UK General Election 2024

[Glaurung]

A reminder for folk in the UK.

As you might have noticed, there will be a general election on 4th July, i.e. an election for the people who represent us in Parliament and decide on new and updated laws. Many people are eligible to vote, including:
- all UK citizens of age 18 or over, wherever they live
- citizens of the Republic of Ireland resident in the UK
- citizens of Commonwealth countries resident in the UK

However, in order to vote, you must register as a voter. The deadline for voter registration is 11.59pm on Tuesday 18th June, i.e. one week away. You can register online, on the government website: https://www.gov.uk/register-to-vote You can also use this page to update your registration, e.g. if you've moved. Students in the UK can register at both their home and university addresses, but in a general election can only vote in one of these places.

There are some further deadlines that might be relevant, particularly if you will be away on 4th July:
- applying for a postal vote: 5pm on Wednesday 19th June (if you want to send your vote by post, rather than going to a polling station in person)
- applying for a proxy vote: 5pm on Wednesday 26th June (if you want to appoint someone to vote on your behalf)

If you want to vote in person, you will need some form of government photo ID, usually either a passport or driving licence - see https://www.gov.uk/how-to-vote/photo-id-youll-need for a full list. If you do not have any suitable ID, you will need to apply for a "voter authority certificate" (see https://www.gov.uk/apply-for-photo-id-voter-authority-certificate). This is free, but the deadline is 5pm on Wednesday 26th June.

Please register, and please vote. This is a right that generations of people fought for - please use it!

[Jubal]

I endorse the above message!

I hope I'll be able to vote - it's a bit dependent on my postal ballot arriving in time with all my travels etc, but it really should do so.

Meanwhile: the Tory vote continues to slide gently downwards in polling averages, the Scottish Conservative leader has resigned during the campaign, a Reform UK candidate hasn't been sacked after saying Britain would have been better staying neutral against the Nazis and the party are about 5 points up from where they started the campaign anyway, Labour are just sort of sitting back and watching everything burn, and the smaller progressive parties don't seem to be making much headway.

There seems to be rather little herding in the polls - since the start of June both the Labour and Tory poll shares have been scattered across about an eight point range, which is quite a big difference (Con high 26 low 18, Lab high 46 low 38). It's odd how the election being such a steamroller makes it potentially more volatile in predictions, as we just don't have a clear idea who will turn out and how votes are distributed geographically.

[dubsartur]

I remember when Niall Ferguson stirred controversy with the soft version that Britain should have let the Kaiser have Belgium, pity about all those violated nuns and murdered farmhands but it was not John Bull's problem ("didn't we sign a treaty guaranteeing the independence of Belgium?" ... mumble mumble national interest mumble mumble despite the Whig narrative about the danger letting any power dominate the continent, a careful examination of the situation mumble mumble)

[Jubal]

I've also just realised that, sensibly on Glaurung's part, this as a PSA was not in the debate area, and I failed to notice this and commented as if it was another post in the UK politics thread. Oopsie.

We should probably shift analysis and discussion back to the relevant thread (https://exilian.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=6813.15) and leave this one for the practicalities of voting for those who can do so.