3.6 million UK voters are undecided
 

This is a non political comment, so I'm not promoting one party or another, not even discussing the party names.

According to the YouGov survey I just participated in (sample size over 3,000) 5% of the respondents don't plan to vote tomorrow, 88% have made their minds up on how they will vote, but a massive 8% haven't yet decided.

If this holds true for the population as a whole, out of the total of 45+ million voters, 3.6 million of them will wake up tomorrow, look out of the window, and only then somehow make their mind up. Will it be the sight of a black cat crossing the road? Or an eclipse of the sun that will finally make their mind up?

How representative is the sample? I should have thought those who were savvy enough to sign up for a smartphone app or use a web browser would be amongst the most decisive in the population.

The mind boggles.

(Please don't turn this into a political thread. No party names allowed!)

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In Australia, it is no problem being undecided, but if you want to stay out of the polling booth it will cost you a $50 fine. Sounds like it might be a good idea to bring that in in the UK. At least nobody can say that a particular outcome wasn't their fault because they didn't vote.

There are lies, damn lies and then there are statistics! You can speculate about hypothesised statistical analysis until your bum falls off but it won't change the outcome! :smile3:

I liked the talking dog and stripping grannies but can live without yet another urban dance group/choir. Can't tell the difference between the soap box jokers though.


It's a NO from me.


Andy

Democracy in action
 

Why assume that each and every one responding to a survey tells their innermost thoughts, much less the truth of their real intentions.

Nor I.
Nations get the politicians they deserve and this nation is pretty decrepit so, sure enough, the totally of politicians are equally decrepit and there isn't a Statesman among the lot of them.
So, there is nothing to pick between them, no matter what party they claim to have allegiance with.
The corollary is that it really doesn't matter who happens to be in government for another 5 years - ultimate control of the UK will come from elsewhere.

It could be worse. You might have been unlucky enough to be born across the Atlantic and have to suffer the US election circus.

But hang on. I live way across the Pacific and we have to suffer through most of it. Probably a direct result of allowing Sesame Street into the country all those years ago.

Thankfully the UK process doesn't rate in the colonies so we are spared most of it unless we look at the Guardian on-line.

I didn't even know an election was coming in UK. All we hear about is the new Baby girl. Is Bridget Jones' boy friend Mark running? :smartass:

You lot are doing much better than us, only 57% voted in US presidential election in '12. Lowest turnout since WW2. Think voting doesn't matter?

You just have no idea just how fooking crazy our nutjobs really are.
World War 3 ? They won't even hesitate. doh (or ... as some X president who talks to God sez: "bring it on")
:tank: War! ... it's what we do best!

I've followed this year's campaign intensely even watching the Scotland-only and Northern Ireland-only debates. I think all of the politicians are well intentioned even if I don't share their particular vision of the future and I would gladly go for a drink with any of them and have a natter.

I actually got my photo in a national newspaper at the 2010 election along with a funky chicken.

My daughter is a producer with the BBC and was running a doorstepping crew at Nick Clegg's house in Putney. We live only about 400m away and I got a call real early to say she was cold and could I do a coffee run. So I organised coffee for the BBC, Sky News, ITV and whatever and then the Daily Mirror's 'Mirror Chicken' turned up to get in the photo at which stage Cleggy appeared—doesn't he look young?

You have to admire his composure, seriously answering questions about the coalition talks with a chicken at his elbow.

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2010/...03_634x424.jpg

I couldn't find the image with me in it, but in the one above from the Daily Mail my daughter is in the white hat.

Possibly a better way of deciding than listening to the election bs coming out from them all :)

I voted last weekend as I have a postal vote, and then realised, shit, what happens if I see a black cat crossing the road on election day? and have already voted for the wrong person :eek:

HA! doh :thumbup1:
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First of all, I wish people could look up the word 'democracy' in a dictionary and research its origins before using that word to describe any aspect of the first world political circus.

Fining people for not voting?? That really makes no sense, whilst I would argue that it is irrelevant which main stream party candidate anyone votes for, people at least maintain the right to protest by having the right NOT to vote.

Personally, I have no respect for any of the candidates, they are simply the face(less) representatives of the various lobby groups that control our political establishment and ensure that the corporations and billionaires become richer and richer, whilst the workers and middle classes pay for the 'joy' of working for the aforementioned.

In UK terms, the last 2 politicians of any credibility were probably Enoch Powell and Tony Benn. Opposite ends of the spectrum in many ways, but that had ideas and conviction.

UKIP might be able to return a little power to the UK with a swift exercise of removal from the EU, but they seem frighteningly American in their outlook to everything IMHO. Otherwise its all the same...... Integration into the Fourt Reich..........:oops2::oops2::oops2:

I'm undecided.

It makes relatively little difference as I live in a Conservative stronghold. I, "Agreed with Nick" last time and still respect Vince Cable but feel a little let down by Cleggy. I won't be voting Labour and certainly not UKIP.

I've done some online questionnaires this evening. The Independent told me to vote Labour, the Torygraph said vote Conservative.

Apparently, my party matches are:
Conservatives - 66%
Labour - 60%
Liberal Democrats - 59%
Green Party - 51%
UKIP - 43%

Either way, I just wish my vote actually mattered and am seriously considering moving to a marginal constituency. :biggrin3:

I'm one of the alleged 8% Tim refers to. My view of the 2015 lineup is

http://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/624/med...nce_muppet.jpg

I live in a safe seat for one of the parties that I can't bring myself to vote for, so my vote is pointless. The constituency next door has this chap as it's MP. I wonder if he'll be in a job by 10pm GMT +1 tomorrow?

That is pretty much how all the press and other media perform when it suits them.
A few days ago we had a large circulation newspaper here in the UK with 3 different front pages for 3 separate areas of the UK campaigning for 3 different outcomes.
Why should the population be anything other than ambivalent?

As for UK elections, this is how they can turn out:-
Tower Hamlets: how a dictatorship flourished in the East End | Nick Cohen | Comment is free | The Guardian

Hanging chards just ain't in it.

I don't blame so many people for being undecided - it's usually a matter of choosing the lesser of two (sometimes more) evils.

I remember as a young boy asking my father who he was voting for in the upcoming election, and he told me he always voted for the underdog. I figured that was a pretty good idea then, and it is often a good idea now.