It's a hot, overcast day and I have just come home from the local methodist church which acts as our neighbourhood polling station. You can see the ballot paper above. I put my cross in the "Remain" box.
Normally, where human beings are concerned, ballot papers list candidates in alphabetical order. However, in this instance you can see that the two simple options are not presented in alphabetical order. Surely, "Leave" should have been above "Remain" as "L" comes before "R" in the alphabet.
I don't know if any studies have been done into the psychology of voting habits vis-à-vis the order of choices on a ballot paper but I would guess that it is advantageous to be at the top of the pile. On this ballot paper, "Leave" looks like second best but if normal alphabetical ordering had been employed, "Leave" would have been imbued with primary status.
This is important as up to yesterday, many thousands of voters had not made up their minds. Some even said that they would decide at the polling station.
Another thing I am thinking about this referendum is that "Remain" appears like a vote for the status quo whereas "Leave" seems more rebellious - kicking against the system and there are many people in our society who are drawn to that kind of response. I should know because I am normally one of them.
It will certainly be interesting to see how things pan out as the votes are counted through the night ahead and into tomorrow morning.
Personally I feel like putting my head under a blanket and only taking it out on around Monday of next week when some of the fuss has died down (and Wimbledon takes over as the topic of the minute.)
ReplyDeleteYes. Wimbledon did very well to beat Plymouth in the League Two play off final didn't they?
DeleteI know a few people voting remain. I suspect it will make little difference the establishment gets what the establishment wants. It is good fun watching our leaders talking crap and shouting at each other. Like playtime at a primary school.
ReplyDeleteThat is an insult to primary school children!
DeleteWith only two alternatives, I don't think their alphabetical order matters much, or that the order in which they are presented can be interpreted like some form of ranking in voters' minds.
ReplyDeleteI am glad you have voted "Remain". My colleague and I have been discussing the topic today, and he said he will be very disappointed if there should be no Brexit - he thinks it would be for the best.
In my view, it is breaking with a long tradition to ignore the usual alphabetical order protocol. Also the wording for "Remain" is interesting - "to remain a member of" rather than "remain in".
DeleteI think member is apt. From what I've seen and heard they are a load of right members.
DeleteYou should consider being a member of the national Club Motorhome. They are always looking for new members.
DeleteGo to http://www.clubmotorhome.co.uk/
They wouldn't have me.
DeleteThat's only the ladies, the men would be happy to have you.
DeleteRegardless of the order on the ballot paper, I think "Remain" will come out the winner. As I type the results are said to be known in approximately six hours times. Then all the screaming will start, no doubt...whatever the result. Some will be pleased...some will not be pleased.
ReplyDeleteI'm eagerly awaiting the commencement of Wimbledon, too. I know what I'll be doing over the next fortnight...eating strawberries and watching the ball go to and fro across the net. It's a shame, but I won't be supporting Tomic or Kyrgios, even though they are Aussies. I am not a fan of either. I don't like their attitude and I hope they get beaten in the first round!
I think you may need a neck brace after watching the Wimbledon fortnight! As I watch the results unfolding on BBC, it seems that "Leave" is pushing to the front...but now I need to get to bed.
DeleteYes, I heard that too a short while ago, Yorkie...500,000 ahead...that was about an hour ago(as I type). I've not heard further as yet because I'm watching something I recorded.
DeleteI'm with you about Tomic and Kyrgios. They are an embarrassment.
DeleteThey certainly are, Helsie.
Deletethe sad part about this issue is that it will likely leave a very divided country.
ReplyDeleteIt won't, Scotland and the Scots still get along with the English and Irish. The Welsh are tolerated. The British always get along with each other when threatened from outside. If the world ever becomes settled then the tribalism will start. As children we used to fight kids from the next village. If we travelled the eight miles to the lido in Matlock we used to join forces to resist the folk from mid-Derbyshire.
DeleteI hope you're right because it's the best way to go.
DeleteMy knowledge of the issues is not deep but I have always resented that we Aussies have become outsiders so I'm glad the vote has gone this way. Now at least the Brits won't be paying for the health care of Europe.
ReplyDeleteI have more in common with Australians, New Zealanders and Canadians than I have with Slovakians, Lithuanians and Romanians so I have also grown to resent the different treatment that emerged via the European Union.
DeleteI'm kind of glad the "Leave" won, too.
DeleteI don't think that the Brits are, as such, paying for the health care of Europe, though they are (at the moment) paying for the health care of their own nationals in other countries (those who have contributed to the system in the past).
DeleteWhat will happen now is anyone's guess but I don't think the result will have a happy ending for the much of the UK - so many lies have been spun by politicians and so many figures "massaged" to suit the cause. Very difficult to turn the clock back 43 years and start again as an independent country. The world has moved on.
It sounds as though Scotland may decide upon another Independence Referendum which could be successful this time. No doubt they will then apply to join the EU !