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Post by andrewteale on Mar 1, 2018 9:50:13 GMT
We now have a red warning covering much of Devon and Somerset. Exmouth is on the edge of the area covered. A red warning means 'do not travel'. I don't see how a vote can take place in those conditions, although the Exmouth ward is a central town ward, which is very different from a rural one. Here in Bath we are outside of the red warning area, but it has been snowing fairly hard all morning so far and predicted to get much heavier. This is precisely what I have said on Britain Elects twitter feed about Exmouth. In fact I am amazed that East Devon council are still sitting on their hands over this. If I was the returning officer I would have announced a cancellation the very second that red alert was issued. As David has tried to explain to you, the Returning Officer has no power to do so. If he were to try an election petition would not be long in coming - and the returning officer wouldn't have the Bryn defence of "the High Court told me to do it". |
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Post by Devil Wincarnate on Mar 1, 2018 10:06:59 GMT
Basingstoke gets very cold very quickly. I wouldn't be surprised if it is struggling badly with snow.
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Post by yellowperil on Mar 1, 2018 11:12:42 GMT
If the local authority refuses to take action in these circumstances, and voter turnout (excluding postal votes) is derisory, I wonder whether there should be at least a moral obligation on the winning candidate to say I do not have a mandate and resign to force another by-election? Truly we have a Snoflake Generation now........literally. Russia and Finland cancel all elections for a third of a year!!! Can't remember the last time Russia was quoted as an exemplar as to how to run elections. Probably was a time where failure to turn out in the snow to vote might end up with experiencing rather worse weather in Siberia. |
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timmullen1
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Post by timmullen1 on Mar 1, 2018 11:28:59 GMT
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ColinJ
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Post by ColinJ on Mar 1, 2018 11:39:12 GMT
On Clackmmanshire's home page:
Severe Weather Information
All of our schools and nurseries will be closed today (Thu 1 March).
Clackmannanshire North by-election - Polling stations are open as planned. There are no provisions in law for the adjournment, abandonment or to postpone a poll due to adverse weather. Everyone is advised to take extra care.
Non essential Council staff are advised not to travel to work at present due to weather conditions. This will be reviewed during the day, so please look out for further updates. Those required for essential business continuity should follow the plans of service communicated to them by their managers.
Refuse and kerbside collections have been suspended until further notice. We will return to collect any bins not collected yesterday or today as soon as conditions allow. Forthbank Recycling Centre is closed today.
All indoor and outdoor leisure facilities remain closed today. We will provide a further update tomorrow morning (Fri 2 March).
For the most up-to-date information please continue to check Facebook and Twitter for regular updates.
Notice updated on Thursday 1st March 2018 at 11:11.
Everything stops except the by-election. (My emphasis in the above quote.)
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Post by carlton43 on Mar 1, 2018 12:04:38 GMT
Truly we have a Snoflake Generation now........literally. Russia and Finland cancel all elections for a third of a year!!! Can't remember the last time Russia was quoted as an exemplar as to how to run elections. Probably was a time where failure to turn out in the snow to vote might end up with experiencing rather worse weather in Siberia. Hmmmm! Poor choice by me. Substitute Canada. EDIT And please don't do the absurdist '...Russia...an exemplar of how to run elections...'. That is beneath you YP. You know well enough I used it an an exemplar of a country that has snow and still functions. What we are currently experiencing is 'a bit of snow'. We don't get much and we don't cope well when it falls. We all go 'stay at home' and close schools and cancel trains, as much because we are risk averse, litigation prone and elf and zafety obsessed. Others just cope. Walk to polling station through snow? Why not. Can't get to polling station to open it? Nonsense! Don't want to more like, if it involves leaving two hours earlier and walking it. People just can't be bothered to cope or endure minor discomfort. |
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Post by East Anglian Lefty on Mar 1, 2018 13:35:00 GMT
No, what some of us are experiencing is 'a bit of snow'. There's an intermittent covering on the pavements here, the roads are all fine and there's no more than the occasional flurry. If there was a by-election here, it'd be daft to cancel it.
But if you've got upwards of a foot of snow and it's starting to drift; if the roads are impassable to anything less than a 4x4; if the emergency services aren't just advising people not to travel but to leave work immediately and go home; and if all this is happening in a country without the capacity for dealing with this as a winter norm (we do not have very many snowploughs per head of population), then you've got more than a bit of snow.
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Post by yellowperil on Mar 1, 2018 13:53:00 GMT
Can't remember the last time Russia was quoted as an exemplar as to how to run elections. Probably was a time where failure to turn out in the snow to vote might end up with experiencing rather worse weather in Siberia. Hmmmm! Poor choice by me. Substitute Canada. EDIT And please don't do the absurdist '...Russia...an exemplar of how to run elections...'. That is beneath you YP. You know well enough I used it an an exemplar of a country that has snow and still functions. What we are currently experiencing is 'a bit of snow'. We don't get much and we don't cope well when it falls. We all go 'stay at home' and close schools and cancel trains, as much because we are risk averse, litigation prone and elf and zafety obsessed. Others just cope. Walk to polling station through snow? Why not. Can't get to polling station to open it? Nonsense! Don't want to more like, if it involves leaving two hours earlier and walking it. People just can't be bothered to cope or endure minor discomfort. You know I was only teasing. Reminds me of the bad snows of the eighties - was instructed by my boss to get to work whatever, etc, so the only way was to walk the eight miles through deep snow and after three hours got there... just in time for the decision to send us all home. The return walk was a good deal harder. |
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Post by Andrew_S on Mar 1, 2018 14:14:50 GMT
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Post by carlton43 on Mar 1, 2018 14:20:24 GMT
Hmmmm! Poor choice by me. Substitute Canada. EDIT And please don't do the absurdist '...Russia...an exemplar of how to run elections...'. That is beneath you YP. You know well enough I used it an an exemplar of a country that has snow and still functions. What we are currently experiencing is 'a bit of snow'. We don't get much and we don't cope well when it falls. We all go 'stay at home' and close schools and cancel trains, as much because we are risk averse, litigation prone and elf and zafety obsessed. Others just cope. Walk to polling station through snow? Why not. Can't get to polling station to open it? Nonsense! Don't want to more like, if it involves leaving two hours earlier and walking it. People just can't be bothered to cope or endure minor discomfort. You know I was only teasing. Reminds me of the bad snows of the eighties - was instructed by my boss to get to work whatever, etc, so the only way was to walk the eight miles through deep snow and after three hours got there... just in time for the decision to send us all home. The return walk was a good deal harder. Yes I knew you were and was only on the wind-up trail of course. I remember some brutal winters in Kent in the 40s and 60s. Being caught in a drift between Charing and Lenham on a train. So deep it filled the cutting and completely obscured the overbridge we were making for to get to the White Horse. And walking from Linton Heath into Maidstone to work. When at the Regional Office in Nottingham in the 80s I set out at 05.00 am from Thorgill in Rosedale in the Moors and was at my place before 10.00 am after taking over an hour to ascend Cropton Bank by tacking in reverse from side to side! The Regional Manager had been on the point of shutting the office but seeing me and hearing the story, he got his secretary to phone everybody and insist they came in! I was not too popular for a couple of weeks. It was just a matter of planning, time and preparation. I had a lot of weight in the boot, shovel, appropriate clothing, salt, sand and determination. |
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Post by gwynthegriff on Mar 1, 2018 14:30:37 GMT
No, what some of us are experiencing is 'a bit of snow'. There's an intermittent covering on the pavements here, the roads are all fine and there's no more than the occasional flurry. If there was a by-election here, it'd be daft to cancel it. But if you've got upwards of a foot of snow and it's starting to drift; if the roads are impassable to anything less than a 4x4; if the emergency services aren't just advising people not to travel but to leave work immediately and go home; and if all this is happening in a country without the capacity for dealing with this as a winter norm (we do not have very many snowploughs per head of population), then you've got more than a bit of snow. It's pretty unusual for snowploughs to be the answer to our weather problems. Over on the railway forum people are bleating about the lack of snowploughs, but they're not really what's needed. (e.g. your walk to the polling station is unlikely to be helped by a snowplough depositing the roadway's snow and slush onto the pavement ...) |
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Post by Deleted on Mar 1, 2018 16:55:27 GMT
Looking at the forecast I expect East Devon and Clackmannanshire councils to tweet today that they are seeking legal action to postpone the elections by a week (as both areas have been placed under a red "Don't move" warning for tomorrow That’s ridiculous- for snow??? And lacks any legal basis more importantly. |
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Khunanup
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Post by Khunanup on Mar 1, 2018 18:58:15 GMT
One should not forget that the snap Canadian election in 2006 was on 23rd January and while they by necessity are extremely well prepared for winter it was still an unbelievably difficult environment to hold a general election in. Turnout was actually up on the 2004 election that had been held in June by nearly 4%...
Democracy should come what may in any weather...
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Post by samdwebber on Mar 1, 2018 19:21:15 GMT
Worth a read and do retweet it or reply on twitter if you wish.
Lots of thoughts above noted about weather conditions and if the law needs to be changed to give more power to ROs to delay a poll in extreme weather conditions:
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Izzyeviel
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Post by Izzyeviel on Mar 1, 2018 20:08:18 GMT
Can I make a suggestion? For future threads, can you include a quick summary in the opening post about whats up for grabs? This thread has been quite easy to follow, but I know other threads have been quite confusing.
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Post by yellowperil on Mar 1, 2018 20:56:32 GMT
Does anyone know whether these are being counted tonight? Tough if that means some people are having to get home in the wee small hours with conditions as bad as this.( Scottish ones are often a next day count,I think) I suppose though that with minute turnouts we might be able to finish quickly.
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maxque
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Post by maxque on Mar 1, 2018 21:05:44 GMT
One should not forget that the snap Canadian election in 2006 was on 23rd January and while they by necessity are extremely well prepared for winter it was still an unbelievably difficult environment to hold a general election in. Turnout was actually up on the 2004 election that had been held in June by nearly 4%... Democracy should come what may in any weather... The election wasn't much of an issue, it was the campaign bebeing split by Christmas and canvassing that was the main issue. I would also say there is some kinds of weather we just give up in front of. Or some amount of snow (roughly one foot is enough to stop most things). |
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Foggy
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Post by Foggy on Mar 1, 2018 21:24:03 GMT
One should not forget that the snap Canadian election in 2006 was on 23rd January and while they by necessity are extremely well prepared for winter it was still an unbelievably difficult environment to hold a general election in. Turnout was actually up on the 2004 election that had been held in June by nearly 4%... Democracy should come what may in any weather... The election wasn't much of an issue, it was the campaign bebeing split by Christmas and canvassing that was the main issue. What about the snap provincial election in December 2008? Or – even though it's not your neck of the woods – the fact that the last ordinary general (territorial) election in the Yukon, of all places, took place in November? Both of those examples surely make any complaints about the weather today look trivial by comparison. |
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Khunanup
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Post by Khunanup on Mar 1, 2018 21:29:58 GMT
One should not forget that the snap Canadian election in 2006 was on 23rd January and while they by necessity are extremely well prepared for winter it was still an unbelievably difficult environment to hold a general election in. Turnout was actually up on the 2004 election that had been held in June by nearly 4%... Democracy should come what may in any weather... The election wasn't much of an issue, it was the campaign bebeing split by Christmas and canvassing that was the main issue. I would also say there is some kinds of weather we just give up in front of. Or some amount of snow (roughly one foot is enough to stop most things). I know, back then I was following Canadian politics, closely as now. I remember the Christmas issue was regarded as a real issue... With phone and internet campaigning is a bit of a lesser issue now but door to door and the turnout going up on a summer election was rather impressive. |
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Post by andrewp on Mar 1, 2018 22:16:55 GMT
Basingstoke is counting tomorrow. Anyone know whether Exmouth or Solihull are counting tonight?
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