Remaining neutral about the General Election 2019

Sam_Alumni

As we read about an upcoming December General Election, we think everyone should make sure their voice is heard.

Under guidance from the Electoral Commission we must make sure that we don't influence votes, and under Charity Commission guidance we must ensure Scope is politically neutral. For this reason we won't be telling you who you should vote for! 

We would like you to feel able to discuss your experiences here, but please be aware that we may have to moderate any comments that could be seen to be influencing other's votes.

Disabled people and their families can make a huge difference in this Election, and we hope you'll all join us in voting in December.



You can find information here about registering to vote. 

You can get help registering from your local Electoral Registration Office.

There’s an easy read guide about registering to vote for people with a learning disability.

As the election is in December, a postal vote may be even more vital for some people who may not be able to get out and about so easily if there were bad weather. Here is how to apply for a postal vote.

You can find more information on the Electoral Commission website here.

exdvr

Speaking purely personally I would love to get away from 2-party politics where any 1 party has an overall majority with only maybe 40% of votes cast.  To me that smacks of a dictatorship.  Far better for the larger parties to have around 250 seats each and for a sensible coalition being formed with the other 150 so we can get back to proper sensible debating instead of the nonsense we have had for far too long. 

That's my thinking, for what it's worth.

Ails

Thanks for the info, @Sam_Scope.   

zakblood

never voted in my life, so careless which set of idiots gets into power, aged 52, can't see that changing any time soon

woodbine

I have voted in every election since 1979 and I would urge everybody to do so. I know who I will vote for but like religion politics is a very personal thing.
What I would say is that on the 11th November we will remember those who died defending our democracy we owe it to them to use our vote.

WhileIBreathIHope

Let's be neutral they are all liars, cheats and players. 
Choose whoever your be disappointed 

Jean Eveleigh

I will be voting (as I always do) cause I have postal votes but I am very worried about turnout this year die to the timing.  It will be dark and cold, possibly wet and snow or ice on the ground making it harder for elderly, disabled and single parents with young children to attend to vote safely.

We are already actually aware of the issues around lack of access in some poling stations in summer months this will only get worse in winter and on such short notice.

I cannot see how this election will solve anything as low voter turnout will not give anywhere near an accurate picture pf the national view of anything.

pollyanna1052

We have postal votes too.

exdvr

@Jean Eveleigh..……Hi...    I'm sure that the vast majority of people whether or not they have disabilities will find some way to cast their vote and in my opinion there should be no reason other than apathy for there to be a lower than normal turnout.   Postal and Proxy voting are the 2 ways that immediately spring to mind.  We British really do tend to get carried away with the weather but in general in early December it's more likely to be cool rather than cold, with very little likelihood of snow or ice.  To quote from Dad's Army....DON'T PANIC.

Seanchai

Ah ...exdvr ...i,m in the hills of Scotland and i would not call the weather ' cool' in December 😮🙂
My wife and i have had a postal vote for years ...but i,m afraid it matters not a jot who we vote for , it's english voters that put a party in government . Thats one reason i want Independence for Scotland . I just cannot understand why anyone would vote for a party that targets the poorest in society and rewards the rich .😮🙄

WhileIBreathIHope

Try checking how MP vote and your find poor and disabled are not their interests 

paffuto10

I am in my sixties now and genuinely wondering if the voting is fixed?! 

Daughter put me right though, she said I should still vote anyway just in case it isn't !!! 

pollyanna1052

Remember the Suffragettes! Votes for women!

paffuto10

@pollyanna1052 

Hear you sister!!   

Geoark

@Seanchai watched Nicola Sturgeon this morning with Pierce Morgan. Could not believe that she still lets him get away with saying the UK voted to leave. England and Wales voted to leave, Scotland, Ireland and Gibralter voted to stay. This does not even consider our other oversea territories with connections to the EU by virtue of the UK being in the EU, Anguilla is absolutely dependent on its EU position, for both survival, many of its services and a third of its budget. Despite these dependencies other than Gibralter they did not have any vote. It is doubtful if many or any of these would have voted to leave.

Seanchai

Paffuto10...yep , i often think that about voting . Even our referendum in Scotland a few years ago . Ruth Davidson ( then scottish tory leader) came on tv the night before the count and said she hoped the election stations voted the same way as the postal vote ....Nobody is meant to know the postal votes until all votes are announced. Then , something nobody was meant to see...the ' yes' votes piled up on  ' no ' table waiting to be counted. I spoke to two people who were voting ' no ' to independence . Yep , i wonder as well if voting is a waste of time . The tory government,s leader is withholding the report on russian interference in elections in previous years. 'WHY is that i wonder. 
Jacob rees mogg did say that " People who were educated in state school's are thick as pot plants " . Maybe he has a point , as the tories were voted into power by those very people.

Seanchai

Geoark, i know exactly what you mean . I was also jumping at that ...but....the majority of the uk did vote to leave the EU. That was over three years ago and many things uave changed in that time . It matters not what or who Scots vote for as we are led by who england votes in favour off . I do not like the idea of coalitions . Its not very democratic i don,t think. Some MP,s would sell their soul to get their hands on power. I think its highly undemocratic to buy votes.....and thats exactly what the tories did with the DUP 🤨

woodbine

Whilst remaining 100% neutral I would urge everyone who might have problems getting to a polling station to request a postal vote.

Seanchai

Yep, i can understand the stance of Scope .... who must have a neutral stance . Of course that does not stop the individual giving their own point of view , although the lqst thing anyone wants on this group us to start arguing the pros and cons of voting for a certain party . We did see Rees-Mogg give his thoughts on the poor inhabitants of Grenfell Tower ( god rest those who died and god help the ones who were injured )...both physical and mental trauma suffered on that terrible night . 
I,m sure many have their own views on the PIP system that took over from DLA ...many will also have their own feelings about Universal Credit . Please do not forget these things when you vote for a new government ....or the same government that led us by the nose ring towards brexit ...I also know that when people voted for brexit they had no idea it would drag on for years , nor did they actually know what was involved . If everyone is that sure about leaving the EU , they would not mind having another referendum now that we have an idea of what is involved ...we will never know unless we leave but rest assured that many many businesses will be affected if brexit goes ahead ....and just like everything else, the poorest will be worse off and we maybe better set up new foodbanks in preperation . Even though we were told we are leaving brexit on 31st October come hell or high water . I,m afraid we cannot prepare for brexit as we do not even know how it will affect us . " its the rich that gets the pleasure and the poor that gets the blame" .

exdvr

Trying to stay neutral is increasingly difficult and particularly more so when the two main parties are tearing themselves apart while the allegedly third party has totally lost the plot in thinking that they could ever come close to having a majority.   As an aside the real third party as far as number of seats go is in fact the SNP, and they at least recognise they can never get the magical 326.  I fear that apathy will leave us in as bad a state as before.  Strange times.

Birdsnbees

Yes please vote many people died for our rights to vote I know politicians no faith in them now I would urge everyone please to vote read all upcoming policies for all parties make an informed decision and vote for who you think will support the poor and disabled most

we need you to vote to support us so please do

i have actually asked one of my local parties what they plan to do if they cannot carry out promises made in their policy if elected

dont vote for certain parties if you know they have a histroy of going back on their word

Birdsnbees

politics is so important affects our everyday life all the time please don't feel you don't matter because some people will be relying on this xx

Seanchai

Reading various parties policies does not exactly fill me with joy ....i know that these parties are plying for votes and will say almost anything to get votes . We usually find out in the winning parties reign that they go back on many things they said they would do in their manifesto . During the Scottish referendum we got all the leaders of the main parties in westminster telling us that Scotlannd could never manage on its own and people will be begging in the streets of Scotland , ordinary people would never get their pensions , we would be needing foodbanks to support us , there is only enough oil for two years and then we would all suffer . We have found out since that their lies turned many people against voting for an independent Scotland ....for eg ...the north sea explorers are still finding new oil fields with millions of barrells of oil in them . The liars in westminster were right in saying that we would be using foodbanks more and more and  our pensions are not safe and the people are turning to foodbanks more and more due to mant factors like zero hours contracts . Our pensions are not safe due to the present goverments policies ...we see that as they raise pension age again and again and robbing the people what they paid into from the start of their working lives ...now , many will die before enjoy the fruits of their labours ....maybe the governent want us to keep working until we drop . I know that many of us on this site are disabled so we must take care of our NHS ...but the money men want to take over the various aspects of the NHS ....and to make matteres worse some parties are quite happy to " sell it off" .
Please take all of this into account when giving your vote .
I would advise anyone reading the present parties manifesto to think back to the various promises made by the political parties . Then keep that in your mind and also read between the lines of parties " promises" . 

Jean Eveleigh

@exdvr I have postal voting and understand about proxy votes but they both have massive issues that could nullify your vote if you use either of these methods. 

Postal votes could get lost or not be delivered for another reason or not be counted for being delivered late.

Proxy votes - the person you choose to cast your vote for you may disagree with you and cast a vote for the party they want to support and you are not there to question it - you have to put an enormous amount of trust in someone.

The only way to guarantee your vote is to get to a polling station on voting day and cast your vote

paffuto10

Jean Eveleigh said:

@exdvr I have postal voting and understand about proxy votes but they both have massive issues that could nullify your vote if you use either of these methods. 

Postal votes could get lost or not be delivered for another reason or not be counted for being delivered late.

Proxy votes - the person you choose to cast your vote for you may disagree with you and cast a vote for the party they want to support and you are not there to question it - you have to put an enormous amount of trust in someone.

The only way to guarantee your vote is to get to a polling station on voting day and cast your vote

 @Jean Eveleigh

Not possible for some though Jean