Election night live

Crapaud

Anyone else staying up to watch the results come in? I'm planning to stay up as long as I can.

The latest Exit/Mori poll's interesting:Con (305), Lab (255), Lib Dems (can't remember and the first result's just come in and pushed the figures off of the screen)*, Others (29). Tories don't have enough for a majority Gov't, Labour and the Lib Dems added together don't have a working majority.

Could get messy!

*61

shockedsoshocked

In my opinion, I think a cage fight should determine the overall winner.

Bobbinogs

mmm, 1 hour in and the score is 1 nil. With 600 odd to go it could be a long night!

Crapaud

ShockedSoShocked wrote:

In my opinion, I think a cage fight should determine the overall winner.

For illustration only.

carl_p

I 'm staying up as long as I can bear it.

What a shambles with so many people being turned away at Polling stations.

Can't see there being a result until lunchtime tomorrow.

Only 55% turn out in Sunderland - an effing disgrace.

cycologist

Just heard that the Lib -Dems are going to oppose the vote in Sheffield due to the number of people excluded from the ballot due to the doors being closed in the face of queues of waiting people. Students and residents were segregated and the students not allowed to vote until after the indigenous population effectively disenfranchising the students.

Crapaud

Bobbinogs wrote:

mmm, 1 hour in and the score is 1 nil. With 600 odd to go it could be a long night!

I've done it before, when the Tories got their arses felt in 1997. Was kind of expecting the same thing, but with Noo Labour, and wasn't going to bother, but it's just got interesting again.

RichN95.

cycologist wrote:

Just heard that the Lib -Dems are going to oppose the vote in Sheffield due to the number of people excluded from the ballot due to the doors being closed in the face of queues of waiting people. Students and residents were segregated and the students not allowed to vote until after the indigenous population effectively disenfranchising the students.

While the actions of the election officers are clearly wrong (if true), and should be challenged, why didn't these students turn up earlier? They had 14 hours to vote, did they have that big a schedule today. Couldn't they have given Countdown a miss just this once?

Basically, I don't have any sympathy for anyone who couldn't vote - they had plenty of time. If you're that busy get a postal vote.

verylonglegs

I'm in for the long haul, this will get interesting. (Not often I'd say that about politics!)

Bobbinogs

I am more worried about this being an expensive night. I have got sidetracked and started looking at new wheelsets...focus, must focus (and hide my credit cards)

verylonglegs

RichN95 wrote:

cycologist wrote:

Just heard that the Lib -Dems are going to oppose the vote in Sheffield due to the number of people excluded from the ballot due to the doors being closed in the face of queues of waiting people. Students and residents were segregated and the students not allowed to vote until after the indigenous population effectively disenfranchising the students.

While the actions of the election officers are clearly wrong (if true), and should be challenged, why didn't these students turn up earlier? They had 14 hours to vote, did they have that big a schedule today. Couldn't they have given Countdown a miss just this once?

Basically, I don't have any sympathy for anyone who couldn't vote - they had plenty of time. If you're that busy get a postal vote.

To be fair we don't know the full circumstances of the situation. Say they were going out for the night and thought they'd vote on the way and got there at 8.30pm. Would you not say its reasonable to expect to be able to get there a full 90mins before closing and still vote? Its a possibilty this is the case and until we know there is no point in speculating.

afx237vi

They're now saying some polling stations in Merseyside ran out of ballot papers. I mean, wtf? Did I fall asleep and wake up in Zimbabwe or something?

Mettan

Nick Cleeg said last week that he will allow the party with the most seats and the biggest share of the vote to have 1st go at forming a Government - It will be a Tory Minority government supported by the DUP.

carl_p

Think I might go to bed. I've got an increasing feeling that the result of this election will be legally challenged and we'll have to go through it all again.

Polling stations running out of ballot forms, people being turned away, voting allowed to continue after the election ha sfinished and exit polls published. Its chaos.

Piss up and brewery spring to mind.

afx237vi

Now in Chester the list of registered voters had not been updated and 600 voters were turned away.

This election is gonna be won in court. Florida all over again.

Mettan

Carl_P wrote:

Think I might go to bed. I've got an increasing feeling that the result of this election will be legally challenged and we'll have to go through it all again..

Labour and the LibDems haven't got any more money..... - the Tories have - it'd be an interesting 2nd election The press have been quite nice to Clegg this time around - they'd crush him next time.

Pokerface

I have to say, the voting system makes the UK look like a 3rd world country.

(I grew up in Canada - and a winner would have been declared by this time on voting day. Plus by law you get time off work to go vote.)

RichN95.

afx237vi wrote:

They're now saying some polling stations in Merseyside ran out of ballot papers. I mean, wtf? Did I fall asleep and wake up in Zimbabwe or something?

There's no queueing in Zimbabwe. They save time by pre-printing the X on the ballot paper.

cycologist

RichN95 wrote:

cycologist wrote:

Just heard that the Lib -Dems are going to oppose the vote in Sheffield due to the number of people excluded from the ballot due to the doors being closed in the face of queues of waiting people. Students and residents were segregated and the students not allowed to vote until after the indigenous population effectively disenfranchising the students.

While the actions of the election officers are clearly wrong (if true), and should be challenged, why didn't these students turn up earlier? They had 14 hours to vote, did they have that big a schedule today. Couldn't they have given Countdown a miss just this once?

Basically, I don't have any sympathy for anyone who couldn't vote - they had plenty of time. If you're that busy get a postal vote.

Some of the students were there in good enough time but were excluded whilst the "locals" were processed and then the students were excluded.

rick_chasey

I've heard annecdotal reports from friends in sheffield that there are major 'disturbances' involving police in some of the student halls of residents in relation to their rebuffal at the polling station.


And people said youth was never interested in politics?

RichN95.

verylonglegs wrote:

To be fair we don't know the full circumstances of the situation. Say they were going out for the night and thought they'd vote on the way and got there at 8.30pm. Would you not say its reasonable to expect to be able to get there a full 90mins before closing and still vote? Its a possibilty this is the case and until we know there is no point in speculating.

I was only being half serious. But students with 14 hours to vote? Every election, I've voted first thing after breakfast on the way to work. Never anyone there. I went to the shop near the polling station at about 9 and there was a queue (not a huge one).

There certainly seems to have been a bit a shambles at several locations and yes you shouldn't be expected to wait 90 minutes.

However, there was a woman on BBC just now who said she turned up at 6, thought the queue too long and came back again at 7 and kept coming and going unitl 9.15 when she decided that she might have to queue.

desweller

Pokerface wrote:

I grew up in Canada - and a winner would have been declared by this time on voting day.

Really? An hour after the polling booths closed? They must count fast in Canada.

Mettan

Hmm - the Pound's already falling as a result of the Exit Polls

RichN95.

cycologist wrote:

Some of the students were there in good enough time but were excluded whilst the "locals" were processed and then the students were excluded.

I'm not saying the alleged discrimination was wrong. It clearly is. I was wondering why students couldn't turn up at a quiet time while everyone's at work, rather than leaving it to the last couple of hours.

rick_chasey

RichN95 wrote:

cycologist wrote:

Some of the students were there in good enough time but were excluded whilst the "locals" were processed and then the students were excluded.

I'm not saying the alleged discrimination was wrong. It clearly is. I was wondering why students couldn't turn up at a quiet time while everyone's at work, rather than leaving it to the last couple of hours.

It's May - exam time!

rick_chasey

Just heard that the queues in Sheffield were 3 hours long!

RichN95.

Rick Chasey wrote:

It's May - exam time!

I know. I went to Uni. Exams don't last more than 4 hours (maybe some do). If we allow another 4 hours for essentials like Facebook and Countdown, there's still another 6 hours available to them.

RichN95.

Rick Chasey wrote:

Just heard that the queues in Sheffield were 3 hours long!

If that's true, then fair enough, that's utter incompetance by election officials.

cycologist

In my daughter's case, she has finished her exams but is trying to complete her dissertation and has been working long hours to try to tip the balance of her overall result in favour of a Ist class honours rather than a 2:1.

tailwindhome

DesWeller wrote:

Pokerface wrote:

I grew up in Canada - and a winner would have been declared by this time on voting day.

Really? An hour after the polling booths closed? They must count fast in Canada.

I'm not sure but I'd be suprised if this is strictly true

It's probably more the case that in clear exit poll (which this isn't) the loser concedes defeat. The actual counting of the votes would continue however.

Pokerface

DesWeller wrote:

Pokerface wrote:

I grew up in Canada - and a winner would have been declared by this time on voting day.

Really? An hour after the polling booths closed? They must count fast in Canada.

It's two hours after polls closed. And they use things there called 'computers'.
8)