Today is cancelled. It's just gone midnight and I am away to bed but I will be up again at 5.45am ready to drive down to my allocated polling station. I will be there until 10.15pm working as a poll clerk at the European Union Parliamentary Election.
Britain voted to leave The European Union in June 2016 but we still haven't left and so the country is obliged to participate in these elections. The whole thing is an utter mess and as time goes on one wonders where our confused politics will lead and how we can ever return to a state of political normalcy.
The thing seems broken and who can possibly fix it? The hapless Theresa May seems destined to resign in the next few days and her right-hand woman - Andrea Leadsom has already resigned as Leader of the House of Commons. Perhaps she intends to go for the top job but she is as unimpressive as the other candidates plotting leadership bids. In my opinion, the worst of these is the bumbling Boris Johnson - currently the bookies' favourite. The guy is a clown and a liar to boot. He was the worst Foreign Secretary ever to occupy that high office.
Brexit is like a death wish. We should never have been asked the simplistic Leave/Remain question in the first place. Ignorant people now grumble: "Just get on with it" or "We voted leave so we should leave". They seem to disregard the complicated ramifications of this misguided decision and fail to appreciate the benefits of European unity,
And so today, still in Europe, we vote for candidates and parties who may never take up their seats in Brussels or Strasbourg. You couldn't make this up. I will intersperse the hours at the polling station with cheese and tomato sandwiches, bananas, mugs of tea and biscuits as voters drift in to put their crosses in the various meaningless boxes. It's called Democracy.
Well, best of luck with your elections. I have very little faith left in ours. I admire the fact that you devote so many hours to working at the polls. I hope your day tomorrow goes by quickly and smoothly.
ReplyDeleteIt's the morning after the day before. I made it to the other side.
DeleteWho would ever have thought that Brexit could get this bad?
ReplyDeleteIt's like a living nightmare that goes on and on.
DeleteGood luck at the polls. It does seem like a fruitless exercise, doesn't it? I blame the original result on a failure to educate voters as to the ramifications. People can talk all day about democracy being "the will of the people" but unfortunately if people don't understand the issues they may end up voting for something (or someone) they didn't mean to.
ReplyDeleteAnd I didn't consider it democratic that almost one million expat Brits living in the EU were denied the vote (myself included). But it really is a pig's ear isn't it!
DeleteYes - a pig's ear indeed. At yesterday's vote we certainly had EU nationals voting but some others were denied because they had registered to vote in their home countries. You can't vote twice.
DeleteSadly I can't vote at all -neither here in France nor in the UK!!!!
DeleteAre you eighteen Treaders?
DeleteGood luck tomorrow. You are to be commended for giving your time to work in the polls. It sure seems like it is much easier to lose faith in our politicians these days. I have never been as disappointed in my country's government as I am now. I may not understand everything about your government but I can understand the frustration.
ReplyDeleteThey should give me a medal Bonnie. I would vote for that.
DeleteI said it before when you wrote about helping at the polling station that this is something I have been thinking of doing for a few years, but so far, thinking is all I have done about it.
ReplyDeleteAs for Brexit - no comment.
PS: I have just seen your previoius post. So beautiful! It was wise to find a different path and not cross the meadow with the cows on. Thank you for that tidbit of information at the end - if the question should come up in one of our pub quizzes, I will know the answer!
DeleteAnd as for the regulations about recording phone calls, they are actually pretty much the same all over Europe now since the GDPR has come into place in May of last year.
It would be hard for you to work at elections when you have a fulltime job.
DeleteOur Federal Election was last weekend...and I've been smiling ever since! Great result!
ReplyDeleteYou'll be eating well, Yorkie. I doubt you'd be as fed as well if it was a Democracy! What would your rather have....socialism aka communism?
I would rather have socialsm aka fairness.
DeleteI have a feeling that Brexit will be dragged out for so long that it will all eventually peter out and never happen.
ReplyDeleteWe can dream my friend. We can dream.
DeleteAbove all it does question the word democracy, when all the politicians play silly buggers. Well I voted Green, always vote Green and by postal vote. We should have internet voting as well and bring the 16 year old ones in as well...
ReplyDeleteWhy the long dramatic pause after your comment Thelma?
DeleteIt must be especially dispiriting to not only have to get out and vote in this probably pointless election, but to also have to work at the polling station! Look at it this way, though -- this may be the closest we come to a second referendum. If the Remain-leaning parties win, it sends a message. Whether it will do any good is another matter entirely. I agree, this whole thing is an unbelievable hash.
ReplyDeleteThe only party that vividly spelt out it's position on Europe was The Brexit Party. They were using the election as a kind of second referendum.
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