City of Chester

[peterl]

Nov 7, 2022 13:19:10 GMT minionofmidas said:

Nov 7, 2022 12:26:58 GMT batman said:

At the count at the 1983 Brighton Borough Council elections, the returning officer was examining the questionable votes for my then ward, St Peters. One voter had written foul abuse against the names of the SDP & Conservative candidates, but had put crosses against the 3 Labour ones. The Returning Officer, Mr Datson IIRC, looked, said "well, the intention is clear enough"

And it was. The paper would have been ruled invalid in Germany because of potentially identifying handwriting, but I believe that is not the law in the UK.
Then again as a precinct (and thus also countung team) chair I myself have allowed a ballot paper where the voter had struck through every party's name except one fringe outfit he probably just overlooked, for that fringe outfit...

Such a ballot would be valid here if I remember the guidance correctly. Crossing through every option bar one is regarded as a clear voting intention. Don't believe I've ever actually seen one though.

[timmullen1]

Nov 7, 2022 14:17:34 GMT peterl said:

Nov 7, 2022 13:19:10 GMT minionofmidas said:

And it was. The paper would have been ruled invalid in Germany because of potentially identifying handwriting, but I believe that is not the law in the UK.
Then again as a precinct (and thus also countung team) chair I myself have allowed a ballot paper where the voter had struck through every party's name except one fringe outfit he probably just overlooked, for that fringe outfit...

Such a ballot would be valid here if I remember the guidance correctly. Crossing through every option bar one is regarded as a clear voting intention. Don't believe I've ever actually seen one though.

The closest I’ve seen was not one of my candidates but one in I think Stoke North which was a straight Conservative head-to-head with one voter writing literally dozens of Cupid hearts next to the Labour candidate and “wouldn’t touch with a [expletive] bargepole” by the Conservative, who suggested it should be disqualified as the voter could be identified, it was patently his wife.

[greatkingrat]

Nov 7, 2022 14:21:58 GMT timmullen1 said:

Nov 7, 2022 14:17:34 GMT peterl said:

Such a ballot would be valid here if I remember the guidance correctly. Crossing through every option bar one is regarded as a clear voting intention. Don't believe I've ever actually seen one though.

The closest I’ve seen was not one of my candidates but one in I think Stoke North which was a straight Conservative head-to-head with one voter writing literally dozens of Cupid hearts next to the Labour candidate and “wouldn’t touch with a [expletive] bargepole” by the Conservative, who suggested it should be disqualified as the voter could be identified, it was patently his wife.

But was it the Labour candidate's wife, or the Conservative candidate's wife!

[kevinf]

Nov 7, 2022 9:33:53 GMT East Anglian Lefty said:

Nov 3, 2022 17:07:06 GMT kevinf said:

Once when I was a (much younger) agent a voter scrawled bastards on the ballot paper but for some reason the Tory agent wasn’t happy when I suggested it was a vote for his candidates. I now realise this was petty and immature and would never do it again…

You now realise that the vote is more important than the cheap laugh, and hence would argue that actually your candidates were born out of wedlock?

So true…

[timmullen1]

Nov 7, 2022 15:04:33 GMT greatkingrat said:

Nov 7, 2022 14:21:58 GMT timmullen1 said:

The closest I’ve seen was not one of my candidates but one in I think Stoke North which was a straight Conservative head-to-head with one voter writing literally dozens of Cupid hearts next to the Labour candidate and “wouldn’t touch with a [expletive] bargepole” by the Conservative, who suggested it should be disqualified as the voter could be identified, it was patently his wife.

But was it the Labour candidate's wife, or the Conservative candidate's wife!

If a wife I’m guessing the Conservative as the Labour candidate was a she and very out we were in the days before civil partnerships or same sex marriage.

[Ben Walker]

I'm quite surprised at the lack of effort the Conservatives have made here. I of course do speak with a vested interest and prejudiced position but I've only seen them canvassing in Upton (one of two wards they have in the city proper) and Christleton, and on both occasions with the same spate of activists: two councillors and three bods.

Rejoin EU are causing a bit of noise on the streets. They evidently don't have data and have been knocking random doors in the seat's more affluent parts - south of the river in Handbridge. The Lib Dems have put out a leaflet, making a great play of their candidate being a parish councillor (ignoring the poor attendance record). The Greens have been knocking in the student area, but from my own canvassing there's little sign they're making much headway.

In terms of garden displays: overwhelmingly Labour in both poor and affluent areas. I've spied one Green (the candidate?), one Lib Dem, and one Socialist Workers Party in a House With a Long Drive™ (ignoring the fact they're not, uh, standing). No Conservative...

Very little backlash, if any, over Chris. I'm told there was a similar level of indifference in Wakefield over Mr Khan.

[aargauer]

Nov 21, 2022 16:33:48 GMT Ben Walker said:

I'm quite surprised at the lack of effort the Conservatives have made here. I of course do speak with a vested interest and prejudiced position but I've only seen them canvassing in Upton (one of two wards they have in the city proper) and Christleton, and on both occasions with the same spate of activists: two councillors and three bods.

Rejoin EU are causing a bit of noise on the streets. They evidently don't have data and have been knocking random doors in the seat's more affluent parts - south of the river in Handbridge. The Lib Dems have put out a leaflet, making a great play of their candidate being a parish councillor (ignoring the poor attendance record). The Greens have been knocking in the student area, but from my own canvassing there's little sign they're making much headway.

In terms of garden displays: overwhelmingly Labour in both poor and affluent areas. I've spied one Green (the candidate?), one Lib Dem, and one Socialist Workers Party in a House With a Long Drive™ (ignoring the fact they're not, uh, standing). No Conservative...

Very little backlash, if any, over Chris. I'm told there was a similar level of indifference in Wakefield over Mr Khan.

You should be down as opposition activist and thus not get most literature.

[Pete Whitehead]

Nov 21, 2022 16:33:48 GMT Ben Walker said:

I'm quite surprised at the lack of effort the Conservatives have made here. I of course do speak with a vested interest and prejudiced position but I've only seen them canvassing in Upton (one of two wards they have in the city proper) and Christleton, and on both occasions with the same spate of activists: two councillors and three bods.

Rejoin EU are causing a bit of noise on the streets. They evidently don't have data and have been knocking random doors in the seat's more affluent parts - south of the river in Handbridge. The Lib Dems have put out a leaflet, making a great play of their candidate being a parish councillor (ignoring the poor attendance record). The Greens have been knocking in the student area, but from my own canvassing there's little sign they're making much headway.

In terms of garden displays: overwhelmingly Labour in both poor and affluent areas. I've spied one Green (the candidate?), one Lib Dem, and one Socialist Workers Party in a House With a Long Drive™ (ignoring the fact they're not, uh, standing). No Conservative...

Very little backlash, if any, over Chris. I'm told there was a similar level of indifference in Wakefield over Mr Khan.

I don't know what FFS stands for in this case, but my attitude to the current political situation is such that I would definitely vote for that..

[timmullen1]

Nov 21, 2022 16:37:01 GMT Pete Whitehead said:

Nov 21, 2022 16:33:48 GMT Ben Walker said:

I'm quite surprised at the lack of effort the Conservatives have made here. I of course do speak with a vested interest and prejudiced position but I've only seen them canvassing in Upton (one of two wards they have in the city proper) and Christleton, and on both occasions with the same spate of activists: two councillors and three bods.

Rejoin EU are causing a bit of noise on the streets. They evidently don't have data and have been knocking random doors in the seat's more affluent parts - south of the river in Handbridge. The Lib Dems have put out a leaflet, making a great play of their candidate being a parish councillor (ignoring the poor attendance record). The Greens have been knocking in the student area, but from my own canvassing there's little sign they're making much headway.

In terms of garden displays: overwhelmingly Labour in both poor and affluent areas. I've spied one Green (the candidate?), one Lib Dem, and one Socialist Workers Party in a House With a Long Drive™ (ignoring the fact they're not, uh, standing). No Conservative...

Very little backlash, if any, over Chris. I'm told there was a similar level of indifference in Wakefield over Mr Khan.

I don't know what FFS stands for in this case, but my attitude to the current political situation is such that I would definitely vote for that..

Lower down the Tweet thread he answers “For Future’s Sake” aka Freedom Alliance.

[East Anglian Lefty]

Nov 21, 2022 16:35:18 GMT aargauer said:

Nov 21, 2022 16:33:48 GMT Ben Walker said:

I'm quite surprised at the lack of effort the Conservatives have made here. I of course do speak with a vested interest and prejudiced position but I've only seen them canvassing in Upton (one of two wards they have in the city proper) and Christleton, and on both occasions with the same spate of activists: two councillors and three bods.

Rejoin EU are causing a bit of noise on the streets. They evidently don't have data and have been knocking random doors in the seat's more affluent parts - south of the river in Handbridge. The Lib Dems have put out a leaflet, making a great play of their candidate being a parish councillor (ignoring the poor attendance record). The Greens have been knocking in the student area, but from my own canvassing there's little sign they're making much headway.

In terms of garden displays: overwhelmingly Labour in both poor and affluent areas. I've spied one Green (the candidate?), one Lib Dem, and one Socialist Workers Party in a House With a Long Drive™ (ignoring the fact they're not, uh, standing). No Conservative...

Very little backlash, if any, over Chris. I'm told there was a similar level of indifference in Wakefield over Mr Khan.

You should be down as opposition activist and thus not get most literature.

Not sure that would be the case in most areas. I'd only doorknock an opposition activist for the purposes of gaining gossip or causing annoyance and obviously there's no point sending direct mail, but if I'm leafleting I don't have an encyclopedic knowledge of who lives where and it's a lot quicker just to put a leaflet through every letterbox.

[pl]

Nov 21, 2022 17:14:54 GMT East Anglian Lefty said:

Nov 21, 2022 16:35:18 GMT aargauer said:

You should be down as opposition activist and thus not get most literature.

Not sure that would be the case in most areas. I'd only doorknock an opposition activist for the purposes of gaining gossip or causing annoyance and obviously there's no point sending direct mail, but if I'm leafleting I don't have an encyclopedic knowledge of who lives where and it's a lot quicker just to put a leaflet through every letterbox.

Indeed, at the start of a leaflet run I make an effort not to leaflet known opposition activists, but once you know they've got a copy of your leaflet I don't tend to worry too much.

Mind you, with so much campaigning done online now they probably will be able to find all your leaflet stories anyway.

Oh the whole it takes longer to figure out/ remember where the opposition lives than to deliver their doors. Mind you, I think the opposition miss my house out these days.

[Adam in Stroud]

Nov 21, 2022 16:37:01 GMT Pete Whitehead said:

Nov 21, 2022 16:33:48 GMT Ben Walker said:

I'm quite surprised at the lack of effort the Conservatives have made here. I of course do speak with a vested interest and prejudiced position but I've only seen them canvassing in Upton (one of two wards they have in the city proper) and Christleton, and on both occasions with the same spate of activists: two councillors and three bods.

Rejoin EU are causing a bit of noise on the streets. They evidently don't have data and have been knocking random doors in the seat's more affluent parts - south of the river in Handbridge. The Lib Dems have put out a leaflet, making a great play of their candidate being a parish councillor (ignoring the poor attendance record). The Greens have been knocking in the student area, but from my own canvassing there's little sign they're making much headway.

In terms of garden displays: overwhelmingly Labour in both poor and affluent areas. I've spied one Green (the candidate?), one Lib Dem, and one Socialist Workers Party in a House With a Long Drive™ (ignoring the fact they're not, uh, standing). No Conservative...

Very little backlash, if any, over Chris. I'm told there was a similar level of indifference in Wakefield over Mr Khan.

I don't know what FFS stands for in this case, but my attitude to the current political situation is such that I would definitely vote for that..

The other day I logged into Twitter and it told me that FFS was trending. It was hard to tell exactly what had set it off, but I sympathised.

[greenchristian]

Nov 21, 2022 17:14:54 GMT East Anglian Lefty said:

Nov 21, 2022 16:35:18 GMT aargauer said:

You should be down as opposition activist and thus not get most literature.

Not sure that would be the case in most areas. I'd only doorknock an opposition activist for the purposes of gaining gossip or causing annoyance and obviously there's no point sending direct mail, but if I'm leafleting I don't have an encyclopedic knowledge of who lives where and it's a lot quicker just to put a leaflet through every letterbox.

Our leaflet rounds note a few do not deliver addresses (a combination of known opposition activists and people who have asked us not to deliver to them), but I've certainly delivered some of these addresses by accident on occasion by going into autopilot when delivering.

[aargauer]

Nov 21, 2022 17:14:54 GMT East Anglian Lefty said:

Nov 21, 2022 16:35:18 GMT aargauer said:

You should be down as opposition activist and thus not get most literature.

Not sure that would be the case in most areas. I'd only doorknock an opposition activist for the purposes of gaining gossip or causing annoyance and obviously there's no point sending direct mail, but if I'm leafleting I don't have an encyclopedic knowledge of who lives where and it's a lot quicker just to put a leaflet through every letterbox.

50% ish of Conservative deliveries are targeted to canvassed supporters or people Votesource says should be Conservatives. Addressed envelope.

[East Anglian Lefty]

Nov 21, 2022 18:07:23 GMT aargauer said:

Nov 21, 2022 17:14:54 GMT East Anglian Lefty said:

Not sure that would be the case in most areas. I'd only doorknock an opposition activist for the purposes of gaining gossip or causing annoyance and obviously there's no point sending direct mail, but if I'm leafleting I don't have an encyclopedic knowledge of who lives where and it's a lot quicker just to put a leaflet through every letterbox.

50% ish of Conservative deliveries are targeted to canvassed supporters or people Votesource says should be Conservatives. Addressed envelope.

Given the amount I used to get, all I can say is that Votesource clearly isn't very good. But I think the divide between direct mail and leaflets is largely a function of the ratio between cash and activists.

[jamesmanc22]

Any updates on this by election as its this Thursday

[timmullen1]

Nov 28, 2022 18:09:32 GMT jamesmanc22 said:

Any updates on this by election as its this Thursday

Sounds a bit of a sleeper, I had an email this morning from Open Labour asking for volunteers to help in the constituency - not phonebank from home I noticed - to “help drive up turnout”, and not mentioning any other Party, so it gave the impression lack of enthusiasm was the issue rather than a threat from anybody else.

[johnloony]

I predict a low turnout. My predikshun is for a big swing from Con to Lab, but that’s only because the Con vote will stay at home and the Lab vote will go down by less.

[skyep]

went to see if there was an open betting market in a bookies that had by-election bets on before, no such luck, so seems to be accepted as a labour hold, no other point of interest.

also no markets for either of the other north-west by elections.

[Deleted]