The BNP winning a seat isnt a worry, them now being in the mainstream will expose them for what they are and they will hopefully collaspe under this scrunity/exposure.

I would like to think that you are right. However looking at the "calibre" of their voters on the telly I feel that things will get worse in the short term.

Education of the working classes is the only way to ensure we rid this country of fascists

I respect the fact that people have the right not to vote but it nevertheless staggers me that so few people actually do. When you consider how many people willingly pick up the phone every Saturday night and vote for stuff like Strictly Come Dancing, Big Brother and The X Factor, I can't believe that such a small proportion of those exercise their right to vote for people who will actually can and will make a difference to their lives.

I can't remember any occasion since I turned 18 where I've not voted; especially since moving to Wigan, where every vote counts for my particular party of choice. Just voting at all has only been a privilege we women have enjoyed for the last century or so, and throughout history people have given their lives to enable me to do so. The least I can do is return my ballot paper.

They all **** us over anyway thats why i dont vote

All they care about is £££££

What's your alternative then? Either we exercise our votes and elect a governing body (whether by voting for candidates whose policies/personalities we can associate with or by standing ourselves if we can't find one that suits us) or we don't have a vote at all and end up like North Korea or something.

By not voting, all you've done is remain non-commital to your 'they all **** us over anyway' standpoint by not electing an alternative. You have essentially just allowed it to happen/allowed whoever it is to 'get away' with it.

i dont vote because i dont think whatever party is elected anything would change

we'd still get taxed to death

petrol would still be sky high as would all other things cigs,beer etc

it would be a case of same s**t different guy

This 100%

All everyone who votes is choosing what toff screws us over

But you can't really complain about stuff if you don't get off your ass and do something about it - if you feel strongly about high taxes or whatever, then vote for someone whose policy is different to encourage a positive change. For the EU elections last week there was enough choice on the ballot paper to keep everyone happy, from the far right to the far left and plenty in between. And if you don't like any of them, stand yourself.

I think the 'they're all the same' argument is pretty naive and ill-informed - if I'm not happy with the person I voted for last time, I vote for someone different next time to get them out of office, as is the general idea. If nobody voted, nothing would ever change (or even stand a chance of doing so).

Changing the subject slightly.

anyone noticed how much Cricket gets covered on SKy sports news?. every single boring incident gets covered in great detail all bleeding day long. does my heed in

Does it really anyway?

It's all the same people all the time cause the whole system is benter than a nine bob note i just leave them to it myself and i'm sure quite a few people do tbh

It's a sad reflection of politics in this country that the BNP have received such a high number of votes, a lot of people have lost faith in Westminster. Whilst I will never vote for a bunch of pricks like the BNP, I can understand why people use it as a protest vote. It's about time the major political parties woke up and acted in the best interests of their electorate, that is a democracy.

I personally didn't vote. I couldn't bring myself to vote for Labour after recent events, but IMO there is no-one who could do a better job than them. Voting would be giving my approval to one of them and none of them are worth it. Very sad times

But it's because of people like you, and me

, that the BNP have got in. It's not a mistake I'll be making again.

If most sensible people who perhaps didnt vote this time, use this as a lesson why they should, then it will not be a problem again.

FWIW, Vicki is pretty much right about the rest.

My boss didn't vote and she was saying today how horrified she was that she'd contributed to the BNP success - she's another one who won't forget next time. It just goes to show what complacency can lead to.


Yep, hence we now have two BNP MEPs.

Count me in.

I felt so guilty when I found out the numbers of BNP in Wigan.

I'll certainly be making an effort and doing my research next time around.

The next General Election will be very interesting. Brown should hand his cards in now and save what little face he has left. Still haven't got a clue who I'd vote for out of this bunch

[url=http://www.oldham.gov.uk/north_west_england_results_breakdown.pdf7,517 did in Wigan - the most of anywhere in the North West. Makes you feel really proud doesn't it?[/url

Quite right.... people who don't vote have no right to express an opinion, as they have forfeited that right... So vote or just shut up. Should be compulsary as in Australia..

but we're stuck with this moron for 5 years now

Makes me feel sick.

I don’t get all this "protest" vote malarkey. If these folk who voted are so British then surely they might realise the links between the BNP and Nazi/Fascist groups across the globe. This includes the KKK!.

When will people realise that we are an Island Nation and that we have been colonised by everyman and there dog over the last 2000 years (and before). We have always been building on immigration.

Did anyone else get the BNP leaflets through the post?. The amount of Bo*&cks it contained made me chuckle. At one point it blamed immigrant Polish workers for stealing jobs etc, the next paragraph it praised our war heroes and likened the BNPs fight to the "Battle of Britain"!!!!!. Don’t these fools know that the Polish Air force helped out the RAF during the conflict?.

Morons the lot of em

As I've said for ages.

Oh my god.



These people need educating and fast.

Why though?

Can they not express why they didn't vote?

To be fair you don't know all the parties political manifestos so you can't really say they're all the same and I suppose it doesn't put you in a position to give an informed optinion. That being said, I didn't vote either due to me not knowing much about the whole thing.