Category Archives: Voting
“Met Police consult Crown Prosecution Service over Vote Leave allegations”
“… Evidence that could lead to criminal charges against the pro-Brexit campaign led by Boris Johnson and his key adviser, Dominic Cummings, has now been passed by police to the criminal prosecution authorities, openDemocracy has learned.
Last year, the Electoral Commission found that Vote Leave broke electoral law by overspending during the 2016 European Union referendum, after the campaign funnelled £675,000 through another pro-Brexit group to avoid spending limits.
After nearly 16 months of investigatiVote Leave, the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) handed a file of evidence to the Crown Prosecution Service last month. The initial formal referral by the police means they are now seeking legal advice from the Crown Prosecution Service on how to further build their case against Vote Leave, and where they need further evidence to advance the prospect of charges being brought. Vote Leave have always denied any wrongdoing. …”
Met Police consult Crown Prosecution Service over Vote Leave allegations
SOME of the “missing millions” registering to vote but not enough
“Almost a third of the 316,264 voter registration applications submitted in the last two days have been from voters aged under 25, according to government figures.
Young voters rushed to send almost 45,000 applications on Tuesday after the announcement of a snap general election on 12 December. This increased to 59,000 on Wednesday, with both days marking a significant surge on the 13,109 applications sent on Monday, and the 4,981 applications the day before that.
The total number of applications marked the highest and second highest number of applications submitted on any day of 2019. Almost 140,000 registrations were counted on Tuesday and more than 170,000 were received on Wednesday.
How do I register to vote in the 2019 general election?
Go to:
https://www.gov.uk/register-to-vote
About 65% of applications came from people under 35, while only 4% of those registering were aged 65 and over. Some applications may have been from people already registered to vote.
However, Willie Sullivan, a senior director at the Electoral Reform Society, said 9.4 million people were still missing from the electoral roll. “There’s a long way to go before we close the registration gap,” he said, adding that there remained large disproportions between different social and economic groups who register to vote.
“Younger people and renters are most at risk of being missing from the register, so it’s welcome to see this surge in registrations from the ‘missing millions’.”
Sullivan said the registration process needed urgently improving across the country to avoid similar scrambles to register.
“It’s an annoying reality that many of these applications will be already on the register, since there’s no way to check online if you are already registered. Let’s make this the last time we see a manic registration rush – putting strain on local electoral offices.
“We cannot be complacent – this election must see the biggest registration drive this country has seen to ensure it genuinely represents all of us.”
The final date for registering to vote is 26 November.”
Swire says NHS is safe in Tory hands – do you agree
Owl finds nothing in this response on Facebook that is reassuring.
Reply to constituent:
“SWIRE, Hugo
Thu 31/10/2019 12:02
Dear Mrs Hadley
Thank you for contacting me about the NHS and international trade and Jonathan Ashworth MP’s amendment on the Queen’s Speech.
As I have stated before, like you, I cherish our National Health Service and the role it plays in ensuring that no-one is denied medical treatment because they cannot afford it. However, I did not vote for the amendment because I believe it was un-necessary as the Government has been repeatedly clear that our NHS will never be on the table in any trade negotiations, a position I fully support.
Free trade is a driver of economic growth which can raise incomes, create jobs, and lift people out of poverty, which is why I am glad that outside of the EU the UK will be able to strike new trade agreements with countries across the globe. But more trade should not come at the expense of the high levels of quality and protection enjoyed in our country.
In the EU trade agreements to which our country is currently party, our NHS is protected by specific exceptions and reservations. Outside of the EU, rigorous protections for our NHS will be maintained and included in any future trade agreement to which our country is party.
I hope this reassures you that all future trade agreements will continue to protect our vital NHS.
Thank you again for taking the time to contact me.
Yours sincerely
Hugo Swire”
Young people: your friends are registering to vote in their tens of thousands – why haven’t you?
“Young people might be ensuring that Boris Johnson has a thoroughly miserable Christmas. Because huge numbers of them are registering to vote. In fact, 316,000 people have signed up to vote in the last 48 hours. And 205,900 of them are under 34.”
In just 48 hours, young people show they could have a nasty surprise in store for Boris Johnson
Register here:
https://www.gov.uk/register-to-vote
Poor people to be disenfranchised – and EDDC was the trailblazer!
Story here:
EDDC Electoral officer and CEO used “light touch” as the reason/excuse when he “lost” 6,000+ voters from the electoral roll in 2014 (that and not wanting his canvassers out in the dark were just two of his reasons at the time):
At that time it was also the poorer and more itinerant renters who were not contacted or followed up.
The Tories, having realised that poorer and rent-trapped people were more likely not to register to vote, jumped at the chance to do their best to ensure they never reach the electoral roll again.
Nice one Boris – bet you’ve made Mr Williams very proud! Maybe he will even get a gong for it like Swire got for cosying up to Cameron!
How to vote tactically in East Devon if you are a Remainer
Vote Lib Dem in Tiverton and Honiton (Neil Parish)
DO NOT VOTE LIB DEM IN EAST DEVON (Hugo Swire) – vote Claire Wright (Independent)
General election, Hugo Swire and Neil Parish
East Devon Watch will NOT report any “good news” stories from Hugo Swire or Neil Parish between now and the election unless it can be proved (by very strong evidence) to be accurate – and not just convenient pre-election speculation.
Policing – who broke it, is it being fixed?
“Register by 26 November to vote in December’s general election – here’s what you need to know”
So, who is going to be the Tory candidate in East Devon?
A local person?
Someone parachuted in to what was once a safe seat (that’s how Swire got it with no connection to East Devon at all) but which is now very, very unsafe?
Will the Brexit Party contest it?
Will Lib-Dems split votes and allow a Tory to keep the seat?
So many questions, so few answers …
But at leadt it won’t be a very long campaign!
Students: apply for postal or proxy vote if you are not in the right place on 12 December
“Professor John Curtice Makes Surprising Prediction For General Election 2019”
East Devon: be a trendsetter – elect Claire Wright – Independent!
“Professor John Curtice Makes Prediction On General Election 2019
The UK’s leading election expert Sir John Curtice told LBC he expects parties other than the two major ones to have a record number of MPs in the upcoming General Election.
The UK is expected to go to the polls on 12th December after Jeremy Corbyn told Labour MPs to back Boris Johnson’s proposal for an early General Election.
Sir John is the man who predicted Brexit and has been in charge of the accurate exit polls in the recent elections in 2015 and 2017.
And speaking to Shelagh Fogarty, he gave a surprising prediction of what we can expect.
He said: “I think the safest prediction is that we will have a record number of non-Conservative and non-Labour MPs in this parliament.
“The SNP look set to win the vast majority of seats in Scotland. The Liberal Democrats given their position in the polls should do extremely well. We expect Caroline Lucas and the Green Party to hang on to her seat.
“We could have more than 100 MPs that do not belong to either of the other two parties.
“That matters for two reasons. The first is that it makes it difficult for either Conservative or Labour to win an overall majority if you’re taking the fact that 100 of the seats are already spoken for.
“Secondly, it matters because this is an asymmetric election. It’s an election that Boris Johnson has to win. If he does not get a majority or something very close to it, he will not be able to stay in government because the Conservatives do not have any friends elsewhere.
“The Labour Party, by contrast, at least has the possibility of doing a deal with the SNP, a deal with the Liberal Democrats, getting support of the Greens and maybe even the DUP not standing in their way.
“Bear in mind, this is not an election that Labour have to win to stop Brexit, but it is an election that they and the other opposition parties simply need to deny the Conservatives a majority.”
Tactical voting – and how Claire Wright could be a VERY powerful MP!
“The major UK political parties go into the election with radically different positions on Brexit. In short:
A vote for the Conservative party is a vote to take Britain out of the EU.
A vote for the Labour Party is a vote to put any Brexit deal to a referendum, in which voters could vote to remain.
A vote for the Liberal Democrats is a vote to revoke Article 50 and cancel Brexit.
A vote for the Brexit Party is a vote for a no-deal Brexit.”
AND A VOTE FOR CLAIRE WRIGHT (INDEPENDENT) IS A VOTE FOR EAST DEVON!
Claire Wright could be a powerful figure if elected to Parliament. She could be amongst a handful of MPs that could tip the balance in a hung parliament.
“Surge in voter registration applications as Boris Johnson pushes for December general election”
“Nearly 60 per cent of applications were from people aged 34 and under 34. …”
Are you one one of them? If not register at:
https://www.gov.uk/register-to-vote
Does Boris Johnson want an election on 12 December so university students can’t vote?
“The December 12 date is really odd for many reasons. It’s so near Christmas, it’s after universities have ended their terms, etc,” the Labour leader said. “There’s lots of, lots of things very odd about that date.” …
Young people – PLEASE register to vote then DO it
Go to: gov.uk/voting
East Devon’s population explodes
In 2017, East Devon’s CEO and Electoral officer “lost” around 6,000 voters:
and, when he had to explain it and put some effort into finding them, the population jumped from 96,000 to more than 113,000.
Now, in 2019, East Devon’s population is said to be 144,317!
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_Devon
30,000 plus people added in just 2 years!
Wonder if the population increase is reflected in the electoral roll?
Voter ID: Johnson in his own words
“Requiring voter ID in British elections suggests the government is adopting US ‘voter suppression’ tactics”
“This week’s Queen’s Speech revived proposals to introduce photographic ID requirements for voting in British elections. The Democratic Audit team assess the available evidence on the likely consequence of such a measure, and consider whether the legislation tackles the right priorities for improving our elections on which there is consensus, or suggests moves to enhance Tory election chances via excluding voters presumed unfavourable to them….”
East Devon Watch 