An Inquiry Into Yesterday's Elections

[poliphilo]

The average turn-out in yesterday's elections was 14%. Now they're holding an inquiry (which will waste yet more money) to find out what went wrong. Actually they can put that on hold because I can tell them. Right now. Gratis.

These are the reasons the elections were such an embarrassment:

1. Nobody wanted police commissioners in the first place.
2. The government failed- in fact didn't even try- to make its case.
3. There was no campaigning.
4. The candidates were the greyest and dustiest of party hacks- with the single exception of Lord Prescott and he lost because everybody despises New Labour and thank goodness for that.

There, that's my report. On second thoughts I'd like paying for it. I'll take a tenner...

Comments

[glitzfrau.livejournal.com]

Hah! Just take my admiration. I'm short a tenner.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

Cheers. That'll do very nicely.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

14% is what one of the papers said. I'd rather take the lower estimate.

[pondhopper.livejournal.com]

That is a perfect report and I think you should mail that to whomever is in charge of the inquiry. And ask for your tenner.
It'll save them hundreds of thousands at least.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

It would.

Our government loves inquiries. If anything goes wrong they announce there'll be an inquiry. It's a way of deferring action and accountability.

[lblanchard.livejournal.com]

My lunch party today included one diner who's a British national (although incredibly engaged with American politics). He brought up this election and made pretty much all the same points. He also said there were some districts, or precincts, or whatever they're called, where no one showed up to vote at all.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

I believe he's right. I saw a report last night about a voting station where no-one had showed up.

[heleninwales.livejournal.com]

I heard of one polling station in Wales where they opened the ballot box and found not one single vote.

I didn't actually vote, which I feel bad about because I intended to go and spoil my ballot paper by telling them that we don't want no stupid police commissioners. What is more, no one, repeat NO ONE informed me that they were standing.

Apparently there was a web address in small print on the ballot card that led to some info about who our candidates were. I only found out that was the case on the day of the election via a chance comment on Flickr! I ask you, what sort of democracy is that? :(