Thanks to Sea for her comment yesterday. We do need to consider those who are eligible to vote but don't. The turnout was only 65.1% but this was an improvement from 2005 when it was 61%. If we put positive spin onto these figures then it is great that 4% more decided to vote this time. The negative spin is that we still find 35% of the electorate not voting. More than one in three can't put a cross against a name. Do more than one in three voters feel they can't vote for anyone? I think so.
The problems of our electoral system run deep. It is not just about the people who don't vote, but those who find they have nobody to represent them. On Friday on Radio Lancashire a Tory councillor said "The public have rejected Labour, particularly in England". Well the Tories did get the more votes (36.1%) than other parties, but this was way behind the number who didn't vote at all. There was a 5.6% swing from Labour to the Tories in England which happened to be exactly the same swing in Wales.
I can't agree that voters rejected Labour. A few people didn't vote for them and it is obvious that the Welsh swing was the same as the English so don't believe everything you hear. In this election the Tories gained 10 706 647 but the number who didn't vote was 15 897 265. I duly declare apathy the winner in this election.
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'None' beat almost every candidate, according to FPTP (with the possible exception of the likes of Ming Campbell, Nick Clegg and so on) - sounds like another reason to switch to STV.
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