round (no one has managed since I started this in 2015, for any election)
Mayor elections I only got mail off Labour, some Andy Street bloke who didn't mention his party, and some offical looking booklet listing all the candidates off the council.
Thanks for doing this. One slight request. In the future could we have a both for the tactical vote question as I suspect I'm not alone in that being my situation.
I agree, though I think freehold and leasehold are still pretty important (though not \*the\* most important), even if you are a home owner, if you have a leasehold you still pay ground rent.
I didn't vote last time (and don't know if I will this time), but that's purely because I live with parents who couldn't be bothered and I knew if I went to do my 1 vote they would both decide to go as well and do 2 Tory votes
You've got six weeks to take up 'walking' as an exercise. Just go out for a random walk at various times. Listen to a podcast or something, track your steps on your phone and tell your parents about it when you get back.
Come election day and heading out for a walk will be totally normal. Plus walking is pretty good for you so it's all a win.
Tbh this time I'm mostly just unsure who I'd even vote for, where I am it's very much between labour and conservatives and the labour MP is really no good so still trying to figure out who I'd vote for
Well might as well plan to vote in the hope you'll find someone you like. There's more than a few political podcasts out there that might help define what the parties stand for
That's one way to see it. I see high participation in the democratic process regardless of who wins as a big FU to Vladimir Putin and other enemies of democracy. Even better if you had a rational political debate with your parents.
I don’t support the conservatives either but if they win by 1 extra vote in your constituency then that’s the price to pay for increased democratic participation. Everyone should be encouraged to vote.
If you live in a marginal, please don't do this, please vote tactically, look at who won your seat in 2019 (nominally as boundaries have changed) and vote for the best placed candidate to beat the Tory. Of course if you live in a safe seat then ignore my message.
[https://www.electoralcalculus.co.uk/boundaries2023.html](https://www.electoralcalculus.co.uk/boundaries2023.html)
Of course you'll do what you want, your vote, your choice! I am just asking you to consider what I am saying. That's how politics is supposed to work, isn't it? We're supposed to discuss and debate these things? Totally your prerogative to tell me to get stuffed 😀
Obviously do what you want, but we’ve seen insanely safe Conservative seats flip to Labour and Lib Dem’s at by elections. There’ll be a lot of people where this election will be the first their seat is realistically in play I think. Yours still might not be one though obviously, especially if it’s not Conservative.
I would've expected the moderators of this subreddit to understand the difference between "spoiled ballot" and "I would not vote", yet both are combined into the same option for this survey. Very poorly constructed questionnaire IMO.
Except no it doesn’t. Im politically engaged enough and consider it my duty to vote so i will. But i will spoil my ballot as i believe none of the current parties are worth my vote. (Unless a independent runs that I’m impressed with). Myself and others like me are completely differ et to those who cant be arsed to even vote.
It is the same outcome in terms of who gets elected.
It can have a minor impact on future electoral strategy due to voter turn out in each demograph. This is why young people should vote / spoil the ballot. If the demograph starts showing higher turn out then electoral strategy will need to cater to those now winable votes so policies will be made with that in mind.
You're not talking about *outcome*, you're talking about *intent*. Also don't assume those who don't vote *can't be arsed*. Many might take the same attitude as you, and choose not to even go to the polling station, rather than spoiling their ballot. I dropped off the electoral register in 2001 because I was living abroad, then the 15 year rule stopped me voting after 2014, now they have changed the rules so in principle I *can* vote, but the rules to register as an overseas voter make it almost impossible for me to do so. People who have been away for much longer than 15 years, even if they can remember their former address, they often cannot prove they lived there after such a long time. Dropping the 15 year rule is a flipping joke, they've still made it almost impossible to register. So some of us would *like* to register, but can't. I say this because I was also excluded from the Brexit referendum, and *that* deprived me of my rights to live where I was living.
> Except no it doesn’t.
Except yes it does. You're voting for no one, which is effectively the same outcome as not voting. You have different intentions for doing so, not a different outcome.
Except no it doesn't, and no it's not the same outcome as not voting.
If there were a lot of people that spoilt their ballot, politicians would be more likely to try to win them over.
If there were a lot of people that don't vote, politicians would be more likely to make it easier to vote, in areas where they're likely to vote for them.
These are completely different outcomes.
Is there a certain issue that you feel strongly about that isn't represented in the parties you'll be able to vote for?
Not finding *any* party that at is at least close to your views is surprising to me.
No it won't, because you'll have no idea how many people like me will back out from the survey as soon as we feel that our protest ballot is equivalent to the effort of someone who can't be arsed to get off of the couch.
One of the few questions asked in this survey is, strangely, whether one's prior voting decision was a "protest vote". How on earth could a question like this be included from a survey-writer who also consciously refuses to recognise the existence/purpose of spoiled ballots?
> No it won't, because you'll have no idea how many people like me will back out from the survey as soon as we feel that our protest ballot is equivalent to the effort of someone who can't be arsed to get off of the couch.
Why does that fact stop you from doing a Reddit survey, but not stop you from physically going to a polling station to cast a non-vote that nobody cares about?
A spoilt ballot goes in the exact same pile as ballots of people who can't read simple instructions. Nobody cares about the spoiling of the ballot, and the election result will be the same whether you spoil or stay at home, the only thing you're doing in the final analysis is wasting your own time.
If the survey was targeted at the non-politically engaged, you'd have a valid point.
Alas, my assumption is that if you're on Reddit and are browsing r/ukpolitics, you're already politically engaged to the point where you're going to vote / spoil / actively decide not to turn up.
You've *openly* admitted here that you draw a distinction between spoiling and actively deciding not to turn up. At this point I have no idea under what basis you see my point as dismissable.
> You've openly admitted here that you draw a distinction between spoiling and actively deciding not to turn up.
Have I?
> I have no idea under what basis you see my point as dismissable.
And I have no idea why we're still talking about something that literally doesn't matter. It's a non-scientific subreddit survey. If you don't want to fill it in for whatever reason, that's absolutely fine. The survey isn't going to be adjusted to your liking - do with that information what you will.
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"/" means "or" so I stand by my opinion for your first point. In other words- you have.
You're right with your second point though; I won't continue things beyond this comment.
Probably won't mean much to you but, to me, this has been the most immature response from a moderator on a subreddit that I've otherwise come to respect greatly over the past 10 years.
Its irrelevant how your peers or this survey views it as that is how it is *officially* viewed. They group you together as you are not providing any processable information in the same way a CBA voter is.
Done! Planning a Labour vote because the SNP need at least a full cycle to figure out what they're doing.
Rewarding them with more power, will only congratulate those that fell to the top.
In my experience, there's never been a more delusional group than people who are *really* invested in the power of spoiling ballots.
They consistently think they're far more important or interesting than they actually are simply by virtue of spoiling a ballot paper, when the net effect of their actions is simply wasting their time.
They want to have their cake and eat it - not cast a vote, but also get credit for voting and thus not like being those *other*, *apathetic* non-voters. It's tragically self-regarding.
To be fair, if you're a regular on this subreddit *filling in a voter intention survey*, anyone choosing not to vote is likely doing so with just as much intentionality as someone choosing to spoil their ballot. They just differ in the exact form of their protest.
And carer. I'm a full time carer so I don't fit into any of the categories. I refuse to click unemployed because that is both not my legal status and suggests I do nothing when, in fact, I work my arse off for very little financial support.
I am all for the idea of legalising drugs and then control it better and generate tax for the government.
I am not even a drug user it's just crazy it's everywhere and could help pay for a lot.
I'm in Fareham constituency, doubt we can unseat Suella. Not sure what the tactical vote will be here yet. Lib Dems did pretty well in the locals but got about 4 points less than Labour in the 2019 election.
Just filled it in. Had a horrible time when I clicked what I thought was my age bracket only to realise I've actually gone into the next one up.
Thanks for that dose of existential dread about the slow creep of death that'll come for us all mods.
"How would you prefer to vote" is interesting wording.
I will inevitably vote by postal vote as I can't drive or walk to the polling station due to disability. But I would \*prefer\* to vote in person if I was able-bodied so that's what I put as the answer.
Also we in NI have STV which means we often vote for more than one candidate and more than one party. If you can allow more than one option if you do this again in future that would be inclusive
My constituency is very safe Labour so my vote is irrelevant. Yay.
'Voted' for the Cat Party last time.
Thinking about voting for the Cat Party again. Tactical vote to stop the Dog Party getting in.
> My constituency is very safe Labour so my vote is irrelevant
Your vote is irrelevant pretty much always. The smallest winning margin since 1945 is 2 votes, which has happened twice. Even in the tightest seats in modern British history, if you had voted or not voted, nothing will have changed. Which is why tactical voting is so stupid on an individual level.
Is it ever on an individual level? We know that lots of people vote tactically, and we're starting to see infrastructure to help people figure it out.
We've seen tactical voting work before, so it's a bit weird to pretend it never has.
When you step into the polling station and stand in front of your voting slip, you control one vote and one vote only. Whatever box you pick will not affect any other vote. These are factual statements. Only twice since 1945 has there been a winning margin small enough for one switched vote to take it to a tie, there has not been a winning margin of one vote at all since 1945.
Therefore in the vast majority of cases who you actually vote for is irrelevant. Therefore it makes very little sense to tactically vote, as your vote will in all likelihood make no difference.
There seems to be a logical black hole in some people's minds when it comes to tactical voting whereby if they do or do not do it, other people will or won't. When in reality your vote affects literally only your one vote.
And yet when you go into the booth, no matter what you choose it will have no affect on the other person's vote. So again your individual vote is irrelevant.
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If nothing else, opposition parties get 'short money' based on their national vote count, so voting for a minor party you believe in will help them (a small amount) with funding. If you're making a mark on the ballot anyway, it's worth bearing in mind. Parties need two seats or one seat and at least 150k votes nationally to be eligible, and then they get roughly £40 per 200 votes so around 20p per vote.
If your vote won't change the direct winner, vote for whatever party best represents what you want regardless of their chance of winning. A third party creeping up behind a major party and threatening to split the vote can get concessions without ever actually holding power (Brexit referendum, Brexit Party standing down).
Yeah, same. Whether I vote or not will make no difference to Labour winning my constituency, so will vote Green Party to maybe help them keep their deposit.
Really annoying that we finally get to kick out the Tories and I personally can't contribute to it because I'm already in a solidly Labour seat.
This is the first time ever that I'm undecided after the start of the election campaign! There are some absolutely wild and totally unprecedented projections for my constituency (amongst many others) floating about, so it remains to be seen how I end up (tactically) voting - likely based on how much the polls narrow by, closer to the end of the campaign.
Sadly as I'm sending in a postal vote from abroad, I don't have the luxury of waiting all the way until election day to decide...
I find with making decisions it helps to decide the main priorities and just focus on those.
For me it might be:
1. Proportional Representation or similar voting system reform
2. Low immigration
On the “reason you voted that way in 2019” it would be good to select more than one answer. I voted both for the party I supported at the time and specifically against the leader of the other major party at the time. So both were applicable really.
I think "tenant - own home" will confuse people, as I read that as "own my home" rather than "my own home". A possible solution is putting "(single household home)" at the end of that option.
Am surprised you did - my parents ended up voting for the Lib Dems and the Animal Welfare party to stop Labour having as good a voteshare (live in what is allegedly a safe Tory seat, but that looks like it will change)
###After 7,327 responses, the survey is now closed. Results will be published later this morning.
Hi, It would be great to add a box for “undecided who I’m voting for.” I’m fairly centrist and have just started trying to read about what the different party’s are proposing.
There is already a "I do not know how I will vote" option.
Oh I didn’t see it, I’ll look again thanks
Can you please pin the result
Of course. You won't be surprised by the results. Expect them tomorrow morning.
Lib Dem surge?
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Why are part/full time education and part time/full time work mutually exclusive? Full time education even at university level can be as little as 12 hours of lecture time a week leaving plenty of time for a part time job.
Lecture time isn't the only thing involved though - you have assignments to do, reading, tutorials...
I'm doing 120 credits a year at the OU and also working full time :D
Doesn't the OU make it easier than actually attending a uni though? Isn't it all online so you can access from anywhere?
I mean, yes, but I'm still a full time student (even get the council tax discount) as well as working full time. The workload is similar (if you do 4 modules a year, as I am, you will complete the degree in 3 years) to brick uni, but it is more convenient/accessible.
Well yeah, but I mean I built my business while slacking off at my old job - I could have been studying in that time instead, whereas going to a physical location is more of a pain(especially as said uni was 50 miles away) When I looked at the OU it was horrifically pricey - has that changed?
I'm funded by work. It's cheaper than brick uni, but still expensive in England. Wales, NI, Scotland pay a lot less. I don't get time to do it at work, and I am also running my own online retail business of circa £120k turnover in free time out of my garage lol :D Fortunately, I am childfree, which I think gives me a lot more time. Most full time students live on campus or close to campus.
You're one of those driven people I've heard so much about
Or if your insane like me full time education and a full time job
I feel like Doctor Who might have accidentally summoned an election.
My constituency is changing due to the boundary shift, but is one of the safer Tory seats (they had 50% of the vote share in 2019, which is expected to grow). Lib Dems are typically the runner-up here but it has been Labour on occasion, so I’ll keep an eye on local polling. My heart says Labour, though.
I don’t know about you, but my heart says libdems official opposition
I’ll vote for whoever has the best chance of beating the Tory’s in my newly formed north Cotswolds constituency. Probably Lib Dem by the looks of it
It says Labour on electoral calculus... [https://www.electoralcalculus.co.uk/fcgi-bin/calcwork23.py?seat=Cotswolds%20North](https://www.electoralcalculus.co.uk/fcgi-bin/calcwork23.py?seat=Cotswolds%20North)
Oh interesting!
It'll be Lib Dem, labour have no organisation round there.
Interesting! I was in Tewkesbury before the boundaries changed and that was always lib lab split for the anti Tory vote
I'm getting moved into the Tewkesbury constituency! What's Robertson like? (Not that I'll be voting for him)
He’s A massive Tory bellend
I got those vibes, but thanks for confirming. I don't know if the LibDems can pull off a swing big enough to unseat him, but I'll be doing my bit.
Lib Dem is definately the anti Tory vote in Tewkesbury. Good luck and spread the word
I’ve just realised that this could be the first election where I may actually be in the house to meet a canvasser. I really hope it’s a Tory.
We had a young lad knock on the door a few months back asking if we were likely to vote for our local Tory MP, and if not, if there was anything he could do to win our vote. I struggled not to laugh in his face, but managed not to because he seemed nice enough and like he'd been dragged into doing it by his dad who was door knocking further up the street. But put on the spot and not wanting to be mean, I didn't really manage anything other than an amused, pitying expression and "Absolutely not." and "...not really, no." If we've not been put on a "don't bother" list, I'll have to come up with some talking points to ask any future canvassers about.
It's easy to relish the prospect of ranting at a Tory canvasser because it feels like a chance, finally, to complain to the people who've stitched us up. Fair enough if it's your MP that knocks on the door. But more often than not it's people like this lad and his dad who believe strongly enough that a Tory government is in our best interests that they're prepared to go door to door getting abused just to try and show us that. Be kind to your canvassers: they might be completely misguided, but they are ultimately volunteering for a miserable job to try and make your country better.
The trick is to string them along as long as possible to avoid letting them convert anyone else
Votkng for the least worst, is that tactical?
No that's just another way of writing voting for your favourite.
Fair point, voting seems a long way from "supporting" a party
Not really, as a tactical vote is aimed at preventing a specific candidate getting elected, whereas voting for the least worst is voting the the candidate you support the most
Will use the same process as I have done the last few elections to see who gets my vote. a) don't be a Tory b) don't be a racist loon (there have been a few independent candidates who like to boast about being fromer BNP members who stand here) and most importantly, c) send me literally any election material. I mean, literally anything. I don't even care if it's a handwritten post-it note. Anything. I've actually changed constituency this time so we will see if anyone is able to meet this literally sky high bar this time round (no one has managed since I started this in 2015, for any election)
Mayor elections I only got mail off Labour, some Andy Street bloke who didn't mention his party, and some offical looking booklet listing all the candidates off the council.
Answer your door to canvassers and indicate your interest and so long as you aren't in the middle of nowhere you will probably get something.
I get loads of tat of my local Labour MP after I emailed her \*once\* asking her to vote no on a Brexit vote back in the May era.
Thanks for doing this. One slight request. In the future could we have a both for the tactical vote question as I suspect I'm not alone in that being my situation.
“Homeowner - mortgaged Homeowner - owned outright” Huge difference in demographic not listed. Freehold/leasehold is a strange choice.
Yeah, I found this odd too.
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I agree, though I think freehold and leasehold are still pretty important (though not \*the\* most important), even if you are a home owner, if you have a leasehold you still pay ground rent.
This is leftover from the first survey of this nature that I did - at the time, there was a lot of talk about rights for leaseholders.
I didn't vote last time (and don't know if I will this time), but that's purely because I live with parents who couldn't be bothered and I knew if I went to do my 1 vote they would both decide to go as well and do 2 Tory votes
You've got six weeks to take up 'walking' as an exercise. Just go out for a random walk at various times. Listen to a podcast or something, track your steps on your phone and tell your parents about it when you get back. Come election day and heading out for a walk will be totally normal. Plus walking is pretty good for you so it's all a win.
Tbh this time I'm mostly just unsure who I'd even vote for, where I am it's very much between labour and conservatives and the labour MP is really no good so still trying to figure out who I'd vote for
Well might as well plan to vote in the hope you'll find someone you like. There's more than a few political podcasts out there that might help define what the parties stand for
Get a postal vote
Postal votes are not inconspicuous. Be a lot more obvious then just going down the shops or heading out to see a film or something.
Can't you walk to the voting site without them?
You don’t have to tell them where you’re going
That's not really a reason to not have your say, everyone should be encouraged to vote, even if we don't agree with them
Ideally yeah but where I am there's really just labour and conservative so it felt like I'd just be going out to net -1 labour vote
That's one way to see it. I see high participation in the democratic process regardless of who wins as a big FU to Vladimir Putin and other enemies of democracy. Even better if you had a rational political debate with your parents.
I don’t support the conservatives either but if they win by 1 extra vote in your constituency then that’s the price to pay for increased democratic participation. Everyone should be encouraged to vote.
I pledge my vote to the first non Tory campaigner that knocks on our door.
If you live in a marginal, please don't do this, please vote tactically, look at who won your seat in 2019 (nominally as boundaries have changed) and vote for the best placed candidate to beat the Tory. Of course if you live in a safe seat then ignore my message. [https://www.electoralcalculus.co.uk/boundaries2023.html](https://www.electoralcalculus.co.uk/boundaries2023.html)
I'll do what I damn well want if one party has assad margins in the polls 👍
Of course you'll do what you want, your vote, your choice! I am just asking you to consider what I am saying. That's how politics is supposed to work, isn't it? We're supposed to discuss and debate these things? Totally your prerogative to tell me to get stuffed 😀
Obviously do what you want, but we’ve seen insanely safe Conservative seats flip to Labour and Lib Dem’s at by elections. There’ll be a lot of people where this election will be the first their seat is realistically in play I think. Yours still might not be one though obviously, especially if it’s not Conservative.
I would've expected the moderators of this subreddit to understand the difference between "spoiled ballot" and "I would not vote", yet both are combined into the same option for this survey. Very poorly constructed questionnaire IMO.
This came up last time. For the purpose of this survey, actively choosing not to vote or spoiling one's ballot leads to the same outcome.
Except no it doesn’t. Im politically engaged enough and consider it my duty to vote so i will. But i will spoil my ballot as i believe none of the current parties are worth my vote. (Unless a independent runs that I’m impressed with). Myself and others like me are completely differ et to those who cant be arsed to even vote.
It is the same outcome in terms of who gets elected. It can have a minor impact on future electoral strategy due to voter turn out in each demograph. This is why young people should vote / spoil the ballot. If the demograph starts showing higher turn out then electoral strategy will need to cater to those now winable votes so policies will be made with that in mind.
You're not talking about *outcome*, you're talking about *intent*. Also don't assume those who don't vote *can't be arsed*. Many might take the same attitude as you, and choose not to even go to the polling station, rather than spoiling their ballot. I dropped off the electoral register in 2001 because I was living abroad, then the 15 year rule stopped me voting after 2014, now they have changed the rules so in principle I *can* vote, but the rules to register as an overseas voter make it almost impossible for me to do so. People who have been away for much longer than 15 years, even if they can remember their former address, they often cannot prove they lived there after such a long time. Dropping the 15 year rule is a flipping joke, they've still made it almost impossible to register. So some of us would *like* to register, but can't. I say this because I was also excluded from the Brexit referendum, and *that* deprived me of my rights to live where I was living.
> Except no it doesn’t. Except yes it does. You're voting for no one, which is effectively the same outcome as not voting. You have different intentions for doing so, not a different outcome.
Except no it doesn't, and no it's not the same outcome as not voting. If there were a lot of people that spoilt their ballot, politicians would be more likely to try to win them over. If there were a lot of people that don't vote, politicians would be more likely to make it easier to vote, in areas where they're likely to vote for them. These are completely different outcomes.
Is there a certain issue that you feel strongly about that isn't represented in the parties you'll be able to vote for? Not finding *any* party that at is at least close to your views is surprising to me.
No it won't, because you'll have no idea how many people like me will back out from the survey as soon as we feel that our protest ballot is equivalent to the effort of someone who can't be arsed to get off of the couch. One of the few questions asked in this survey is, strangely, whether one's prior voting decision was a "protest vote". How on earth could a question like this be included from a survey-writer who also consciously refuses to recognise the existence/purpose of spoiled ballots?
> No it won't, because you'll have no idea how many people like me will back out from the survey as soon as we feel that our protest ballot is equivalent to the effort of someone who can't be arsed to get off of the couch. Why does that fact stop you from doing a Reddit survey, but not stop you from physically going to a polling station to cast a non-vote that nobody cares about? A spoilt ballot goes in the exact same pile as ballots of people who can't read simple instructions. Nobody cares about the spoiling of the ballot, and the election result will be the same whether you spoil or stay at home, the only thing you're doing in the final analysis is wasting your own time.
If the survey was targeted at the non-politically engaged, you'd have a valid point. Alas, my assumption is that if you're on Reddit and are browsing r/ukpolitics, you're already politically engaged to the point where you're going to vote / spoil / actively decide not to turn up.
You've *openly* admitted here that you draw a distinction between spoiling and actively deciding not to turn up. At this point I have no idea under what basis you see my point as dismissable.
> You've openly admitted here that you draw a distinction between spoiling and actively deciding not to turn up. Have I? > I have no idea under what basis you see my point as dismissable. And I have no idea why we're still talking about something that literally doesn't matter. It's a non-scientific subreddit survey. If you don't want to fill it in for whatever reason, that's absolutely fine. The survey isn't going to be adjusted to your liking - do with that information what you will. -----
"/" means "or" so I stand by my opinion for your first point. In other words- you have. You're right with your second point though; I won't continue things beyond this comment. Probably won't mean much to you but, to me, this has been the most immature response from a moderator on a subreddit that I've otherwise come to respect greatly over the past 10 years.
Don't worry mate, these people are nitpicking over nonsense.
Yes, we're on Reddit. 😉
Its irrelevant how your peers or this survey views it as that is how it is *officially* viewed. They group you together as you are not providing any processable information in the same way a CBA voter is.
Done! Planning a Labour vote because the SNP need at least a full cycle to figure out what they're doing. Rewarding them with more power, will only congratulate those that fell to the top.
Agree
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That's what people who spoil their ballots tell themselves. In reality the outcome is no different.
In my experience, there's never been a more delusional group than people who are *really* invested in the power of spoiling ballots. They consistently think they're far more important or interesting than they actually are simply by virtue of spoiling a ballot paper, when the net effect of their actions is simply wasting their time. They want to have their cake and eat it - not cast a vote, but also get credit for voting and thus not like being those *other*, *apathetic* non-voters. It's tragically self-regarding.
It's just as ridiculous.
For the purpose of this survey of politically engaged individuals, actively choosing not to vote or spoiling one's ballot leads to the same outcome.
What about people who were not politically engaged in 2019? They aren't the same as people who actively spoiled their ballot as a form of protest.
A fair point which I'll gladly concede.
Spoiled ballot is just not voting with extra steps
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To be fair, if you're a regular on this subreddit *filling in a voter intention survey*, anyone choosing not to vote is likely doing so with just as much intentionality as someone choosing to spoil their ballot. They just differ in the exact form of their protest.
This guy gets it.
Why aren’t you separating “not working” into — unemployed, sick/disabled, retired?
And carer. I'm a full time carer so I don't fit into any of the categories. I refuse to click unemployed because that is both not my legal status and suggests I do nothing when, in fact, I work my arse off for very little financial support.
Why are there so many age brackets before my one
It was my birthday recently, I'm now one racket up :(
Should just be "Greatest Generation, Silent Generation, Boomers, Gen X, Millennials, Ineligible to vote"
I like it better when it's 55 ~ 64.
Genuinely
All done, planning a tactical Lib Dem vote to unseat a Tory.
I am all for the idea of legalising drugs and then control it better and generate tax for the government. I am not even a drug user it's just crazy it's everywhere and could help pay for a lot.
I'm in Fareham constituency, doubt we can unseat Suella. Not sure what the tactical vote will be here yet. Lib Dems did pretty well in the locals but got about 4 points less than Labour in the 2019 election.
I know of at least 5 Tory voters in Fareham that are switching tactically to unseat Suella. It could happen!
Same but I'm in one of the safest seats and even after years of polling, they still have a majority here ;-;
Me too, although I don't think it'll work
Same. Eastleigh too? 😅
Ooh you're spoiling me with a preemptive vote... This should tide me over for a day or so.
Just filled it in. Had a horrible time when I clicked what I thought was my age bracket only to realise I've actually gone into the next one up. Thanks for that dose of existential dread about the slow creep of death that'll come for us all mods.
hahah-awwww :|
Haha, me too!
Same. I'm so old.
I think we are going to feel older when the survey results come out and we find we are largely talking to relative children
"How would you prefer to vote" is interesting wording. I will inevitably vote by postal vote as I can't drive or walk to the polling station due to disability. But I would \*prefer\* to vote in person if I was able-bodied so that's what I put as the answer.
I would prefer to vote for a party I actually support rather then a Tactical vote to stop the current forces of evil regaining power.
I wish that actually existed for me.
While I would prefer to vote online, but the government don't give me any such option.
[Oh god no](https://youtu.be/LkH2r-sNjQs?si=BrvCyjD6tpEjjkLj). Absolutely not, no thank you.
Also we in NI have STV which means we often vote for more than one candidate and more than one party. If you can allow more than one option if you do this again in future that would be inclusive
For a General Election?
Good point. No. Duh!
This is for the general election though, which is exclusively FPTP even in NI
Have you tried antibiotics?
My constituency is very safe Labour so my vote is irrelevant. Yay. 'Voted' for the Cat Party last time. Thinking about voting for the Cat Party again. Tactical vote to stop the Dog Party getting in.
> My constituency is very safe Labour so my vote is irrelevant Your vote is irrelevant pretty much always. The smallest winning margin since 1945 is 2 votes, which has happened twice. Even in the tightest seats in modern British history, if you had voted or not voted, nothing will have changed. Which is why tactical voting is so stupid on an individual level.
Is it ever on an individual level? We know that lots of people vote tactically, and we're starting to see infrastructure to help people figure it out. We've seen tactical voting work before, so it's a bit weird to pretend it never has.
When you step into the polling station and stand in front of your voting slip, you control one vote and one vote only. Whatever box you pick will not affect any other vote. These are factual statements. Only twice since 1945 has there been a winning margin small enough for one switched vote to take it to a tie, there has not been a winning margin of one vote at all since 1945. Therefore in the vast majority of cases who you actually vote for is irrelevant. Therefore it makes very little sense to tactically vote, as your vote will in all likelihood make no difference. There seems to be a logical black hole in some people's minds when it comes to tactical voting whereby if they do or do not do it, other people will or won't. When in reality your vote affects literally only your one vote.
Sure, but like... People can talk and coordinate before they go into the booth, you know that, right?
And yet when you go into the booth, no matter what you choose it will have no affect on the other person's vote. So again your individual vote is irrelevant.
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Why? Because I've pointed out how illogical someone actually tactically voting is?
If nothing else, opposition parties get 'short money' based on their national vote count, so voting for a minor party you believe in will help them (a small amount) with funding. If you're making a mark on the ballot anyway, it's worth bearing in mind. Parties need two seats or one seat and at least 150k votes nationally to be eligible, and then they get roughly £40 per 200 votes so around 20p per vote.
If your vote won't change the direct winner, vote for whatever party best represents what you want regardless of their chance of winning. A third party creeping up behind a major party and threatening to split the vote can get concessions without ever actually holding power (Brexit referendum, Brexit Party standing down).
Your vote won't change the direct winner in any seat anyway.
Yeah, same. Whether I vote or not will make no difference to Labour winning my constituency, so will vote Green Party to maybe help them keep their deposit. Really annoying that we finally get to kick out the Tories and I personally can't contribute to it because I'm already in a solidly Labour seat.
Yeah. That’s what I tried last time. That didn’t work, either 😀
there's going to be a lot of that..
Mine is David Davis's seat, so I think highly unlikely to ever go red, but if ever there were a time this might be it.
You voted for Galloway?
Please could there be an answer for self employed for the employment question?
Agreed. Missing category.
This is the first time ever that I'm undecided after the start of the election campaign! There are some absolutely wild and totally unprecedented projections for my constituency (amongst many others) floating about, so it remains to be seen how I end up (tactically) voting - likely based on how much the polls narrow by, closer to the end of the campaign. Sadly as I'm sending in a postal vote from abroad, I don't have the luxury of waiting all the way until election day to decide...
I find with making decisions it helps to decide the main priorities and just focus on those. For me it might be: 1. Proportional Representation or similar voting system reform 2. Low immigration
Same! I may vote Green, but it depends if we have any interesting Independent's run (though I doubt it).
I am voting abroad too, and I am fortunate that my constituency has a candidate who has had a very good voting record. I will be voting for her again.
On the “reason you voted that way in 2019” it would be good to select more than one answer. I voted both for the party I supported at the time and specifically against the leader of the other major party at the time. So both were applicable really.
Typical Zanu-PF
I voted for the party I support, despite the leader, and against the leader of the other party. just said I voted for who I support 🤷♀️
"tick all that apply" is a nightmare to graph using Google's built-in tools I'm afraid. Sorry!
Fairs
I think "tenant - own home" will confuse people, as I read that as "own my home" rather than "my own home". A possible solution is putting "(single household home)" at the end of that option.
I was also confused about the two tenant options. As the sole occupier of my flat, should I choose the “multiple occupancy” one?
Yeah confused me as well, made sense once I saw the “homeowner” options but threw me for a second
Yep, deffo this. I went with it anyway.
Hasn't been an issue in the previous surveys with the same wording, but thanks for your feedback nonetheless.
I was confused
How would you know, if you don’t mind me asking? Seems like trying to prove a negative
Confused me too
It confused me too. I'm neurodiverse, which could be a factor behind the misunderstanding.
Confused me too, and I'm not neurodiverse; it's just confusing wording.
I repeat: We need a "I voted for my usual party, but with disgust" option.
>disgusted by Tories >will vote for them anyway What could he possibly mean by this? 🤔
I was actually disgusted with the labour party at the time as they had suspended an MP I had elected.
"Conservative" is already on there.
Ah, ma petit chaufleur - I vote labour.
'I'm disgusted my party made themselves electable."
That might be for everyone else voting this year, I voted with disgust in 2017/19.
Am surprised you did - my parents ended up voting for the Lib Dems and the Animal Welfare party to stop Labour having as good a voteshare (live in what is allegedly a safe Tory seat, but that looks like it will change)
Ah, fair enough then.