I am in Clackmannanshire which is a good indicator – neither East nor West, right on the Highland line, both urban and rural, substantial wealth but also a significant central belt working class population. The politics have tended to mirror national fortunes.
In Tullibody, which was once solid Labour, we progressed to applause and shouts from people coming in to their gardens. I have never seen anything like the turnout. I have spoken personally to at least twenty middle aged or old people who have voted, who never voted before.
The perception is strongly that we are ahead. Nobody knows what is in those 800,000 postal ballots, but the voters on the day are openly and exuberantly broadcasting their allegiance. Weirdly enough, several people including myself have commented that the mid evening voters were the first group who had given a feeling of predominantly No = but 70 to 80 per cent of voters had already cast their ballots before then. Only a feeling, but it is feeling very, very good.
I shall be at the Clackmannanshire count invigilating. Should be one of the earlier declarations.
“they must have rigged 100% postal voter”
From what I’ve seen they are overwhelmingly conservative in bent. In US it includes overseas military votes. I don’t know if it applies to UK.
UK ballot papers are numbered – in this referendum, in general elections, in European elections. The numbered counterfoils which identify the voter are destroyed one year and a day after the election if there has been no fraud accusations. This is supposedly an anti-fraud measure, but it seems that it can be, and sometimes is, abused.
“UNDER the Representation of the People Act 1983 the Returning Officer, usually a senior official of the local council, has to ensure that all ballot papers, counterfoils and the polling clerks’ marked copies of the electoral register are safely deposited with the Clerk of the Crown in Chancery (a senior officer of the Lord Chancellor’s Department). This is so that if any corrupt or illegal election practices are reported the appropriate documents are available for inspection. All such documents are supposed to be officially sealed so that there is no chance of interference by any party and, according to the 1983 act, the seal can only be broken by the order of the High Court or Parliament itself. In practice ballot papers are simply bundled-up into paper sacks and transported to a warehouse in Hayes, Middlesex, for the statutory period of one year and one day. Following the 1987 general election, I reported on the disposal of the 7,000 sacks of this ‘low-grade confidential waste’ for a national newspaper. The papers were transported by truck from the Hayes warehouse to be incinerated in the North London Waste Authority plant at Enfield. During that process we witnessed dozens of sacks splitting and many hundreds of spent ballot papers spilling for all to see. This adds weight to the conspiracy theory that security around the election documents is very lax, and that the vote-tracing procedure has been used to identify people voting for fringe candidates. Votes can be traced by matching the numbered ballot paper to its similarly numbered counterfoil; the numbered counterfoil also bears the voter’s registration number from the electoral register which is hand-written by the Polling Clerk when the ballot paper is issued. As all the ballot papers for each candidate – including fringe candidates such as Sinn Fein, communists, fascists, nationalists, etc. – are bundled together, anyone having access to those documents can speedily trace the name and address of every voter for such candidates if they wish. In 1981 Gordon Winter – a former agent of BOSS, the South African Secret Service – writing in his book, Inside Boss, claimed that the South African government knew the identity of everyone who voted for the Communist Party of Great Britain – thanks to British intelligence using this simple vote-tracing procedure. In any event, the notion that we have a secret vote is very misleading. One positive outcome of the 1987 general election, however, was that the incineration of 91 tons of ballot papers contributed to the 21 megawatts per hour output of the North London Waste Authority plant, which supplies electricity to Tottenham.”
http://www.theguardian.com/notesandqueries/query/0,,-1051,00.html
The phrase ‘voter fraud’ in an overwhelmingly conservative one in the US. Voter suppression is not. The effort to disqualify certain ‘questionable’ votes with legalisms galore is the stock-in-trade.. They can afford the most powerful and influential allies. They have access to the most powerful media outlets who can be persuaded for seven pieces of silver purloined from the taxpayers the purport to represent. It’s all a sham for your entertainment. Now, have a pint on me, boys.
I believe massive fraud will be covered up by allegatons of a few minor cases
Its simple, Salmond & Co have to take control of all the ballot papers, separate the unprecedented 90% turnout cast of the 793k postal votes “registered” into YES and N9 votes – the truth will be then be clear, numbers dont lie. Who knows they may even be evenly split, but the exercise MUST be carried to avoid any suspicion of duplicity bearing in mind the unprecedented 18.5% postal vote registration.
Dundee Official Turnout 78.8% – lower than some others announced so far but still enormous compared to recent elections.
Craig- one of the Clackmannanshire Yes campaigners has told the Beeb’s Jamie McIvor that the picture here is “not as good as he’d hoped”- posted in the BBc live feed at 00.32.hrs
So, what were they saying at this time in 2011?
http://www.theguardian.com/politics/scottish-independence-blog/live/2014/sep/18/scottish-referendum-results-live-coverage-of-the-independence-vote
Even BBC Radio 6 are have got me laughing my head off…
They have just been playing No6 – The Theme Tune To The Prisoner…
I think they might be doing this live or they might have recorded it 20 minutes in advance
It is Still Standing There You divi..Its Behind You…
How are You Going To Explain That…
Jane Standley said..oh Fuck..and The BBC Archivist..come on I know who you are..How Come They Haven’t Assassinated You Yet..That Was VERY VERY Naughty..letting that out..what me??..I didn’t think they’d notice?
Tony
Sky News footage shows bundles with ‘Yes’ votes in the ‘No’ pile in Clackmannanshire.
Craig, get on this!
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Bx2j98-CQAAtiRB.jpg
“Its simple..”
I’m not sure what you mean, like Mushareff? That is something that won’t happen. Politicians, only want everyone. Either side will form a dialogue to discuss the future of Scotland. May I remind you of Robert the Bruce? Deals will be made. The good should not be the enemy of perfect. I’ve heard it too many times now. Meet the new boss; same old, same old.
Just Saying,
Yes you’re right. There’s something really wrong with the election and the media not wanting exit polls is extraordinary.
Clackmannanshire about to declare.
12 per cent margin for the NOs in Clackmannanshire. That’s it then.
You’re aat the count in Clackmannanshire – What’s this about Craig?
A YES vote in the ‘NO’ pile?
@TonyOpmoc – I have always said 911 would be blown wide open when the devil who gave Jane Standley that WTC7 chit tp read out 23 MINUTES before Larry “pulled” the $7.2b pork barrel, was given EIT treatment.
The devils are now openly taking the Mick and pissing on us with impunity now – MH370, Maidan snipers, al-Ghouta, MH17 and now these 800k “postal” votes.
Sorry that’l be an 8 per cent margin, not 12.
No wonder the army and police are on standby with stolen election
When the vote is duly rigged and the numbers say NO, or as close to NO as GCHQ could get it, Salmond will come under enormous pressure to concede the result, ‘for the good of the country,’ to avoid ‘chaos’ or ‘gridlock’ or financial crisis, or whatever the official moral panic is. Al Gore knuckled under in 2000, John Kerry knuckled under in 2004.
This is the crucial point, to have the extraordinary courage and fortitude to point out that the count must be correct. When the hysteria mounts and the attacks are most overwhelming, that is when you know you have the vote-riggers by the balls. That is when Salmond shows what he is made of: after the UK regime steals the election.
I think I met him at a party…I think he has been back to a party our house.
I have never worked for the BBC..
But What Courage..Do You Understand what He Did???
Some People who work For The BBC are Awesome…
They Need To Take Control From The C.u…@n…ts
It will be OK..there are STILL some Really Good People Working There
The Americans Simply Can’t Compete
Tony
54 percent to 46 at Clackmannanshire is a big margin of defeat for somewhere the Yes side were expecting to win and is in line with the latest YouGov poll indications on a national level. It’s not looking good.
The people have spoken. The bastards.
The Murray electoral kiss of death continues…
IMO There could not possibly be more people in Scotland who would vote no. I get many may feel no, but to actually put effort in to vote no ? To stay part of the UK?
I’d not rule out foul play. I know “we’d say this”, But like other major events that shape our lives, often the bigger ones hold lies. I assume whatever the result it will be thoroughly investigated. But then I thought they’d be good investigations into 9/11 and 7/7. Apparently when these big things happen it’s always ‘obvious’.
It was “obvious” wasn’t it? most people in Scotland really want to be part of a cruel class based society run by the elite? Who have been proven lier’s to Scotland over and again. And in unprecedented numbers ?
What inspires me is not the result, it’s what i’v seen in the yes campaign. That spirit and action needs to continue. Westminster is weak, how the no camp was conducted tells us. Those who need control, spread obvious lies and fear are weak. The point for me is that it has awoken something.
It was never going to be easy either way.
It’s really depressing. What is the matter with human beings?
Let’s scotch the myth that Blair’s New Labour ‘gave’ Scotland the Scottish Parliament. Successive UK governments, from that of Thatcher, through Major, to Blair, were forced by the Council of Europe, to introduce devolution, such was the pitiful state of the UK’s pseudo-democratic apparatus, its complete disregard of even basic democratic principles, or the UK would be unceremoniously ejected from the Council of Europe, and consequently from the EU and from probably around half a dozen other international bodies. Blair had no choice, devolution or international isolation and utter disgrace. A Scottish Parliament was then and independence is now, Scotland’s incontestable right.
It’s really depressing.
Not really. Now folks can get on with the important independence question: withdrawal of the UK from the EU. After that will come the formulation of a constitution providing for devolution of powers throughout the UK, not just to privileged minorities in Scotland, Wales and Norther Ireland.
This magical 90% turnout of the 18.5% 793k registered postal voters out of the stupendous 93.7% 4.27m registered, is almost like Oswalds magic bullet that took a mid-air U-turn and blew JFKs brains back towards Oswald. Its the Beast all right, looks like all the Chartered Accountants in Scotland have all gone bald for naught!
Or it could be this neo-liberal Thatcher hugging meme embraced in films like this.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t0D4ekTODuA
“Choose a f##### big television. Choose a starter home. Choose dental INSURANCE, leisure wear and matching luggage. Choose your future.”
I’d add, Choose being a selfish materialistic a-hole with no thought for anything but shallow want’s, fed to through films like this.
Really this is how many people are, sadley. Shame they bother to vote.
Orkney Islands
NO 10,004 67.20%
YES 4,883 32.80%
Electorate 17,806
Turnout 83.72%
Rejected ballots 20
The people have spoken. The bastards.
The electorate. 😉
Scotland has come together in a great show of democracy and given its verdict. Looks to me like that’s that then.
Fancy a mint?