Today’s election is not just the first STV local election not held on the same day as a Holyrood election, it’s also the first time the capital has voted since banning lamppost placards. In June last year the SNP and Tories voted the ban through, meaning Edinburgh, like Glasgow, Dundee and other local authorities, would be placard-free this year.
It’s a baffling decision, given the legal requirement, largely well-observed by all parties, to take them down promptly. When the turnout figures are published, it’ll probably be forgotten amongst the reasons given for low numbers.
In general I have less of a problem with low turnout than media commentators tend to do, and compulsory voting means we get results driven more by those who don’t really care about the results. But government and agencies at all levels should still be making it easier to vote (including a move away from Thursdays, or towards voting on more than one day), and easier to remember to vote.
It’s unlikely that placards ever change elections much, although 1999 may be an exception – a sea of Green placards across Edinburgh gave Robin Harper’s candidacy a boost. What they do do is remind everyone that there’s an election on. They spark conversations about politics, and they used to give the city a “festival of democracy” feel. The city allows placards for the Fringe and for the actual festival, which is fine – but is an election not equally worth promoting? Whoever wins in Edinburgh I hope this bizarre rule gets overturned before the city votes again.
#1 by Andy Gilmour on May 3, 2012 - 7:42 pm
“largely well-observed by all parties”..?
reaaaally? Sorry James, but my sporadic visits to the capital since moving Fifewards would lead me to beg to differ.
🙂
#2 by James on May 3, 2012 - 7:44 pm
So what you’re saying is my dataset is better than yours? 😉
#3 by Iain Menzies on May 3, 2012 - 8:07 pm
taking them down is an irrelevance. just fine parties that dont. tenner a poster should do the trick (and help to potentially cover the cost of an election)
#4 by Barbarian on May 3, 2012 - 7:54 pm
I’m actually for banning the bloody things. “Taken down promptly” does not seem to be observed where I live.
Also, I think removing them might actually get some candidates to get off their backsides and work for votes. (Yes, I know they are hard working etc etc but you know what I mean).
#5 by Iain Menzies on May 3, 2012 - 11:15 pm
Only place in my neck of the woods that i have seen any of the things is on the street on which the polling place was.
Which is also the only place ive seen the candidates.
The SNP guy offered to hold my dog while i voted…..i didnt let him on account of how the dog doesnt bite…..
#6 by Iain Menzies on May 3, 2012 - 8:10 pm
I dont see that changing the day will really be all that helpful.
My other half lives in Glasgow, and im registered in North Lanarkshire. I doubt i would have bothered to get a postal vote, and if the election had been on Saterday or Sunday (any sat or sun) the chances of me being in the ward to vote are almost nil.
As for reminding people, well my mother (who isnt voting) had forgotten about the election, untill she was on the way home from work and heard about it on the radio, and phoned to remind me.
Perhaps we could get Scotrail to make an announcement at every stop at the next election reminding people to vote?
#7 by Doug Daniel on May 3, 2012 - 8:47 pm
I don’t see what was wrong with letting parties put placards up in the first place. It was all part of the election fun. I remember seeing them when I was growing up, and wishing I was allowed to vote. Banning them feels like saying that elections are an inconvenience and should be kept out of sight. Looking outside just now, you’d never guess there was an election going on today.
I reckon you’re right about compulsory voting too – if people have to be forced to vote, then they’ll make stupid decisions just for the sake of it. I’ve always said compulsory voting should only come about if the papers have a “none of the above” option. As someone on Twitter said today (or it might have been Kenneth Roy in that article on Scottish Review), people may have died so others could vote, but they also died so people could choose not to vote.
With the counting being done tomorrow instead of overnight, I don’t see why we couldn’t just extend the voting period. Incidentally, can anyone explain to me why all the results can’t come at once? They’re being counted by machine, machines which will be capable of carrying out billions of calculations per second. Is it simply a case of depending how long it takes to load all the ballots into the machines?
#8 by James on May 3, 2012 - 9:35 pm
I do always love it when we agree 😉
#9 by Stuart on May 4, 2012 - 7:13 am
I would imagine its because of verification of votes as well as going through unclear ballots.
Theres only 1 Presiding Officer so he to check all these things, hence the staggering of results
#10 by Phil Hunt on May 3, 2012 - 9:00 pm
I think we should allow placards, except for those parties that wanted to ban them. What they did was purely out of self-interest to hinder small parties and independents in favour of large incumbent parties.
#11 by James on May 3, 2012 - 9:36 pm
Absolutely. Greens got in before the ladder was raised, but I don’t think it’s democratic to try and institutionalise the status quo.
#12 by Thomas Widmann on May 3, 2012 - 11:01 pm
I agree, too. However, I must say I’ve been somewhat unimpressed by the placards I’ve seen in Scotland in the past.
In Denmark — where I used to live until 2002 — political placards normally carry a photo of the candidate, and perhaps also a slogan. See for instance a few here.
Perhaps such photo placards are just unaffordable without proper party funding, or perhaps it’s to do with the electoral system used — I imagine that under FPTP, it’s better to knock on 10% of doors in marginal constituencies, but that it’s better to spend your resources on something that reaches all voters under proportional representation.
#13 by Iain Menzies on May 3, 2012 - 11:17 pm
The SNP where i am have pictures of the candidates on the few posters i have seen today.
I’ve seen tory posters in Stirling a few years back that had the candidates face on them.
In 15 odd years i have only ever seen one design of labour poster. I assume it comes down to what you want to spend money on. If you spend money on generic posters which you can use again and again then you dont have to buy posters again and again.
#14 by Barbarian on May 3, 2012 - 11:11 pm
Well, I might be right in that the turnout is looking like a record low.
I felt sorry for the poor lady in the polling station tonight – she said “remember it is numbers, and I’ve been saying that all bloody day!”
#15 by Doug Daniel on May 4, 2012 - 8:47 am
She should have taken a Dictaphone with her, recorded that phrase, and just played it to everyone as they came in.
#16 by Angus McLellan on May 4, 2012 - 7:23 pm
Turnout was low – although not English-levels low – and round here 90% of people knew that it was numbers based on the reported transfers. I didn’t do a detailed check, so the numbers might only have been 1-2, but a single X can’t have been common, say 5-6% tops. Compared to 2007 – possibly excepting N. Lanarkshire – it seems to have been pretty successful in technical terms.
#17 by Don McC on May 3, 2012 - 11:22 pm
I like your idea about having the voting over a couple of days, James. Since we’re moving away from counting votes the same day as they’re cast, I don’t see any problem with giving the electorate a couple of days to get to a polling station. Can’t be any less secure/open to abuse than the postal vote system.
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#18 by Penny Dainty on May 4, 2012 - 10:24 am
It seems way OT to ban party posters and placards from the streets during elections. No advertising allowed! What kind of message does it give to young people watching – voting is like smoking, bad for your health? I really don’t see what the fuss is if the posters are removed promptly after the event. I am more concerned about litter and dog mess on the streets (which continues in many areas) than I am about a few colourful posters that do no harm to anyone.
#19 by Barbarian on May 4, 2012 - 7:48 pm
I’m going to put my own analysis of events on my own blog over the weekend (hopefully!). But if I was Salmond I’d be concerned. The results are not what he wanted, and this is before any problems with Murdoch really start to bite.
And does anyone think Clegg will survive the next 6 months?