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Looks like I'm really British now. Just got back from voting in my first election. My beloved ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
cheshcat and I took a stroll down to our local polling place and put our cross in the box.
This election is both local and hyper-national. I cast a vote one of the two Oxford City Councilors who represents my ward (Headington) and for one of the parties who will share the 10 Minster of European Parliament seats that represent the South East England consituency.
As an Anarchist, I'm not going to hold my breath in the belief that elections will change much. See, for instance, the title and current music to this post. That said, as an immigrant, it's a nice milestone in my 8+ year transition to my adopted country. Indeed, tis possibly the final milestone... unless I follow through on the plan to learn a British accent.
My prediction for the outcome of this election is this:
Nice to have my first election be one where my vote actually makes something of a difference. That's a bit new to me. In the US, I have never lived in a swing state, so my votes for president are never relevant.
For that matter, when the national election comes around next year, I can vote for Mickey Mouse for all the good it would do. Andrew Smith (Labour) has been MP for Oxford East since 1987, and if he's running, he will win. Actually, the Oxford East constituency has only existed since 1983, so he's held the seat for most of that time.[*] If I lived on the other side of town, that would be more interesting; the Oxford West & Abingdon constituency is a marginal district, likely to swing between the Tories and the Lib Dems.
Anyway, let's see if my predictions about today bear any relation to the actual results...
[*] Before 1983, there was simply the Oxford constituency, which had existed for nearly 700 years, since 1295. Shame they had to split it in two, really.
cheshcat and I took a stroll down to our local polling place and put our cross in the box.This election is both local and hyper-national. I cast a vote one of the two Oxford City Councilors who represents my ward (Headington) and for one of the parties who will share the 10 Minster of European Parliament seats that represent the South East England consituency.
As an Anarchist, I'm not going to hold my breath in the belief that elections will change much. See, for instance, the title and current music to this post. That said, as an immigrant, it's a nice milestone in my 8+ year transition to my adopted country. Indeed, tis possibly the final milestone... unless I follow through on the plan to learn a British accent.
My prediction for the outcome of this election is this:
- In Headington, the Liberal Democrat candidate (Mohammed Altaf Khan) will win the open seat on the City Council.
- In the South East England constituency, we will be sending three UKIP people, three Labour people, two Conservative people, one Green person, and one Liberal Democrat to the European Parliament.
- Furthermore, the order that I listed the parties above indicates my prediction for the share of the vote. UKIP and Labour are locked in a tight race for first; I hope Labour wins. (Not because I like Labour, but because UKIP are ignorant racists who would destroy the economy if their policies came to pass) Similarly, the Greens and the Liberal Democrats are locked in a tight race for, um, fourth place. Hopefully my vote will help the Greens pull ahead.
Nice to have my first election be one where my vote actually makes something of a difference. That's a bit new to me. In the US, I have never lived in a swing state, so my votes for president are never relevant.
For that matter, when the national election comes around next year, I can vote for Mickey Mouse for all the good it would do. Andrew Smith (Labour) has been MP for Oxford East since 1987, and if he's running, he will win. Actually, the Oxford East constituency has only existed since 1983, so he's held the seat for most of that time.[*] If I lived on the other side of town, that would be more interesting; the Oxford West & Abingdon constituency is a marginal district, likely to swing between the Tories and the Lib Dems.
Anyway, let's see if my predictions about today bear any relation to the actual results...
[*] Before 1983, there was simply the Oxford constituency, which had existed for nearly 700 years, since 1295. Shame they had to split it in two, really.
