Why should that matter? UKIP claim to be non racist, pro Commonwealth and anti EU immigration so the demographic should suit what UKIP claim to be.

James O'Brien makes no good or sensible points about UKIP .He is obsessed with irrational hatred about the UKIP leader and anyone associated with them. So much so that he has become something of a loon and a caracature of himself. It is about time he matured and realised that it might be a good idea to listen to opposing views with an open objective mind and then discuss calmly and dispassionately ,instead of sneering and twisting in his arrogant and unpleasant way.

Yes, what about it? Thought UKIP said they weren't racist?

Not all references to race are racist.

I didn't say they were.

49 votes from one house in Oldham. Must be a bit crowded in there


That right wing den of iniquity the Electoral Commission.

http://www.electoralcommission.org.u...nal-report.pdf

If you can't be bothered to read it all, here's page 16

'3.1 While the data reported by the police shows that every UK police force
has investigated cases of alleged or suspected electoral fraud in the last three
years, it is clear that there are some areas where cases are more frequently
reported and therefore investigated.

3.2 These areas are generally limited to individual wards within a number of
local authority areas. We have identified the following 16 local authority areas
(out of just over 400 across the UK as a whole) where there appears to be a
greater risk of cases of alleged electoral fraud being reported:
• Birmingham • Blackburn with Darwen
• Bradford • Burnley
• Calderdale • Coventry
• Derby • Hyndburn
• Kirklees • Oldham
• Pendle • Peterborough
• Slough • Tower Hamlets
• Walsall • Woking

Postal votes should still only be for those who are physically unable to get to the polling station or who can prove they'll be away on the day etc, not just anyone. Anyone who really wants to can get there barring unforeseen events but that's the same for anything. The system is wide open to abuse and that was obvious from the start.

So are you saying the postal voting system was abused and a source of electoral fraud in the Oldham by-election ?

You posted this in the other thread but I thought I would ask my question in this one.

I am curious, can you explain to me why you consider these 2 descriptive terms to be mutually exclusive?

You are right!
That particular discussion belongs here.

Does anyone want to explain which of these 2 terms are an insult ??

1. Champagne Socialist.
"I have modest or not so modest wealth but I still care about other people"

2. Champagne Capitalist.
"I have wealth and and I don't give a flying f*** about anybody. I work hard on being a Greedy Selfish Scumbag"

It may have been, or may not. Though there is evidence of it happening elsewhere in other elections. Why risk it being abused and the result being other than totally clear cut more than you have to?


I just commented on this in the other thread but I don't know how to move it over

Cut and paste.

Because not everyone has the time to amble down the polling station and therefore insisting on one rather old-fashioned method of votibg is unfair. There are already concerns that the grey vote is over - represented in electoral outcomes, suppressing postal voting woukd only make matters worse.

I have quoted you on this thread and I hope that is OK with you.

Bill Gates is not a hypocrite just because he is living a very comfortable lifestyle and may even be drinking champagne. It would not surprise me if if he gives away the whole freaking fortune to do great things.

We have seen threads in Politics in which Billy Bragg, Benedict Cumberbatch, others, are criticised because they have not given away everything they have and have not sold their home to give even more. Why is it up to the critic to decide how much is enough?

I am also intrigued when I see the term Bleeding Heart Liberal used in a way in which the writer thinks it is an insult.

So.....A middle class man or woman uses their free time to work in a soup kitchen.....they work for nothing......and then they return to their comfortable home in a leafy suburb. This is admirable behaviour.
We should take time to invent short and memorable phrases/insults to describe people who fill any free time working extra paid hours to benefit only one person. Themselves.

Let's try to work out where the wonderful people that we call Bleeding Heart Liberals fall on the Left/Right Political Spectrum.
Can anyone think of any clues that might identify this? Surely there must be something........

Postal voting should go back to being for those who are unable to to get to the polling station on the day, not for lazy gits who can't be bothered, or those who wish to use the system for fraud.

During the London Assembly elections in 2012 two flats in my building had been unoccupied for almost a year while refurbishments were being carried out. Suddenly piles of mail pertaining to the election began arriving for non-existent occupants; six in one flat and four in the other. I checked the electoral register online and all these people had moved in around the same time, a couple of months previously. Phantom tenants - spooky!

The grey vote is over?
I thought they were the most likely to vote.
I agree postal voting is suspect and should only be used for housebound and people away on voting day.
If someone is unable to get to their polling station between 7am and 10 pm they can't be that keen to vote.

If you suspect that electoral fraud is being perpetrated , then a reasonable course of action is to report that to the council, or to the police, not to restrict forms of voting.

There is a lot of online banking fraud, that does not imply that online banking should be banned, or that everyone should find the time to go to the local branch lest they be accused of being 'lazy gits'.

Postal voting, Internet voting , SMS voting, voting through social media etc are all ways of enhancing democracy by reaching out to new segments of the population.

You seem to have a bit of an issue with older people voting in general .Didn't you want to disallow older people from voting in the In/Out referendum coming up?

Bizarre attitude considering if it wasn't for older people you wouldn't be voting at all.



Completely agree.

I've always worked and managed to get to a polling station. Its really not that difficult.

If you ask me yes some fraud very likely even if the result was a foregone conclusion.
We are getting more and more suspect postal votes it's obvious when bundles turn up for he same party,and it is so easy.

Rubish Tahiti everyone has time except in exceptional circumstances toamble down to the polling station.I had a postal vote once, when I knew I would be in Australia.

Old fashioned voting unfair? What are you on today?

I always go o the local bank branch for anything important. Best way for security.

New segments of the population can do things as they have always been done. yes?

This must have Farage dribbling with envy:

http://www.theguardian.com/world/201...onal-elections

Two weeks after the centre-right candidate ousted Corbyn-loving Cristina de Kirchner in Argentina, now the left’s darling in the socialist paradise of Venezuela has been trounced in the polls. Nicolas Maduro’s Socialist party has lost control of the National Assembly, with the opposition gaining 99 seats. The happy results mean that political prisoners caged at the hands of the repressive Maduro regime will finally be released. Owen Jones, Diane Abbott, Grahame Morris, Colin Burgon, Richard Burgon, Tariq Ali, George Galloway, Ken Livingstone, Seumas Milne, Jeremy Corbyn – your boys took one hell of a beating.

In France, final estimates of their regional election results have the Front National in first place on 28%. The ruling socialist grouping slipped to 23.5%, while the right-wing grouping took 27%. Socialism is being rolled back across the world, just in time for Christmas…

Can't wait to hear Ken's views.

(I haven't put the link because that particular website upsets some of our posters! )

Nope, otherwise there would be no allowance for technical progress. I suspect that if dematerialised voting (eg internet voting) was allowed the levels of participation would be a great deal higher. There are many ways to ensure that Internet voting cam be made anonymous and secure. I am not sure why we should pander to the old ways forever and a day.