Very true, and I do apologise. Unfortunately the combination of a lot of vodka and ranting about politics tends to make me forget that not everyone's happy with such ripe language as I am.

Actually, I was intending not to name names. Easier that way.

How exactly a bunch of racist nutters would help a bit I'm not sure. My scepticism is based in large part on the fact that the party seems determined to lay every problem the country has at the feet of non-white citizens, and assumes forced repatriation will sort everything out and bring back to glorious days of Empire. I'd rather have a government that's slightly more grounded in reality.

not because I wasn:t elegable, but because I wasn:t in the country.

I am not a fan of the American system, where the draw out the length of the voting period to practically over a year (waiste money much?). But Canada called an election and finished it all withing three weeks. Yes WEEKS. I didn:t even hear about the election until one week to it. There was absolutly no time for me to register and get a ballot in time for the dead line.

I was just glad that the out come was contrary to the PMs hopes. He saw it as a seat grabbing exersise, but in the end he lost a bunch. Then again, if he waited out the term maybe we would have gotten a different PM because enough people are sick of him now.

Just my two cents.

L

There are legitimate reasons to not vote, honestly. Like, for example, disagreeing with 1) the process of voting, in general, how it's handled, 2) all of the candidates, in every single possible way (except the basics, like "murder is bad"), 3) the government, in almost every tangible way.

I won't vote in the next election. Or I'll do the blank ballot thing. This government sucks, all governments suck, I am an anarchist, and I think it's ridiculous that this country/government/society puts so much pressure on everyone to "VOTE! VOTE! YOU ARE UNDESERVING OF THIS COUNTRY IF YOU DON'T VOTE" especially since there's so much misinformation and stupidity thrown around pre-elections, and most people are incredibly misinformed, and the whole thing is just UGH.

My scariest with the BNP was I thought we were safe. I thought we'd had a few nutters around who really hadn't put the slightest moment's thought in. And then, a couple of weeks later, when who'd voted for whom was all academic, it turned out my constituency was the only one in Europe who'd voted out some vaguely liberal type and voted in the ...ing BNP.

It seemed scary but in in an academic way.

And then I had more than one conversation with PPCers who'd actually voted for those ...s. I had conversations with people I'd thought were reasonable human beings, but it turned out they'd deliberately voted for that. You have trouble with your family, because they vote like that. I have trouble with this entire damned Board, because before you know it, people you thought were vaguely reasonable, and might have ideas that didn't quite jive with yours but nothing major, suddenly, when it finally counts, they're votting for the ...ing BNP. You expect your family to vote against you. They're still your family.

I thought here we'd maybe have some common ground.

No.

...ing BN ...ing P.

Of the two here I talked to, one was appalled when I pointed out what their policies mean, but it was too late, the vote had been cast. The other, my objections didn't mean shite. That person still thought the best vote was for the ...ing BNP.

Arguments with family over politics would be preferable. My family won't change their views based on what I say, but I know they'll listen. And it's academic anyway; we've all, without ever being coerced to it, ended up voting Lib Dem.

I find it a ...load scarier that here, where we're meant to be a sort of meeting of minds, and we're all meant to have common ground... even here, I find supporters of the ...ing BNP. And not just supporters, but people who'll argue any line, fight any fight, and still vote for the ...ing BNP.

On behalf of Yorkshire, Europe, I'm sorry.