Kid votes in UK elections

starbelgrade

A 14-year-old boy from Lancashire who voted in the general election said he did it because he "wanted to make a difference".

Alfie McKenzie, from Poulton-le-Fylde, voted for the Liberal Democrats in the Wyre and Preston North constituency, after being sent a polling card.

He was only caught when he confided in a teacher at school. His head teacher called the local council and police.

Ben Wallace won the seat for the Conservatives with a 15,844 majority.

Wyre Borough Council and Lancashire police have both said they are investigating.

Alfie went to his local polling station before school on Thursday, wearing a trench coat, glasses, jeans and smart shoes so officials would "think I was a Tory".

"I knew they wouldn't suspect an under-18 for voting Tory," he said.

Alfie said he was "very serious" about politics and socialism, but decided to vote Liberal Democrat as a tactical option.

He said: "There's not a socialist candidate in our area and unfortunately even if there was it would be a wasted vote. I've looked into it and the best option for a socialist is the Liberal Democrats.

"I did want to make a difference - unfortunately I didn't."

Alfie's mum, Nadine Wiseman, said she had asked him not to vote, after he received the polling card, but she "wasn't surprised" when he did.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/election_2010/england/8670022.stm

I love this story for 3 reasons;

1. I admire the kid for caring enough to actually go & vote and for researching who he was going to vote for - especially considering the amount of lazy gits who neither vote or take any interest in politics.

2. The teacher ratting him up to the cops - what a complete knob jockey.

3. The fact that he went 'disguised' as a Tory voter - genius!

For all those reasons, I think the kids vote should have been allowed stand!

bonzodog2

The officials would not have known what he was voting in a secret ballot. Tory or otherwise.

Savage Tyrant

bonzodog2 wrote: »

The officials would not have known what he was voting in a secret ballot. Tory or otherwise.

Yes, but he looked like a tory. That was his reasoning. Had he gone in wearing casual clothes, he may have raised suspicion as to his real age.

It was GENIUS!

Thomas828

That's a boy who thinks for himself. More power to him!

Dartz

I blame Marilyn Manson for encouraging teenagers in this disgraceful mockery of the democratic process.... that kid should be given a stern talking to for throwing away his vote.

rizzla

Children's futures are often hot topics in elections, why not let them vote.

Aids By Google

I agree because "To post new visitor messages in this forum your post count must be 25 or greater. You currently have 24 posts."

Mike 1972

IIRC the Lib Dem#s want to reduce the voting age but I can see one flaw in an otherwise excellent proposal.

Arent parents legally entitled to prevent their under 18 offspring leaving the house ? Therefore wouldnt there be the possibility of electoral abuse whereby a parent knowing their child is likely to vote differently to them grounds their child on election day ?

WebGeek

starbelgrade wrote: »

I love this story for 3 reasons;

Me thinks you love this story for one reason - the kid was a socialist.

owenc

Your not aloud to vote until your aged 16. Plus children don't have the intelligence to choose for themselves they will just copy their parents.

Mahatma coat

So Lib Dem is the Socialist Compromise??????? shows what the current genration make of New Labour.

Fair balls to the kid tho, and serious questions need to be asked of the person/organisation that Issued him with the card, how many more dodgey polligcards were issued??

ibarelycare

owenc wrote: »

Your not aloud to vote until your aged 16. Plus children don't have the intelligence to choose for themselves they will just copy their parents.

It's 18 actually

Mike 1972

owenc wrote: »

Your not aloud to vote until your aged 16. .

In Ireland and the UK its actually 18

owenc wrote: »

Plus children don't have the intelligence to choose for themselves they will just copy their parents.

In fairness this problem is hardly limited to those below the legal voting age.

In any case teenagers are not generally noted for aping their parents preferences in any other area of life. Why do you think things would be different when it comes to politics ?

Mahatma coat wrote: »

So Lib Dem is the Socialist Compromise??????? shows what the current genration make of New Labour.

Surely they have a point though ?

bonzodog2

owenc wrote: »

Your not aloud to vote until your aged 16. Plus children don't have the intelligence to choose for themselves they will just copy their parents.

Since when has it been 16 ?

Do excuse me if I am ignorant, last time I heard it was 18

convert

owenc wrote: »

Your not aloud to vote until your aged 16.

You mean I missed out on a whole 2 years of voting??? :eek:

xsiborg

that time in 2004 when they cleaned out the electoral register by sending out leaflets to put down the names of voters in the house, my wife thought it was some sort of census survey and put my sons name down on the leaflet, returned it and thought no more of it, till we got polling cards in the door and we were surprised to find my son's name on one because...

my son is only FIVE!!!

Agent Smith

here the registar is a mess. i got 2 polling cards in 2 different counties, and prob could have voted in both.

WindSock

owenc wrote: »

Your not aloud to vote until your aged 16.

Just jumping on the it's 18 bandwagon. Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

REXER

owenc wrote: »

Your not aloud to vote until your aged 16. Plus children don't have the intelligence to choose for themselves they will just copy their parents.

This is great, this is just like everyone votes in Ireland.
I voted for XXX because my grandfather did and my father does. I love it.:D

Conchurl

when i was 16 i got a voting card, and when people came to the door trying to get votes i asked them what to do and they said vote if i want they were from ff, i didn't vote. i still have the card.

Minstrel27

starbelgrade wrote: »

2. The teacher ratting him up to the cops - what a complete knob jockey.

Are you serious? A 14 year old voted. That is illegal.

aDeener

anyone else expecting this to be about a young goat voting?

partyatmygaff

Minstrel27 wrote: »

Are you serious? A 14 year old voted. That is illegal.

So? He probably put more thought in his vote than most, even those twice his age.

Minstrel27

partyatmygaff wrote: »

So? He probably put more thought in his vote than most, even those twice his age.

Lets leave everyone vote so. Why bother with an age limit at all? One child out of thousands put some effort into it afterall.

strobe

owenc wrote: »

Your not aloud to vote until your aged 16. Plus children don't have the intelligence to choose for themselves they will just copy their parents.

Well that's the stupidest thing I have ever seen posted on boards.ie. Congratulations man, that takes some doing.

Fo Real

The fact that he was a self-proclaimed socialist shows that he didn't know what he was doing. This strengthens the argument that under-18's should not be allowed to vote or they will make idiotic decisions, leading to a country full of Obama/Brown-like failures

Mike 1972

The fact that you actually believe either Brown or Obama to be socialist seriously weakens any argument you may advance on just about any subject.

**Timbuk2**

The kid sounds like a legend! Most people that vote really don't have a clue and just throw anything down.

After my parents voted in the Lisbon Referendum, I asked them what they voted for - one said 'Yes', the other said 'No'. I pointed out that all they did was cancel out each other's vote and that they shouldn't have even bothered going!

phasers

Tbh that kid sounds like a bit of a moron. I think he voted to look cool, showed off about it and then got caught, which I'm guessing is all he wanted in the first place

Abrasax

phasers wrote: »

Tbh that kid sounds like a bit of a moron. I think he voted to look cool, showed off about it and then got caught, which I'm guessing is all he wanted in the first place

He wanted to be cool in the eyes of his teacher, with whom he'd presumably had some political discussion, and didn't know that teacher would turn him in.
The harsh lessons of 21st century life in middle class Britain.

partyatmygaff

Minstrel27 wrote: »

Lets leave everyone vote so. Why bother with an age limit at all? One child out of thousands put some effort into it afterall.

One adult out of thousand puts some effort in to their vote as well

Bottle_of_Smoke

I would love to find out that he was in a fact a proper evil genius and tory voter and was in cahoots with the teacher to have a vote removed from the Lib Dems.

BroomBurner

http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2010/may/07/election-youngest-voter-alfie-mckenzie

I loved his response to The Sun

Scarinae

owenc wrote: »

Your not aloud to vote until your aged 16. Plus children don't have the intelligence to choose for themselves they will just copy their parents.

Various other people have pointed out that you can't vote until you're 18, in both the UK and Ireland... I think you got mixed up because in the UK you can add your name to the electoral register when you're 16, so that the instant you turn 18 you can begin voting.

It makes sense - in Ireland, you have to be 18 to register, so if there is an election/referendum on your 18th birthday you can't vote because you will have missed the registration deadline which is usually a couple of weeks before voting

(Why 16 and not 17? I have no idea)

Mike 1972

Bottle_of_Smoke wrote: »

I would love to find out that he was in a fact a proper evil genius and tory voter and was in cahoots with the teacher to have a vote removed from the Lib Dems.

Bit of a desperate measure.

I mean were not talking about Fermanagh here !

rgt320q

Probably said a million times already (hyperbole may or may not have been employed here), but fair play to the lad for actually taking the time to educate himself on current politics, if in depth or even in general alone. Exactly the kind of person they had in mind when democracy was being formally drawn up.

starbelgrade

BroomBurner wrote: »

http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2010/may/07/election-youngest-voter-alfie-mckenzie

I loved his response to The Sun

His mother, Nadine Wiseman, is finding it hard to take a suitably stern line on her son's behaviour. She said: "He's fabulous – there's never a dull moment with Alfie around."

Cool mum!

Mrmoe

Alfie sounds like an old man name as well, he probably has a flat cap and a pair of slippers, no wonder ge got away with it.