Feeling cynical about the election?

paddyann The postal votes could have been counted before the in-person voting finished. It has to be done under the same stringent conditions, but not at the same time.

Well Monica if you think only the left trade insults.....that's really a pathetic post. There are some excellent left of centre posters and some rubbish right of centre and vice versa as you well know

I am completely cynical, disillusioned and depressed. I have voted and am fortunate that I can vote tactically and also for the party I feel most aligned with. But I fear the outcome is certain to be more years of Tory rule, the dismantling of the welfare state, NHS included, a hard Brexit and life getting tougher for all but the well off and those able to fiddle the system (the same bunch!).
I wish we could get past the housewifely notion that austerity is the only way. It isn't and the national debt is increasing all the time despite the endless cuts. I do not understand the mentality of this country anymore, talk about turkeys voting for Christmas, quite.

Have to go and vote shortly as can't let the suffragettes down but, like others on here, I have not yet decided where to put my cross. A friend of mine is writing 'none of the above' on his voting slip. I may yet do the same. All very depressing - and it is raining again here.

Cynical is not how I feel.

I feel disappointed that millions of people believe that low taxes are the best thing for the country. When people say there's not enough money to pay for everything, they are turning their backs on the opportunity to improve the lives of most of the population by pay a few pence more in income tax. What happens in our country happens because of the political will. When we vote, we get a chance to change the current political will.

I was sad when we voted for Brexit. I was sad when Trump was elected. I will be sad in the morning when the Tories win a majority.

I am sad to be growing old in this country.

I think you speak for many of us wk

My son has just texted me to say he has wrote "none of the above" on his voting slip too NotTooOld. What a sad state of affairs when young people feel so let down.

Me too, even though we don't live there at the moment.
It's still our country, our 'home', and we will be back. Some of the family are there, and I'm not optimistic about the future for them.

Just returned from voting on a cold wet and windy day. I met a young neighbour (22) who told me her disabled father is not well enough to get out today and is bitterly disappointed.
She said as we left the polling station that the weather was very appropriate - it felt like impending doom!!

She and I both voted for a good sitting candidate whose seat is pretty safe but we're well aware of the nasty world beyond our constituency and dread what's likely to come our way from Westminster.

By the way all the Tory placards were asking for votes for. Xxxxx Yyyy - 'Ruth Davidson's candidate'. No sign of Conservative party until handed the ballot paper!

For those unsure how to vote please note my 3 year old grandson has offered to run the country and his party will be called 'The FairParty' !

There will be a short wait until he is old enough but I hope he can count on your support .

His manifesto will follow ( when he can write) !

Well I'm with your grandson N&G sounds like he is the chap for the job.
Merlotgran love the poster they are second on my list now.

NaG well done that young man, I like his style. ??

My son and I went together to the polling station. On the way home he told me of his colleagues at work, one of whom isn't going to vote because he says he knows nothing about it! Where has he been? I'm glad the suffragettes fought for votes for women, but I don't think my vote will make much difference.

Feeling pretty glad myself. I never thought we would get Brexit and we did. The person to carry this through is May and fingers crossed, unless something really weird happens this will be true.

In a democracy everyone has a vote and the majority wins, so hopefully more people will vote for May and a hard Brexit.

If you don't want to vote for any of the candidates or know who to choose, IMHO spoiling the ballot paper it is the right thing to do.

I now vote by post because I never want to miss voting. I often mention postal voting to encourage/help people to vote.

"hopefully more people will vote for May and a hard Brexit."

I genuinely can't understand the mentality of someone who says that and means it.

If it turns out that the majority feels that way, I certainly will be despondent.

farnorth if the majority feel that way we're all screwed,they're like turkeys voting for christmas .

Agreed stillaliveandkicking, I hope the majority do feel that way

My sister at 50 years old voted for the first time ever yesterday. Apparently (in her words) she was ordered to by her Union.

That is quite worrying gilly, sounds as if the union were telling them their jobs were under threat if they didn't vote the right person in.

But how would they know who voted for who? I think that it is rubbish

Absolutely they were harri they even told her that they knew who voted and who didn't ! She is a very shy and quiet person and this really worried her to the point that last night she ran out to vote after asking me what happened to the voting slips after they were counted. I said I didn't know. (Which I still don't) .

fond the answer to her question here, gilly www.thejournal.ie/what-happens-to-your-ballot-paper-after-your-vote-is-counted-471022-Jun2012/

^"It turns out that after the counts have been completed, the votes are bagged up and quickly ferried off by the Defence Forces to an area determined by the national Returning Officer.

Given that the national returning officer in this case – and in pretty much every recent example – is a staff officer at the Department of the Environment, the ballots are therefore stashed in a secure environment in Department HQ at Custom House.

Under the terms of the Referendum Act, 1994 (Section 38(4), to be precise), these ballots are then held under lock and key for a minimum of six months.

This is to satisfy another legal issue, through which the High Court can issue an order allowing individuals to inspect ballot papers – though such orders can only be issued if the Court believes an inspection is needed in order to prosecute an electoral offence.

So unless the High Court has given such an order, or the referendum’s Returning Officer believes an order could be on the way, the ballot papers are then ‘destroyed’, in line with the Referendum Act 1994.

A press officer at the Department of the Environment told us this morning that the services of an industrial shredder are then summoned, with the ballot papers then “pulped”."^

And even if the union could get their sticky hands on her ballot paper, it would not have her name on it. It would take them a lot of work to find out which paper was hers, and to do that to every one of their members to know how everyone was voting and catch out the ones who didn't follow orders.

It is still intimidation to tell someone that they know who voted and who didn't. I do hope she didn't vote for someone specific out of fear of the union.

All I got from this election was that my preferred canididate came second. But given the contituencies demographics that was no surprise and a big improvement.

Thank you Elegran I appreciate you taking the time to find this out for me. I think my sister was more worried that if she did not vote (she has never voted in the past) then her name would not be crossed off a list and the union would find out that she had not voted. As far as I can see this is an entirely genuine worry and is still perfectly possible. List being crossed off as people turn up to vote. Her name/number/barcode not crossed means she did not vote.