[Politics] Electoral fraud

[Harry Wilson's tackle]

You don't even properly read what is put to you, such is your fanaticism. I know that countries are failing to meet their targets etc. The point I was making is that without what has been done ( and yes, it is clearly not enough) the situation would be even worse. I have often put on here that I favour a car-free Sunday per month for starters, with the exception of public transport and emergency vehicles. I do share your frustration but unlike yourself, accept that we have to go carefully, as the plain brutal fact is that your average punter at present is not willing to give up that much to make life easier for those alive in, say, a 100 years time.

Also (and I appreciate this is going off topic) spending time washing food wrappers jars and other packaging (wasting hotwater and energy as well as precious time in doing so) in order to recycle (and most of it goes to land fill in the far east, allegedly) may give you a warm glow of virtuousness, but it matters less than a pint of piss in the wide blue ocean when stacked against the insane amount of fossil fuel burnage going on in China, India and elsewhere. And in America. Especially America.

We are neither making a difference nor leading by example.

I am reminded of all the metal (pots, pans, fences - including the metal fence around my front harden) collected for the war effort, championed by Churchill, to build planes and tanks. It was a pure PR exercise to keep the public feeling 'involved' and much of the metal was left to rust in warehouses.

http://www.londongardenstrust.org/features/railings3.htm

 

[Hastings gull]

I would agree with you if or was 20 years ago. The fact of the matter is we can not afford to do that now. We need to act fast and hard otherwise people wont be here in 100 years, at least not in a civilised modern world. The things you suggest is akin to pissing in a volcano as it begins to erupt and saying "it would be slightly worse if I wasn't"

Ok -so lets get you round to something positive for a change. What have you in mind? What drastic action would you recommend for the UK? Not a loaded question at all -we are, afterall, on the same side.

 

[portslade seagull]

Remove all (apart from exceptional circumstances with a high bar) combustion vehicles and replace them with electric ones (which should have been phased in slowly over decades but has not been). Shut down all coal and oil plants and replace them with solar/wind etc. Again, this should have been done slowly over decades. All industries to be carbon neutral. These things would be a start. Of course you will ask where the money is, but quite frankly it is past that, it just needs to happen.

The only issue with electric cars will be the mountains of redundant batteries and the acid within. What happens with them

 

[Hastings gull]

Remove all (apart from exceptional circumstances with a high bar) combustion vehicles and replace them with electric ones (which should have been phased in slowly over decades but has not been). Shut down all coal and oil plants and replace them with solar/wind etc. Again, this should have been done slowly over decades. All industries to be carbon neutral. These things would be a start. Of course you will ask where the money is, but quite frankly it is past that, it just needs to happen.

It does need to happen; you are right, and thus it is reasonable to ask how it will all be afforded. It is not past that - it needs to be carefully worked out. What percentage of your taxes would you be prepared to pay? Do you have an electric car?

 

[Petunia]

I have worked at Poling Stations a number of times and while staff are there for the day they can leave the desk (but not the station) for breaks and regularly rotate jobs to alleviate boredom so you could go a second time and give your name to someone else. Of course a pretty young woman would always be remembered by a male clerk lol.

Yes, some voters would certainly be remembered if they came in again. Normally argumentative or obnoxious ones or good looking chaps in my case

I really miss Election Day, I used to love it. Long day and often straight through the night too, but I enjoyed (almost) every minute!

 

[Mellor 3 Ward 4]

I took some rubbish to the local tip yesterday.

I needed ID to be allowed in.

I then went to collect a parcel from the Post Office - again I needed ID

Next week I will walk into a polling station and just say who I am, no proof required, no polling card required.

Voter ID should be compulsory

 

[Thunder Bolt]

I've mentioned the problem with postal votes in previous elections. People have received theirs too late, and now it seems the candidates can do what they like with them. Look at them, and even ask them to be sent to the local Conservative HQ rather than the Returning Officer.

I hope the Electoral Commission takes this seriously.

[tweet]1202155022127190016[/tweet]

 

[Gazwag]

Voter ID should be compulsory

Problem is this will result in the pitiful turnout going even lower due to the millions of people in the uk who don't currently have or even need adequate ID

 

[beorhthelm]

Problem is this will result in the pitiful turnout going even lower due to the millions of people in the uk who don't currently have or even need adequate ID

they are going to introduce voter ID to solve this. and by they i mean whoever gets in. the home office have been pushing for some ID scheme forever, get push back. now its been pitched for elections, to reduce fraud, who can argue against that? i've not heard anyone.

 

[ROKERITE]

Problem is this will result in the pitiful turnout going even lower due to the millions of people in the uk who don't currently have or even need adequate ID

The integrity of the vote is vital though. There is deep suspicion that Labour supporters carried out voter fraud in the recent Peterborough by-election and that it edged the result for them in a tight contest. Encouraging people to vote is very important of course but ensuring, as far as possible, that all election results are legitimate is more so.

 

[Gazwag]

they are going to introduce voter ID to solve this. and by they i mean whoever gets in. the home office have been pushing for some ID scheme forever, get push back. now its been pitched for elections, to reduce fraud, who can argue against that? i've not heard anyone.

The time has certainly come for a national ID card, so many people don't have a current drivers licence or passport and it makes it so hard to satisfy money laundering requirements which are everywhere nowadays. A national photo ID card for everybody over the age or 16 or 18 would solve this and many other issues.

 

[Mellor 3 Ward 4]

Problem is this will result in the pitiful turnout going even lower due to the millions of people in the uk who don't currently have or even need adequate ID

Not if everyone has an ID card.

With the exception of (I think) ROI and Denmark we're the only European Country not to have them.

Phase them in, over a period of a couple of years, minimal cost - I really can't see the problem.

 

[dsr-burnley]

Remove all (apart from exceptional circumstances with a high bar) combustion vehicles and replace them with electric ones (which should have been phased in slowly over decades but has not been). Shut down all coal and oil plants and replace them with solar/wind etc. Again, this should have been done slowly over decades. All industries to be carbon neutral. These things would be a start. Of course you will ask where the money is, but quite frankly it is past that, it just needs to happen.

Shut down all coal and oil power stations?

Do you have a policy for what happens when we get a high pressure system over the country for 3 weeks in February? Obviously when there is no wind and not enough sunshine, many millions (especially the old and the young) would die; what, if anything, would you do to stop this?

 

[Gazwag]

Shut down all coal and oil power stations?

Do you have a policy for what happens when we get a high pressure system over the country for 3 weeks in February? Obviously when there is no wind and not enough sunshine, many millions (especially the old and the young) would die; what, if anything, would you do to stop this?

We would still have nuclear power stations

 

[ROKERITE]

We would still have nuclear power stations

That provide 21% of the UK's power. If the greens hadn't opposed nuclear power so vociferously over the last forty years we might have had a new generation of nuclear power stations up and running before the end of the last century.

 

[drew]

Shut down all coal and oil power stations?

Do you have a policy for what happens when we get a high pressure system over the country for 3 weeks in February? Obviously when there is no wind and not enough sunshine, many millions (especially the old and the young) would die; what, if anything, would you do to stop this?

High pressure system, low pressure system, there will still be tides that can be harnessed!

 

[Kalimantan Gull]

Yes, I raised this with the staff at the polling station. There is NOTHING to stop me rocking up first thing, vote using my neighbour's address, watch to see if the staff have changed in the evening, and then going again to vote using my address. I don't even have to take the polling card with me. truly amazing. Nice to have a system that works on trust, I suppose, and what I am describing is presumably rare (?) but why be loose about security, when at least proof of ID, even it is a Utility Bill in your name, is easy to bring along and is surely at the very least better than nothing.

Sounds sensible, but it doesn't work. We have a legal right to vote in our country that is enshrined in our citizenship. We do not have a legal obligation to carry ID, purchase utilities, live in a house, own a passport, pass a driving test, prove our identity, open a bank account or any of the other paraphernalia that most of us might take for granted.

We do not have to do any of these things, so forcing people to do so in order to vote would disenfranchise people who don't have nor want those things, and thus limit their legal right to vote. It would be an interesting court case if the Tories get their law through.

As for your first line, there's nothing to stop you murdering your neighbour either. But it would also be against the law.

 

[Westdene Seagull]

We would still have nuclear power stations

If we shutdown all gas and coal power stations tomorrow we would lose 50% of our power generating capacity. That's a lot of homes without electricity.

 

[Westdene Seagull]

Not if everyone has an ID card.

With the exception of (I think) ROI and Denmark we're the only European Country not to have them.

Phase them in, over a period of a couple of years, minimal cost - I really can't see the problem.

I already have enough paperwork to prove my ID - why should I shell out again ? As for minimal cost - the last attempt by Labour was due to cost each person over £100 to get the compulsory card. And that doesn't include the taxpayers money used to set the system up.

 

[Mellor 3 Ward 4]

Sounds sensible, but it doesn't work. We have a legal right to vote in our country that is enshrined in our citizenship. We do not have a legal obligation to carry ID, purchase utilities, live in a house, own a passport, pass a driving test, prove our identity, open a bank account or any of the other paraphernalia that most of us might take for granted.

We do not have to do any of these things, so forcing people to do so in order to vote would disenfranchise people who don't have nor want those things, and thus limit their legal right to vote. It would be an interesting court case if the Tories get their law through.

As for your first line, there's nothing to stop you murdering your neighbour either. But it would also be against the law.

So how come 24 out of 27 member states have ID cards in the EU?