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Should I vote??? - Lucy (2nd May 2015 - 17:34:35) After seeing so much talk on here about how councillors been particularly deceptive in recent years, I was very surprised, simply because I didn't quite know the extent of it. I still don't know everything exactly, but I sure hope they are cleaning their act up. I don't really follow what the local council is doing (or not doing) for us on a regular basis and being in my twenties, I have never really taken an interest as I have other things going on in my life career studying etc. it just makes me think, what are the different parties proposing to do for younger people like me? How do I find this out? Everything I've had in my life has been worked for by me, what have they done for me? what purpose do they serve? How do I know who to vote for? All I seem to get is some leaflets in the post just before election times. Should I even bother voting! Excuse me if you think I'm just ignorant, I expect I am. I just wanted to share my thoughts because I feel that there are a lot more younger people who feel the same! Perhaps I won't bother. No backlash please!!

Re: Should I vote??? - Debbie (2nd May 2015 - 19:26:48) I'm afraid I don't have a magic answer Lucy but please don't not vote, even if you spoil you ballot paper still vote because woman died in order to get the vote for the fairer sex!!!

Re: Should I vote??? - Sarah (2nd May 2015 - 19:35:31) Hi Lucy - great post, and an important one. It is really important to vote, even if you spoil your ballot paper (these are counted and reported). There are many reasons for this not least because women were unable to vote such a short time ago and many women gave up their lives to get the vote for us. Also, whilst you might not consider it, politics has a significant impact on all that you do whether it be student loans, the amount of tax you pay, cost of petrol, cost of food, where you live, how much homes cost, accessibility to leisure facilities, transport etc..etc..etc.. In fact there is a big campaign to get tax taken off of sanitary items for women, because these are taxed as a luxury good (seriously)! As a young person who is studying, politics have had an impact on your college/university, the fees you pay, the loss of the support grants, the types of courses you can study AND what your opportunities are like when you leave with your qualifications. SO how do you find out whats on offer... there's the big question!!! Take a look at each political parties manifesto which sets out what they 'promise' to do if they get elected (although these are not legally binding). Do not rely on the media to give a clear overview. If someone comes to the door, ask questions, challenge them. Politicians at ALL levels of government have a significant influence over our daily lives, its important to vote for the right one to represent you. And if nothing else, voting means those lovely people at the polling station will have someone to say hello to on Thursday :)

Re: Should I vote??? - sjenner (3rd May 2015 - 05:14:18) Try this site at least so that you can see what is important to you and how the individual parties will approach the issue. voteforpolicies.org.uk Please do vote!

Re: Should I vote??? - tony (3rd May 2015 - 13:26:00) Sarah, I'm not sure that Lucy wanted a lecture on why she should vote because she's a woman, more why she should bother voting as a disillusioned voter, a person. By the way, women haven't only just got the vote, it was actually 97 years ago now! In fact, the majority of men only got the vote at the 1918 election too (not a feminist concern, possibly). Let's assume that Lucy isn't a rabid feminist and cares about all voters, then surely the big problem is the first past the post system. Let's say 20,000 people vote Tory, 19,999 vote Labour, !8,000 vote Liberal and 15,000 vote UKIP etc. We get 1 Tory MP and all the other votes are discarded. They don't count for anything. You can do the maths, but it's not unusual for an MP to be elected on less than 20% of registered voters. This area is going to return a Tory, come what may. The established 2 big parties don't want to change the system to a much fairer Proportional Representation, because they know that all the people who don't bother to vote now (because they KNOW their vote will be wasted) would, because their votes would count towards the overall total. The results would be a lot different and no vote would be wasted, masses more people would vote. I hear you can now go online and do 'vote swapping' but that's just glossing over the problem, what's to stop you betraying each other (a bit like the prisoner's dilemma). Sorry if the truth hurts, but until the system changes, there is no point voting in this area and I won't be voting for either of the two big parties, it's just playing their game. I would suggest that spoiling your vote is a waste of time (they just think you're thick) and either don't vote or vote for any of the lesser parties. I quite like the Monster Raving Loonies, they want to ban January and February so we have shorter winters. That works for me. (you should read the rest of their manifesto!)

Re: Should I vote??? - Keith (3rd May 2015 - 15:07:53) Firstly to Lucy, yes you should definitely vote, leaving aside the suffragette argument for a moment, millions of men, women and children died during the Second World War to protect your right to have a vote. I accept some of the argument about this being a safe Conservative seat and so a vote for other parties will be a waste of time, but I don't agree with this argument on the whole, as it is important for each person to use their vote to register a protest and display their support for their party of choice even if ultimately that party is unsuccessful in securing the seat, as it does show the strength of feeling for differing opinions, and affects the size of the majority, which in our case Damian Hinds may well enjoy. If his majority is significantly less than the majority secured last time, that will have an impact on his thinking, and I know from speaking with Damian that he does take a keen interest in the number of votes for the other parties as this helps him to judge the overall mood of the people of East Hampshire. Regarding proportional representation, this was offered to the people of the UK around four years ago, but soundly rejected in the referendum on the matter, which showed that the majority of people wish to stay with the first past the post system. I accept the argument that the first past the post system is not perfect, but the problem with a proportional representation system is that it would remove the crucial link between the MP and the constituency as seats in the House of Commons would then be allocated on a national basis. So to sum up, yes please do vote, but vote for the party that you believe will be best for you and your beliefs.

Re: Should I vote??? - S (3rd May 2015 - 15:29:53) Tony, Quite right about the electoral system, it is demoralising that no matter who you vote for in this area, the Tories will still get in. At the last election the Tories got 56.8% of votes, Lib Dem 30.5%, and Labour only 7.9%. The turnout was fairly decent at (I think) 71%. But I don't think that this is a good reason not to bother voting at all. Even if you go along and spoil your ballot paper, those spoilt votes are counted and registered. Alternatively the Green party is trying to push for electoral reform and proportional voting... So taking either of those options is essentially registering your dissatisfaction with the current system. Not voting at all just leaves politicians thinking that either people don't care at all, or that they do not care enough to do anything about it, which of course suits the major parties since reform would probably not be positive for them. www.telegraph.co.uk/news/... I think you need to prepare for some backlash over your feminism comments!! All men having the vote is certainly a feminist issue too, since feminism is not about female supremacism, but actually about equality. There is nothing particularly 'rabid' about that, really. Men also fought for the right to vote, and perhaps that should serve as a lesson to both men and women alike, that instead of just 'not bothering' because the system isn't right, we should continue that fight by registering our dissatisfaction, and fighting for proportional representation and a fairer system.

Re: Should I vote??? - stacey (3rd May 2015 - 17:07:07) I too was offended by the term "rabid feminist" just supporting the suffragettes who suffered/ sacrificed things to publicise the anomaly that women were not "allowed" to vote does not make for "rabid" anything. Women now make up 55 percent of the workplace. We are not a minority in any sense of the word. Vote for policies not personalities. I sincerely hope that we do not end up with the SNP having too much of a say in England, I am not allowed a say in the Scottish Assembly!

Re: Should I vote??? - Darren (3rd May 2015 - 17:38:28) My own personal opinion is that everyone should vote, if you don't vote then you really have no right to complain about anything that politicians do whilst in Government, be it national or local. I feel that the UK should bring in a ruling that if you don't use your vote then you are fined, in much the same way as they do in Australia and some other countries around the world. Take a little time to do some research and vote for the person/party you feel will do the best for you and/or the country or area you live in.

Re: Should I vote??? - Sarah (3rd May 2015 - 21:45:42) Dear Tony I am not a rabid feminist, actually far from it - I shan\'t take offence though because you don\'t know me and have made an assumption based on your own interpretation of my post and for that I accept your apology :) As you would have noticed, my comment about women getting the vote and in essence the suffragette movement took just one sentence in a post that primarily focused on what things politics have an influence on - i.e. everything. Lucy suggested that she didn\'t understand what impact politics had on her life, that was the purpose of my comment. As an aside the sanitary item comment isn\'t about feminism, but a sensible comment to make the point that even daily items are impacted by the government. I also suggested that Lucy could spoil her vote if she didn\'t wish to vote for any party - as explained these are counted and published. I would have thought if enough people expressed their lack of interest by \'voting\' in this way, changes to the political system could come about. As an aside and purely to clarify my opinion on feminism, in many instances I believe that feminism isn\'t wholly positive... I for one would love to be a stay at home mum, able to afford a mortgage on just my husbands salary, but times have changed, and I now have to go out and earn a wage to contribute to the household... I personally vote to ensure that I get the best deal out of the government. So I may not be a feminist, but I\'d happily let you call me selfish. Lucy, take a look at all the information available, and again, i reiterate my original comment - make you\'re own mind up. Sarah Trolljegeren

Re: Should I vote??? - tony (4th May 2015 - 00:18:06) Sarah, thanks for accepting my apology even before I made it, great bit of foresight. I thought you came across very well from your second post, so apology offered. But Stacey, I think I was being more provocative than offensive, oh well, lesson learned, (till next time!). And S, thanks for the heads up, I had my hard hat on, but not really needed in the end. Overall a good debate, some good points, I've even changed my mind about voting, the arguments about it being hard fought for were good and the hidden value of a protest vote. Not sure I agree about fines though, it's still our right to veto the election if we choose. Hopefully it's helped Lucy. Goodnight all, remember not to get offended, it's just politics!

Re: Should I vote??? - stacey (4th May 2015 - 08:11:58) Thank you for the apology Tony, there is a test on the BBC website "know your constituency" it is very interesting, and also gender non specific, thankfully!

Re: Should I vote??? - Don Jerrard (4th May 2015 - 21:25:22) Hi Lucy Yes, of course you should vote! If you don't you've only got yourself to blame if someone you don't support wins by one vote! One vote won't make any difference in the General Election where the Conservatives will win easily as usual and we all know that. But your question was more aimed at the Council elections, where votes count for a bit more. Don't believe most of what you may have read on Talkback. I can assure you that all those who currently serve on the Parish Council are unpaid volunteers doing their very best for the village It was therefore very sad to see in last week's Liphook Herald that there was no mention of the four current Parish Councillors who have been brave (or in my case stupid) enough to put their names forward for the District Council elections. I doubt if any of us expect to win, but we are giving you a choice. I was so upset by the unfairness of what happened that I sent this email to the Herald a few minutes ago:- "Dear XXXX Thank you for acknowledging receipt of my photo and 100 words which I sent at YYYY's request for inclusion in one of the Heralds, and certainly in the Liphook Herald, the only newspaper specifically covering Bramshott & Liphook where I am a candidate for the District Council election. I was therefore very upset when I found that there was no mention of my candidature in any of the Heralds published on 1 May 2015, the last before the elections. I was even more upset when I found that there was a headline article in the Liphook Herald with photographs of two of the Conservative candidates, but nothing at all about the three Lib Dem candidates, the three Labour candidates, or myself as the only independent. It was not possible for me as an independent to leaflet 4000 houses, so I was relying on the Liphook Herald to give me at least equal coverage in the only local newspaper. It was also unfair for you to give such publicity during an election for the efforts of Angela Glass and Bill Mouland in promoting employment opportunities in Liphook. The three Lib Dem candidates and I have served together on the Parish Council for some while now and we have worked hard to support the same aims as is acknowledged in the article, but without naming us. We have done that entirely as unpaid volunteers and all four of us have tried, and I think succeeded, in working with the current District Councillors to a common end. While the Liphook Herald comes out just after the election commences on Thursday I hope you will show a sense of fairness by putting all the candidates details on the front page of this week's Liphook Herald with the same prominence afforded to two of the Conservative candidates last week. To that end I attach again my 100 words and photo. If I can just get one other thing off my chest may I please express my irritation that at election time so many current councillors concentrate on telling us how they have spent their delegated budgets (our money!) on local projects. If I am elected on Thursday I can assure you that I will let the Parish Council have the right democratically to consider grant applications and decide where the delegated budget will be spent. That is what democracy and accountability should be about! Thank you for your time and understanding. Regards Don Jerrard" My "100 words" were • I am a retired solicitor who has lived near Liphook since 1988. • I was elected to the Parish Council in 2011, was the Chairman of its Planning Committee for three years and am now the Vice-Chairman. • I introduced procedures for the Parish Council to express the views of the parishioners at EHDC and SDNP Planning Committee meetings. • Together with other councillors, I arranged the enquiry into the problems within the Parish Council, which have now been resolved. • I now want to represent the residents of Liphook so that their views can be democratically and independently represented at the District Council.

Re: Should I vote??? - Keith Budden (5th May 2015 - 08:36:44) Don - we don't always agree, but on this I fully back you - the same was true for those of us standing in Liss, no mention in the Herald last week at all, despite being told that all candidates details would appear. Like you I have written a letter of complaint to the Herald. For the record, my 100 words were: I am an Independent candidate in this election as I wish to be your local representative for Liss at EHDC, not your local politician. I have been Chairman of Liss Parish Council since 2013 and was the driving force at leading Liss in to developing a Neighbourhood Plan. My priorities are to ensure the Neighbourhood Plan is delivered, that vital bus services are protected, that the recreational facilities in Liss are improved and that work is done to protect the village from flooding. Finally, I will make sure Liss receives it’s fair share of developers’ contribution funding from new developments.

Re: Should I vote??? - Lucy (5th May 2015 - 13:37:21) Thank you all for your advice so far, it has been most helpful. I now know that I will vote, but still unsure who to vote for. Just need to do a bit more homework! :)

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