At the last general election only 21% of the electorate voted for the present government. A Gallup survey has revealed that 66% say that UK government is not by the will of the people. Hardly surprising when, under the Royal Prerogative, a Prime Minsister can take this country to war without even the consent of Parliament, let alone the consent of the People. The truth is that this is a sham democracy given credence only by a facade of accountability.

If you write 'None of the above' on your ballot paper this will never be mentioned. There will only be a total of spoiled ballots. What the politicians really fear is a very low turnout, which emphasises their complete lack of democractic accountability. Already more than a third of the electorate don't vote, lets make this bigger!

Good idea presuming that RESPECT, GREEN or progressive Independents are not standing.

Will need to vote for the mainstream parties if BNP are standing in your ward, of course.

Not voting or spoiling ballot papers favours the minority and friends of the idiots that take government.

If you want to protest against the 'greasy pole climbing traitors' in the elections then do what scares them the most (as shown by the policy manipulated 1980's)...

..Vote for the Green Party!

During the 1980's the Green party was increasing in popularity to the point that they threatened to become the next government, terrified by the possibility of Greenpeace/Green party activists gaining power the major political bodies adopted (albeit feint-heartedly) so called 'Green policies'. Successfully stemming the tide for the green's.

20 years on, and only lip-service has been paid to these pseudo-green policies, but the Green party is nowhere to be seen in parliament!

So, let's scare them properly and vote for the party that caused parliament to fear our freedoms and kick-started the recent oppression machine.

Vote Green, don't throw your chance away.!!!! (don't be a muppet).

I've long thought that party politics stinks.

But I've finally taken the plunge and joined the Green party. They've done a fantastic job in fielding candidates this year. I judge that a vote for the Greens is a protest vote which will be counted and noticed by the entrenched power structures, in the way that spoiled ballots (even with the sensible 'none of the above' message used to spoil them) will not.

YMMV.

"So, let's scare them properly and vote for the party that caused parliament to fear our freedoms and kick-started the recent oppression machine."

Are you seriously suggesting that the introduction of anti-terrorist legislation, ID cards, curtailing rights to protest, tightening of immigration and border controls, surveillance, ASBO's, etc, etc are the result of anything the Green party did in the 80's or since? As opposed to say, the State using events like Sept 11th and the London bombings as a handy way to massively increase social control with very little opposition? The potential of the Green Party getting near or into power is hardly a threat to capitalism (as seen in the ever so radical Red/Green coalition in Germany. Well i suppose supporting bombing Serbia as the Green foreign minister did is radical in a way!) As you say yourself, it just pushes mainstream parties into applying a meaningless greenwash, much as companies have with consumers. Don't know about you, but BP calling themselves "Beyond Petroleum" didn't exactly fill me with hope for an ecologically sustainable future! If we want a better recent example of how to respond to the current shitty situation, i'd rather look at the autonomous elements of the French workers', unemployed and students' movements than the depressing history of the Green Party and other so called radicals playing the game of electoral politics...

"Vote Green, don't throw your chance away.!!!! (don't be a muppet). "

'It's not easy being Green', the anthem of the Green party, was sung by Kermit the Frog, a typical, hand-wringing fame-obsessed Green muppet. I'd be wary of Green shit, it means your body is losing iron.

You haven't supported the anti-war movement - isn't war bad for the environment ? You still cling to personalities which leads to such humiliating coverage such as Lovelock recommending nuclear, Porrit sucking up to Blair/Capitalism and let's not forget Ickes. You still cling to parliamentary politics which greenwashes the bloody system.

Give me one good reason not to beat up the next Green candidate who comes to my door ? I wouldn't want to throw my chance away.

Here's the conundrum. Many of us want to protest in some way against how little effect our vote has and how superficial our democratic system is in practice. Our individual freedoms are slipping away, with the elite inner circle building a mighty powerful control and monitoring network that any repressive and tyrannical regime would be proud of.

We could:

1. Abstain from voting to reduce the turnout. Yet there is no way of distinguishing between the deliberate action as a statement, and those who can't be bothered, or with no interest whatsoever, regardless. And how low does the turnout have to drop to, for a change to be triggered? Has it impeded or humbled Tony Blair and the present government in any way that they were elected on less than 36% of the little more than 60% that voted? Representing just 22% of all the electorate? Is he listening to the people, as he said he would, outside Downing Street, just after being re-elected? Is he showing any signs of humility, after telling us that he was humbled after the election campaign and the result?

2. Spoil the ballot paper. The suggestion was to write 'None of the above' as a campaign to have that put as an option in future to mark as an X in the box against it. However, I take the point that it would only be counted as a spoilt ballot paper as things stand, and there would be no impact unless it could register at least fourth place in the count.

3. Vote for an independent or small party such as the Green's. Yet that hardly registers as a protest vote, especially with the numbers only in the 10's or 100's. A vote for the Green's is still a vote for a political party, and making a different statement, focused on the environment and climate change.

4. Stand as a candidate. Futile and costly if you don't attach yourself to a political party. As an independent, only okay if you regard it as a hobby, fun(!), or to generate publicity (usually well off the radar in media reporting). The exception would be something like the closure of a hospital that unites many as deeply unpopular.

5. Support electoral reform and a system where every vote counts. This seems fair and logical in principle but suffers by being seen as: a) a Lib Dem political issue just to give them more power. b) a reluctance to see a stalemate situation and uncertainty, with so much negative media reporting around the Italian election result.

6. Unite around a common cause regardless of our political or campaigning preferences, that seeks to 'halt the slide into bureaucratic tyranny' by showing support in a quick click at www.votersrevolt.org.uk Their strap line is 'Strength in Numbers'. A new discovery and the most promising of them all.

If the pledge at www.pledgebank.com/spoiltvotescount was changed to ‘Show support for Voters Revolt’ would that generate a wider consensus and support?

Incidentally, Tony Blair has only received 11 pledges himself, at the time of writing, to become a sports club patron. Admittedly it asks for public figures, but you would think that as PM he could get 100 supporters quite easily. Surely they would not expect a peerage for that?!

Anarchy is bad-mouthed as mindless chaos, whereas it is really organised freedom. Democracy was bad-mouthed too until it was usurped.
The solution to any dictatorship isn't a new dictator. Replace the dictator and you are still in a dictatorship. A Green party dictator is as much a dictator as anyone, perhaps even more insidious than an obvious tyrant. By endorsing the parliamentary system in the UK the Green party has made itself an enemy of freedom as surely as Stalin or Hitler were.

Representative democracy is not representative of democracy, democracy is direct and participative or it is a sham. The problem with our government isn't just the current regime, the very system is anti-democratic. In 'classical' direct democracy the electorate voted on issues, not for representatives who voted on issues for them.All positions of power were chosen randomly. Juries were self-selecting and often massive. Those who refused to take part were known, for the first time, as idiots. Idiots for ignoring their own interest. However we do not live in a democracy. The idiots today are those who would encourage us to vote for dictators. The sham we have today is simply voting for our next dictator from a choice of two or three establishment employees selected for their sycophancy. The dictators term may be time-limited, but the dictatorship itself is not time limited. We are rarely permitted to vote directly on issues, especially the most serious issues like whether we go to war or not. There are endless isssues, and on each issue there are endless possible opinions. To join a political party is to enslave your opinion on every subject to the party line. On every issue a party will have an official opinion but this means that it is improbable that any party member will agree with their party line on every issue - so the party truly represents noone.

In a true democracy - an anarchist democracy - you vote for yourself on every communal issue and decide for yourself whether you accept the outcome. There is an argument that true democracy cannot function above a certain size, as it becomes physically impossible to attend decision making meetings, thus requiring representatives to be elected. This was bogus even without the benefits of technology as all decisions can be made locally by groups large enough to verify their own votes.
We could break society down into smaller funtional groups and vote regularly in verifiable groups. Once a week we could stand in a row of 100 people, in 100 rows, and vote on issues by holding coloured signs. Then any of those 10,000 could visibly verify the vote for themselves without relying on officials or instruments. However, any voting system that can be fully verified by any of the participants is democratic, unlike say, Diebold machines.

1 Green Votes Count
A Green vote can never be a "wasted vote". The Greens bring fresh and innovative ideas to local authorities nationwide. Even if casting a Green vote does not elect a Green councillor, it sends a signal that local people want Green Party policies. One thing is certain, though, if you don't vote for what you want, you're never going to get it.

2 Green Councillors Make a Vital Difference
Many Local Authorities are too much like one party states. Electing Green councillors will help break the monopoly of any one party and improve local democracy and accountability.

3 Green Councillors Strengthen Local Economies
Green Councillors are actively supporting small, locally-owned businesses, Local Exchange Trading Schemes (LETS) and Credit Unions. All of these help keep the community's wealth circulating within the local community, create employment locally and promote greater self-reliance.

4 Green Councillors Protect Vital Local Services
Green Councillors are protecting services for the homeless, care homes, schools, colleges and libraries from cuts.

5 Green Councillors Promote Local Traffic Reduction
The Road Traffic Reduction Act and the Road Traffic Reduction (National Targets) Act were drawn up by the Green Party. These require local authorities to reduce traffic in their areas. Green Councillors now have the legal means to ensure that this happens.

6 Green Councillors Promoting Energy Conservation
Green Councillors are also using the Home Energy Conservation Act - another law drawn up by the Green Party, which expects Local Authorities to make energy savings of 30% within 10 years in respect of domestic properties - to cut fuel bills and reduce climate-threatening carbon dioxide emissions.

7 Green Councillors Taking the Lead on Public Health Issues
Green Councillors are campaigning to reduce pollution, to stop compulsory fluoridation of water supplies and to keep genetically-modified food out of schools.

8 Green Party Councillors Protecting Our Environment
Green Councillors are active with campaigns such as: opposing excessive new house building and prioritising refurbishment of empty properties instead; pushing for affordable housing to meet local needs; leading the way on car-free and energy-efficient developments; putting public transport and the needs of pedestrians and cyclists above the desires of motorists; protecting woodland and open spaces; and obtaining 'Millennium Green' funding to restore derelict land.

9 Green Councillors Help Local Residents
Green Councillors are getting council house repairs sorted and obtaining grants for insulation. Green Councillors are also opposing yet more out-of-town supermarket or shopping mall planning applications.

10 Green Councillors Give Better Value for Money
Green Councillors are proposing sensible budgets that reduce waste, make more effective use of limited resources and achieve Green objectives: from door-to-door recycling schemes to reducing the pressure on landfill to cutting the excessive mileage allowances paid by some Councils to their staff. The Greens also want to see more affirmative action and fewer sub-commitees, meetings and think tanks. By reducing administration costs and investigating corruption, only Green Councillors will, in time, reduce council tax bills.

DON'T WASTE YOUR VOTE - VOTE GREEN - YOU KNOW IT MAKES SENSE