Harringay online

Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!

Just had the Labour support worker popping around to my house to ask who I voted for. Bit cheeky. Never seen anyone doing this before. Outside the Polling Station is one thing but door knocking seems a little over the top. Surely Tottenham isn't a marginal (?)

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I've got a few of us press passes and we'll be at the count. As I wrote yesterday, Haringey will be counting borough elections alongside parliamentary ones and we're due to be amongst the first two London boroughs to report results. You'll get it live from us at Ally Pally.
Excellent. Who, apart from yourself, will be our HOL journos?
John, Hugh & Liz ... up there at Ally Pally. Hope you're having fun.
Would have preferred if they'd popped round to see how the flytipping problem locally is being resolved. We're in I think at Ann's ward - had a lot of stuff through our front door.
We had three separate visits within 2 hours from different Labour activists asking if we had voted yet.... pity the foot soldiers.
Well, if the exit polls are to be believed for the constituency seats across the UK, it looks as though the anticipated 3 horse race has fizzled out into the old predictable red vs blue.

Still, if the Tories don't get a majority, apparently Labour & the LibDems can do a deal for a coalition. As I say, based on current exit polls. But who knows!
Candidates and their party supporters are not allowed to campaign inside, or standing near the entrance to Polling Stations.

Supporters outside Polling Stations are there mainly for one specific task: to ask for the number on the Polling card. They aren't supposed to ask people how they will vote or have voted. (If a party volunteer did this, they are inexperienced and got it wrong.)

And while it may seem odd, the parties actively co-operate with each other when collecting these numbers. This is because knowing your polling number is useful for a single purpose. By telling us who has voted we know who has yet to vote. But this information is only useful if the parties have some idea how the latter are likely to vote. In other words, have we canvassed you?

Birdy, the reason the LibDems knocked at your door was presumably because: (1) they thought you might vote for them and (2) they hadn't recorded you as already voting.

It's called "getting out the vote". Elections especially in marginal wards, are often won and lost not just by who votes for a candidate; but when potential supporters don't vote.

Incidentally, candidates/party volunteers can campaign in the street. So yesterday I had an interesting chat with Matt Cuthbert and his supporters. Someone else was handing out cards for Jenny Sutton.

(Labour councillor Tottenham Hale ward.)
As a Teller at a couple of Polling Stations yesterday on behalf of the Liberal Democrat party, I can agree with what Alan has said here on this subject. Most voters have no objection to providing this information. But roughly one in ten voters refuse and appear not to understand the purpose of party representatives' request for their voting card numbers.

Some seem to think it is a way of finding out how they voted. Or of increasing the chances of being bothered by political parties: but it's the opposite! It is for no more and no less than the reasons Alan set out. Some might be surprised at the level of co-operation by competing parties outside Polling Stations, but it is simply a common benefit and a contribution to the democratic process ...
Alan, the party 'volunteer' came to my door to ask 'how I voted'. Not at the Polling Station.
I fully understood why I was being asked for my Polling Card number. But I objected to being pounced on and the rude manner in which the number was demanded (not requested ).
I can't explain why, Matt.

If your caller was from either Labour or the LibDems having this information would have served no purpose in yesterday's election. As well as (probably) wasting your time, it delayed them ringing the next doorbell on their list.

On Polling Day, especially as the hours are passing, the priority is to contact supporters or possible supporters, who have not voted. This was crucial in Harringay ward where - so it seems - only a handful of votes separated candidates from the two main parties.

Did you ask why they wanted to know?

(Labour councillor Tottenham Hale)
OK, thanks for your reply Alan.

Did you ask why they wanted to know?

Nope

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