click to enlargeLibDem Southampton City Council will be conducting a voter turnout trial on polling day. They have hired a spotter plane and battlebuses to tour the City urging people to go out and vote. On the fact of it, this is a worthy initiative which ought to get the support of everyone and all the political parties.
The trouble is that the Council's elections returning officer has failed to consult the opposition Conservatives on the proposal. Some Conservative candidates are up in arms because if the buses and plane concentrate on Labour and LibDem areas it will be to the electoral disadvantage of the Conservatives and will no doubt skew the results.
This has never been done before in any area of the country so far as I know. I am all in favour of improving turnout by any means necessary, but if it is done to improve the chances of one particular party it stinks.
Local Tories should ask to see the route the battlebuses are taking and take it from there. Mor eon Southampton Candidate Matt Dean's blog
18 comments:
Interesting use of taxpayer funds for party politics.....no doubt the costs will be allocated to each party's expenses ?
I fear this is likely to get the same response as those requests to ensure impartiality on blogs - If you don't like it, do something to help your own political persuasion.
If it is public money, however, and it always seems to be - then it does stink, but what can one do..?
Typical New Liebour stuff this, anything to keep themselves and their fat cat backers in power.
If they are going to use taxpayers money to encourage turnout why not a reduction in council tax if you vote???
Why do people always adopt an attitude of spending money is the best way to resolve things I wonder.
These are outrageous actions by Southampton City Council. I am a candidate in these elections in Southampton and I am deeply uncomfortable about it. For the record no-one was asked, no-one consulted from a Conservative Party perspective- Agents, Candidates, Party Officials, sitting Councillors, no-one!
More details can be read on my blog at
www.mattdeansoton.blogspot.com
What a ridiculous accusation Iain. If if if ... as for Fido misreading it to make it a Labour trick ... and Jonathan Sheppard, yes giving a discount on Council Tax is spending money too and like the battlebuses etc this might skew different groups differentially.
A £10 discount - which would cost between £1 and £2M in manchester assuming a turnout between 25 and 50% - would be of most interest to the working poor. Those on benefits and the moderately to well off wouldn't care.
I'm only guessing but at say £1000 each for the Battlebus(es) and similar for a couple of hours helicoptering the Southampton initiative is going to come in at less than £10,000 I'd have thought.
Once again I think Iain's accusation that this is a party political thing is groundless. Any kind of proof of bias in the system could lead to elections being declared null, fines, costs and eternal shame.
I wonder if the City Council consulted the Electoral Commission. I would suggest that this type of exercise is ultra varies. Considering that election budget were supposed to be cut this year under the dreaded Gershan plans (or however you spell it), one wonders where the money is coming from.
How is giving a reduction in council tax spending money?? You could quite conceivably introduce a system where those who voted got a reduction (albeit small) in the amount of tax collected.
Not all tax collected is spent and some just sits in reserves, so to collect less is not spending money at all - it could well be just not putting as much money into reserves as previously done.
I thought Southampton had 16 tories, 16 Labour and 16 Lib Dems. I am surprised given those figures that you describe it as lib Dem Southampton. Am I missing some important info ?
You think thats bad. I was just leaving my house today and opened the front door as a rather shabby looking woman was about to thrust a leaflet through mt door urging me to vote on thursday. I was shocked that these people still think that ordinary, decent and honest people would consider voting for these criminals. I posed this question to her and got a slightly embarrassed smile and that was it!!!! Not an argument, not a comment!! they just shuffled off. Scum, scum. Stay away from house. If you cant even obey the laws of the country dont you dare put vile literature through my letterbox.
Nowhere did the leaflet mention that a vote for Labour would be an endorsement of corruption, torture flights, lies, illegal wars and the dimantling of parliamentary democracy. Utterly shameless losers
First I've heard of it, and it certainly won't be beneficial to us. There are a few wards where a low turnout could have swung it for us!
norfolk blogger,
Southampton is indeed split equally, however Labour has thrown all of their councillors weight behind the Liberals.
Norfolk Blogger/Chris:
I had the same question.
So'ton couldn't be more evenly split if it tried.
Must be an outside chance of a minority Con administration if the Tories make 3/4 gains, no?
It's done by 1/3rds, 16 seats up for election. New council could be 20/17/11 Con/Lib/Lab.
(Having said that, its probably not gonna happen, as the Lib/Labs will team up if they love smelling each others bottoms as much as some here are suggesting)
Chris Paul said...
"Any kind of proof of bias in the system could lead to elections being declared null, fines, costs and eternal shame."
Could yes, but rarely does: corrupt nulab knows that little ever actually gets caught, might be interfering with the vote and all that.
giving a discount on Council Tax is spending money
Erm, isn't it our money first then the authorities take it from us - not the other way around?
Or does the State kindly allow us some pocket money to spend on sweets?
No wonder people hate Labour.
I am not against ways of increasing the turnout of the vote, but what has happened here is a disgrace. The Conservative Councillors, party and agents have not been informed about this and has been taken by the solicitor (returning officer) to the council.
This is at the tax payer’s expense yet no locally elected person is aware of the money and its accountability. To hire a plane and bus usually takes a period of time thus they have known about this for weeks.
more vulgar than a vulcans vulva,
The Lib Dems are actually in meltdown at the moment, and are squabbling amongst themselves over whether they would support a minority Conservative administration.
I'm new to Southampton this year, and I'm still miles off being able to understand the general political outlook. The only thing that is clear, is that everyone hates the current council. There is a very real possibility that we will see a few seats change hands, but still end up on 16/16/16.
Interestingly, there isn't an active branch of Liberal Democrat students at the university (I'm at the real uni, not solent...). For some peculiar reason, Southampton University is seriously lacking in political debate, which is odd for a univerity of it's age and stature.
This isn't an issue over which any political party, represented on Southampton City Council or not, has control. The organisation and promotion of elections is one area of local government for which the council staff are not responsible to elected members. This would have been a council officer initiative. That said, it probably would have been a good idea to inform all the agents of the candidates in advance.
There is a liberal soc at soton uni my friend is one of the 4 on it. The conservative and labour are much larger with 5 (4 lab) alumni going onto be MPs in the 1997 landslide.
About the bus and plane, the plane is ridiculous you cant read what it says. I think it says "have your say vote today" the bus is a old route master style open top with speakers blurting out " remember to vote in the city wide council elections" It seems completely impartial and if it improves turn out then good but the fact councilors were not told is worrying.
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