UK bombers, who did you vote for in the EU Parliament Election?

I like how you give UKIP a thingy but not the Greens, lol.

I didn't. I doubt i'll ever vote in a UK election.

I see your options are working out well

Love that you put this in Dead Space. Great job.

I voted Green. I don't particularly agree with everything the Green Party do (for instance, I think their stance on fracking is ridiculously outdated), but I normally vote Labour and I don't agree with a lot of what they do, either. At least the Greens are something different, something other than the main three parties - all of which are frighteningly similar these days. Honestly, voting for Labour feels closer and closer to voting Tory everytime I enter the polling station.

I did vote Labour in the local council elections, though. I know the guy standing well - He's been councilor for the last four years, and I knew him for several years before that. He's a really nice guy who is hardworking and genuinely puts a lot of effort into helping local people. So I'm always going to vote for him.

I voted Green for the EU parliament but I'm only a dirty European in Finland so I'm not checking your poll.

I voted for Unitology.

Praise the Marker

Have to be honest, this year I've really not kept up on what each of the parties have in their plans. I voted for labour, but that's now just my default choice now that the Lib Dems pissed me the hell off.

I think this will be the first time I've decided not to vote since I was able to. It's weird, because as much as I really don't want UKIP to win they're the only candidates who have actually bothered to come out to the local residents to talk to us which I think is disgusting. It is kinda crazy too considering I live in an area with a rather large eastern european population.

If I were to vote I'd probably vote Labour and the same for local council, in the past few years Labour have been doing a lot of good things to get stuff done in my area at least. Can't say I care for Labour as a national party though.

I didn't vote, because there is no party that represents me.

Labour, are there actually people voting UKIP here?

@fattony12000: I don't live in the UK, but can I vote for this anyway?

I spoiled my ballot form to express my displeasure with all of the parties.

@jothel: I hope not, I couldn't abide the thought that they represent the UK in Europe, especially considering some of the extremely dodgy parties that they are close to in the E.U. And all of the awful things that they plan to do as well.

Can you give me some extra info on your stance "Labour is becoming more Tory."

I am Scottish so there already is deep hatred for the Tories in my blood. When I was young I lived through the John Major years and then Labour ever since. I admit Labour arnt perfect......atleast they are not insane towards the lower class like the Tories demonstrated in the 80s and demonstrated the last four years.

So maybe it is true Labour is becoming more Tory....a little more is fine...but the full force of modern Tories x2 scares the shit out of me. I have had a terrible life since Tories came into power. I beg for the next national elections to be Labour.

I am also Scottish with the SNP which has only gone bat shit insane with separation. So Labour is kind of my only party.

Mario Party?

Didn't a recent poll show they were getting 30% of projected votes?

@akyho: Well, it's like Peter Mandelson said a few years ago now 'We're all Thatcherites now', which coming from a prominent member of the Labour party is pretty chilling stuff. Red Ed is at least slightly more Lefty than his big brother David would've been, but to a degree his hand has been forced into things like reviewing the support from the Trade Unions etc plus the way that so many aspects of UK life have been privatised now, he'd have a job of work turning stuff like that around.

Re: the Greens, here in deepest, darkest Surrey (massive Conservative banners everywhere) I don't think they're even on the card, otherwise I'd be tempted to vote for them.

Yeah but I mean specifically on this forum, I somehow thought that the average UKIP supporter wouldn't have the hand eye coordination skills to be able to enjoy video games

Or, for that matter, read.

I know the rules dictate that we shouldn't be jerks and respect each others beliefs and etc etc, but they also say no racism. So I'm not really sure where that leaves us.

Yes thats the sort of stuff I accept and if its more Tory, what are you gonna do? Thats the way the deep based economics and infracture is.

The things I hate, is Bridie tax, Bedroom Tax, cut cuts cuts cuts cuts and saying "The private sector will pick up the slack." the ever constant shouts of "If your unemployed you a Workshy scroungers! Your all scum and its your fault you have no job! Get a job!"

Then there is the whole Atos scam. http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/controversial-benefits-test-firm-atos-2079192

Also the shambles of the back to work programme, it was introduced by labour and didnt get nurtured. instead it was Nurtured and remade into a bastardised version of itself by the Tories. it was good at first then the Tories got in power stripped the funding and renamed it something different. The same companies involved were doing the same as before except having to start from scratch on funding. Made it terrible.

I have been on the end of alot of this. Atos and Work programmes with the Atos thing ruining my families life for a year.

Thats the stuff I hate to see Labour do and what I hate about the Tories.

The current projected top three parties are Labour, Tories and Ukip. Ukip because Lib Dems have been put through the grinder since their coalition with Tories, so Ukip and many other parties have seen a boost in voters.

@jothel: It is disappointing that you resort to insult, but I do have sufficient hand-eye coordination and mental faculty to realize that we are being sold down the river with the current mainstream parties (except for the richest of us, of course).

I voted UKIP since I think they are the least terrible party (of the four) with the greatest chance of causing policy change (as they already have done). I wouldn't want them governing the country but I think UK and European politics does need a shake up and that voting UKIP is more likely to make that happen than voting for the other parties. While I don't agree with all their policies or candidates, I think our membership of the EU has eroded the UK's ability to determine it's own laws and borders.

I'll be voting Green later - I'm not exactly convinced their policies are watertight or even plausible in most cases, but compared to the options, they're purely the closest to my personal beliefs and the desires I have to see social and economic change.

I also have a London borough election to think about, and again, I'll be voting Green. The incumbent Labour party has been a mess for too long and has not driven the borough forward.

Interestingly I got a big ole' leaflet from the Conservatives today pointing out all the horrible things our mayor has supposedly done, while also bringing attention to the fact that the borough is supposedly one of "the worst places to bring up and educate kids". It's then highly amusing that the leaflet itself contains more than a handful of grammatical errors.

Best of all, the leaflet complains about the disparity between council and resident representation, arguing that there are

"7 times more gays than the resident population. A gay council boss and councillor have even been caught with their pants downin Wansted Flats."

I dunno, I think I'm quite proud of the fact we have so many gay representatives in the council. Either way, I'm very happy in the knowledge I won't be voting Conservative any time soon.

@diz: I understand your reasoning behind your vote. I must warn you, those are the same thoughts I had for years voting SNP for Scotland. However we are now not just talking about complete separation from England but actually trying to do it. a Referendum happens this coming September. They have gone too far from what I wanted.

The same may happen with Ukip but with the EU.

But this idea that immigration is somehow the cause of unemployment and crime is a complete fantasy with no statistical evidence to support it. It's transparently xenophobic, attempting to scapegoat the countries problems on foreigners by manipulating the archaic sense of imperialism that the older generations still seem to believe exists. The truth is that it demonstrates a potentially dangerous misunderstanding of Britains economic position.

I'm sure the machine that tallies the votes will really acknowledge your protest...

I'll probably vote for Green although it's kind've a wasted vote it's the one I probably feel more comfortable with.

How can UKIP possibly shake up European politics when they don't show up to anything and vote against in every single vote in the parliament? If you think they're capable of making a difference to our relationship with the EU, then I'm afraid you've been sold down the river on that one.

Yeah... I probably should of voted :/

Have you been to Spain recently? Haha, people move around all over the place. British people especially. And also "I've seen stuff happen" isn't the same as producing statistical evidence to support these claims. People used to look at the Sun and think it revolved around the Earth...

I voted Green. The European elections use a PR vote system so there's a realistic chance they'll pick up some seats. I will be genuinely upset if UKIP wins. They have completely scapegoated all of Britain's problems to everything outside of Britain itself.

You still can, it's today.

Absolutely this. Regardless of my opinion of UKIP, I would strongly advise against voting for any party whose policies you disagree with on the basis of wanting to send a message to other parties. Same as 'tactical voting' where people are encouraged not to vote for (say) Labour in a seat where it's close between Lib Dem and the Tories but Labour have no hope of getting in. Always vote for the party whose policies you support.

@jaytow you're absolutely right, people do have concerns about immigration and some of those might even be legitimate (I'm not enough of an economist/employment expert to know for sure). That said, UKIP have zero interest in that level-headed discussion we need. Unfortunately, the notion of blaming a portion of the population (particularly recent immigrants) for unfavourable economic circumstances that actually have far broader and complex causes has a long legacy of success in political campaigning.

That was today!? Shit. Oh well, it's pissing down now so I guess I didn't vote for anybody.

Totally would have been UKIP. Fuck Brussels.

@sweep: I think instead that accusations of xenophobia are a deflection from the real concerns of unchecked immigration.There is an obvious correlation between immigration, increased populations and employment. The ever-increasing "zero hour" work contracts are masking real issues with the debasement of UK employment and of hiding unemployment statistics. I believe we should be able to choose who can immigrate from a global pool, based on skills, without being told by the EU who can come into the UK.

@chumley_marchbanks: They have caused the Conservatives to push a more Euro-skeptical stance already; just by being in the running. UKIP also do turn up to vote on Euro issues: They also have a 66% voting record in EU parliament. Conversely, Clegg has turned up to 22% of votes in UK parliament.

@akyho: We will still be part of Europe if we leave the EU. We will also be de-restricted on international trade and immigration policy. Take "Schengen" as an example: It was supposed to unify communication between European police forces and is supposed to be a requirement of EU membership (although it was created outside of the EU umbrella). The UK have failed to implement it since the Tories disbanded the NPIA (National Police Improvement Agency). This has the effect of removing a centralized authority and budget from all of our technologically disparate police forces. Conversely, non-EU countries (Iceland and Norway) have become members of the Schengen system.

I think to find a party with whom you agree completely is a somewhat naive goal. Remember I voted for Euro elections and not national elections. The idea of tactical voting bought us the current parliament that we have now. The notion of real change through a split government has rather dissolved with the LibDems becoming the lapdogs of the Tories though.

I ended up voting for the Greens as I don't agree with most of UKIP's policies and the other main parties don't seem all that trustworthy to me. I do think we should be doing more to combat climate change or at least try to minimise the damage already caused, as recent floods across have shown we could be in for a bumpy ride.

Since voting been called a troll and an idiot by some UKIP supporters on twitter for saying this picture on this profile harks back to 1930s Germany. I know they're just crazy supporters, but it definitely puts me off aligning myself with anything UKIP is doing.

Such hostility.

I was aware that polls close at 10PM, but do tell me how one is to "work out" that fact? Either it's something a person knows or not, not something that requires cognitive effort to deduce - or "work out" as you quaintly phrased it. "Too fucking thick," indeed, sir. How very crass.

And please do get a sense of humour if you can't - and let me put it in your own terms - "work out" that "fuck Brussels" might not be an entirely serious sentiment. It's not like it's an entirely overplayed joke or anything...

I'm away from home at the moment on a placement year so I'm pretty sure that I'm not registered in this area - & I've left it too late to register.

If I were to vote I'd vote Green.

If I could (I live in the UK, but a Norwegian citizen so can't vote), I would probably vote Green or Labour, anything but UKIP. I think anyone who votes UKIP are either not thinking it through or are assholes.

Greens despite the fact I think their stance on Nuclear Power is silly, because we don't have the technology to suitably replace it, and some of their policies scream 'where's the money coming from' but out of all the parties they represent me the most.

Anyone that votes UKIP need to look themselves hard in the mirror because they are pretty much the Conservative party except they're stroking an evil looking white cat on top of a stormy hill in a castle trying convinced that the alphabet is a conspiracy trying to ensure they aren't able to get into power. I mean if you truly believe we need a new aircraft carrier as opposed to education then more power to you, but I think UKIP are praying on peoples insecurities about national identity.

Considering it's a statement made entirely seriously on a fairly regular basis in this country, and that I have no other context for your opinions, yeah, I'm going to take your post at face value, you haven't earned the benefit of the doubt. It's the internet. People say a lot of dumb things online. It's the problem with sarcasm and satire, it just doesn't work without things like tone of voice and facial expressions unless it's known in advance that you enjoy lampooning such things.

And yeah, you sounded stupid, both in desiring to vote for UKIP and for posting in the middle of the day that "oh I can't vote", making it appear like you were not aware of the hours. I did consider that maybe you hadn't registered in time, but again, benefit of the doubt goes out the window when you suggest, jokingly or otherwise, that you had intended to phone for UKIP.

I don't think you realise quite how clueless a lot of people in this country are about politics, it'd hardly be unique that you fail to work out the polling hours. Fucking thick may be crass, but it's also entirely appropriate for some folk. Such as anyone who votes for xenophobes, libertarians or fascists. I don't really see the point in masking my contempt & vitriol with polite language.

Firstly, I don't know why you're comparing the UKIP average in the European parliament to one LibDem member's total in the UK parliament, but whatever point you're trying to make is kind mooted by the fact that, as that very website points out, Farage's voting record is the worst of his party. Additionally, while UKIP may have a 66% voting record, their MEPs have the worst attendance rate of any EU nation and most of them don't bother to actually take part in anything else.

As for pushing other parties towards a more Euro-sceptical stance, I would argue voting for UKIP is the worst possible way to do that. While they may push for one thing that people want, we'll unfortunately be left with all of the other bad ideas that they have. Ideas like privatising the NHS, scrapping renewable energy projects and subsides, and making immigration nearly impossible for anyone who isn't already very wealthy, all of which would send this country hurtling backwards through time quicker than a fart in the wind.

You forgot the increased tax rates for the 80%ers at the bottom of the pile... they have the potential to create a huger wealth gap than the Tories could ever dream of. People voting UKIP as a party 'for the people' when they're pretty much the epitome of a party 'for the rich'

Can I also outright mention that the fact so many of their MPs seem to lack common sense and basic logic and hold really racist/homophobic views doesn't seem to bother some people? Who would want someone who believes being homosexual is curable by seeing a therapist and actively pushes this fact on posters as an MP? Who would want someone who didn't even realize the polling papers are ordered alphabetically as an MP? Who would want someone who verbally abused a fat woman in public whilst sticking their middle finger up saying 'retweet this you fuck' as an MP? I mean it's a part made up of ignorant folk, even if you agree with their 'manifesto' which barely exists then surely you have to identify that their party is made up of bigots and idiots.

I know this has nothing to do with general elections but it concerns me that so many people are latching onto UKIP as a true alternative? I mean look at their logo and tell me that this is nothing more than propagandabullshit with an overwhelmingly depressing overly patriotic and exclusive undertone to it?

'Never Discuss Politics or Religion in polite company'

I can see this thread going well.

I was only responding your incorrect assertion that "they don't show up to anything". The mention of Clegg was made because he originated an assertion about Farage's voting habits without mentioning his own. You must also bear in mind that they both run their political parties too.

The idea of UKIP privatising the NHS is another fallacy you've been fed. The idea of UKIP's disdain for renewables is also wrong, as their policy document shows:

"UKIP is not opposed in principle to renewables. Hydroelectricity, for example, is predictable, controllable and economic. But we are against widespread use of wind and solar, which offer an unpredictable and intermittent trickle of very expensive electricity, requiring 100% back-up. These renewables undermine economic competitiveness, damage our economy and threaten security of energy supply. We have no problem with private companies investing their own money in renewables, if they can do so without subsidy. Solar and wind may have sensible niche applications — for example providing power in remote locations. We believe that there is also a case for investigating tidal power to see if it can generate electricity at competitive prices."

I believe that UKIP would facilitate a more controlled immigration to a wider global market, rather than the EU free-for-all that we have now.