An intriguing question has arisen from the voting patterns in Nottingham.
As we know, Labour was overwhelmingly re-elected to power with something in the region of 60% of the votes cast. But strangely voters in Nottingham voted against the adoption of the AV system for national elections, with 63% of the vote going to the 'No' camp.
Isn't that a bit weird? The Labour Party appeared to be urging its supporters to vote 'yes' and yet in Nottingham it's in inescapable conclusion that a very large number of Labour voters said no, giving the Tories nationally a significant shot in the arm.
It could be explained by simple small 'c' conservatism, voting for Labour and No to AV is certainly sticking with what you know round here. Alternatively it could be part of the general 'kick the Lib Dems' trend that seems to have gripped the city, rather than the Labour leadership's call to kick the Tories instead. Any other theories, add them in the comments.
I did hear the BBC reporter say that the count had been delayed in Nottingham because of a last minute delivery of postal ballots that hadn't been posted.
ReplyDeleteYou had to wonder ...
Yeah. And I do wonder about postal ballots around here...
ReplyDeleteNottingham still had the highest %age of yes votes in the country, leading to the question of "Did the referendum increase the turnout of Labour suporters who then also voted in the local elections, or did local Labour manage to get an significant increase in their turnout who then also voted "yes".
ReplyDeleteNeale
Sorry, ment to say "one of the highest %age of yes votes"
ReplyDeleteNo doubt an unpopular view, aimed as it is, at the 'ordinary man and woman in the street', but I think what is rarely considered in any election is the shocking level; of disillusionment with politics in the UK and the extraordinarily naieve and uninformed nature of a large portion of the electorate.
ReplyDeleteThis leaves them open to persuasion on who to vote for by the Sun and the Daily Mail as well as any half-baked political propaganda that happens to drop through the letter box on voting day.
And then (as you have already pointed out) there's the old tradition of voting for a pig with a red rosette (or with a blue one for that matter) regardless of what the pig may have done - or not done - for you over the last four or five years.