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The Price of Democracy - Paul Robinson (23rd Apr 2009 - 20:27:12) Judging by the stigian gloom of the polling station in the Church Centre when I went to record my vote, I fancy that the turnout this time might be even smaller than the last Parish Council Election. Stepping into the sepulchral hall, watched by the four tellers, who outnumbered the voters four to one, one felt like a solitary mourner at a lying in state. I am all for democracy but there has to be a cheaper way of recording the will of the people than this! Paul Robinson

Re: The Price of Democracy - Eneida (24th Apr 2009 - 08:18:21) Yes indeed!! A very poor turn out....makes me wonder how much each of those 1100 approx. votes actually 'cost' ? I think voting should be compulsory in the UK, like it is in Australia and we should be able to vote on line too. We've got the technology so why not use it!! Eneida

Re: The Price of Democracy - Paul Robinson (24th Apr 2009 - 09:01:50) So, total votes cast 1,100 Estimated cost of running the election £9000.00 (based on the bill for the last election and not allowing for any inflation) So, each vote cost £8.18! This means that each of us could have hired a taxi to get us to the polling station for less. Allowing for a proportion of voters who elected to make a postal vote, the rest of us could afford to have a bit of a run round in the taxi and a drink at the Deer's Hut for less! Madness! Paul Robinson

Re: The Price of Democracy - Ben Govier (24th Apr 2009 - 09:10:12) It was exactly the same down the Millennium Hall, 4 bored looking officials and me.

Re: The Price of Democracy - Dawn Hoskins (24th Apr 2009 - 09:57:29) I'm not sure what can be done about it though. I spoke to literally hundreds of people and made a particular effort in Conford and Bramshott - but still they didn't come. I know that postal voting costs a lot of money, but at least those that apply for a postal vote tend to use it - in this case they accounted for over a third of the vote. I don't think we really need two halls in Liphook though, certainly not for a thousand people over the course of 12 hours. Even at minimum wage for 15 hours it soon adds up (that has to be the most boring job in the world!) Also at the count there was 6 people counting, one on a computer, one generally sitting about, and two or three people overseeing, plus a couple of security guards. I expect staff costs are a very large part of the expense. I really wish the people that said they were going to turn up in droves had have done!

Re: The Price of Democracy - Chris (24th Apr 2009 - 12:01:38) If the PC embarks on and succeeds in its mission to be more visible and more vocal then we may get a better turnout as a result. I genuinely think that the PC's lack of clout means that people don't take its existence as seriously as perhaps they should. I am sure that Dawn would have expedited the transformation but unfortunately is not there to carry the torch.

Re: The Price of Democracy - Helen (24th Apr 2009 - 14:29:12) Very sorry...I did not vote. I had my polling card stuck to my pinboard and was intending to find out about the candidates, but to be honest I really know nothing about any of them. No leaflets about anyone reached my doormat...I have spoken to others who also didn't have any idea who candidates were. Yes I am to blame for not finding out who everyone is and what they stand for but with a very busy life I am afraid that if people/leaflets don't come to me then my vote is wasted. I do feel bad that I did not vote and WILL make a real effort to do so next time, but this time was just a case of not having enough time to research and I certainly wouldn't have trotted off to the polling station just to vote for a random name that took my fancy. I shall now wait for the abuse and backlash from this post....

Re: The Price of Democracy - Dawn Hoskins (24th Apr 2009 - 15:21:31) What road do you live on?

Re: The Price of Democracy - Finchie (25th Apr 2009 - 09:59:21) Paul - per your comment last night - I am around and occasionally posting - great to meet you in much less "fuzzy" circumstances !!!! Looking at it slightly differently, I am pretty impressed that there are were over 1,000 people that cared enough to turn up mid-week to vote in a PC election. It doesn't help that the process is run in exactly the same way a a general election (by that I mean more than one location, polling cards, too many people etc.). Hence the cost. I'll do it for a half the cost, but you might have to bring your passport/driving license etc as proof of identity ! That amount must surely be pretty representative. Statistics was never my strong point, but a sixth seems pretty good for a "village", particularly as there was a reasonable margin of victory. I guess that means there are a couple off thousand that also cared but couldn't make it (unfortunately I was one of those in that category as I was away on business, too disorganised to arrange a postal vote - not an excuse but a fact). Also another observation - "Talkback" probably is not as widely read as we'd like to think. Jeremy clearly has a lot supporters without posting in this community, so wishing him the best, and I am sure he will be great. Dawn, your time will come, patience ! Cheers, Finchie

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