Politics: Do you guys find it hard to find a reason to vote anymore or is it just me.

When I did the research into the history of Manchester, including from chatting with older people, when I’d first moved here and the before the online censorship of historians ever got going I was horrified to discover that despite pretending to be on the side of working class people, one particular party actively betrayed working class people for generations since 1914 - there was a brief golden age between 1955-1965, but after this many areas of Manchester suffered a decline and went into social deprivation, never really recovering, instead climbing up social deprivation league tables despite efforts at regeneration of socially deprived working class areas, where long-term unemployment became the norm, which itself brought its own terrible consequences 

We learned so many harsh truths about this and many aspects of our world during Covid and I certainly agree with your post 

By agendas I meant self-fulfilling in the case of politicians. For most of them it's a power trip. Then there's that old saying - You can tell when a politician's lying; their lips are moving. True most of the time. I just can't summon the drive needed to make the effort to vote for any of them. When my polling card comes through the door it goes straight in the bin. I know some people will find that abhorrent but so are some of the reasons people select their candidate to me. Whoever gets into government, nothing really changes anyway.

Lol probably XD 

Yes, I suspect it's meant to put you off...

Maybe. 

That is good because like your and Sparkly found it's not always clear. I think they make it more complicated than it needs to be a lot of the time...

Yes! I think it's a fairly simple form, which is a good thing.

I didn't know you could do it online.

Thanks  

I agree, Sparkly, information on the Government web pages doesn't always seem clear and postal voting isn't well- publicised. 

It's your right to vote at all elections, if you want to. 

Thank you for letting me know that Pegg. 

I know that for the local elections earlier this year, one could apply for a postal vote if one didn't have photo ID. However, apart from one candidate, the rest had left it a bit too late to send out their campaign literature, making it impossible for postal voters without internet access to form an opinion about the party they wanted to vote for.

The impression I had been under was that photo ID was going to be required for the general elections, even if one opted for a postal vote. However, I'm guessing I must have misinterpreted what I had read. Sometimes I find the phrasing on Government web pages leaves a lot to be desired and could benefit from being clearer.

You can vote by post without needing photo ID. It's not well publicized by the Government, but you can do it. 

You can apply for a postal vote on the Government website, although there are also websites that will submit the form on your behalf I think. 

I was brought up to believe that unless one makes the effort to vote, one cannot really complain if one disagrees with the policies of the elected party, both locally and nationally. To a degree, I still believe that, but as I've got older I have increasingly found it difficult to decide upon the political party I want to vote for.

During the run-up to an election, particularly a national election, it seems the purpose of political campaigns is to sling as much mud as possible at the opposition. In my opinion, they excel at pointing out all the reasons why one shouldn't vote for the other party, will go out of their way to avoid answering questions relating to their own manifesto, and basically say whatever they think will help to get them elected. I know this isn't a new thing, as I've been alive for long enough to know that this is the way it has been for decades.

I know that when the next general election comes along, unless I'm willing to provide photo ID, I won't be able to vote. The need for photo ID in order to vote seems a bit too much like Big Brother to me. Fair enough when photographs are required for the likes of passports, driving licenses, travel cards, etc, but I strongly object to photo ID being required for the purpose of casting a vote.

Hmm... 

I will consider this...

I think trump took that straight of of the uk nationalist playbook..

Or justify their disability to the community..

Oh yeah, I'm not endorsing our system in any way. It's broken deliberately and unfortunately no one in power has an interest in fixing it. And I'm certainly not saying any politician has no personal agenda (I'm not sure you'd even want someone with no principles who would just go whichever way the wind is blowing right now). 

But some of them have agendas that will line up at least slightly closer to what's important to you. It's hard to give specific examples because I don't want you to feel like I'm trying to ram my beliefs down your throat. But while neither of the two largest parties are my ideal, there's one I find horrifying on every level and one I'm not a fan of but I believe they're the best of two lousy options right now. 

I couldn’t agree with you more, having us looked after is good for everyone, at the very least we’re the canary in the coal-mine, you can always tell the state-of-humanity by the way a society treats its most-vulnerable. 

Just look at Russia in the 1920s.. no one was ever loud enough amongst the Russian vulnerable, to report on their desolation, they simply vanished without a trace.. hell followed..

I agree, ride or die..

Hmmm, not sure about that TriS. I get what you're saying but I've never seen a politician without a personal agenda. It goes with the territory. I could never bring myself to commit to something because it was the least bad option. Surely it's down to politicians to enthuse us, and offer what's best for the majority, not offer endless compromises? Then again, every voter has their own agenda too which makes it hard to please everyone. Finding that middle ground and not favouring any particular section of society should be their goal.

No problem. Just be prepared for an odd look from the canvasser.