Tory volunteers posing as polling station staff in South West Surrey #GE2010

Conservative Party volunteers passing themselves off as polling station staff during UK 2010 General Election ( #ge2010)

Recorded: 2:15pm 06/05/2010

Constituency: South West Surrey (bordering Guildford)

Note: The local Tories pull this dozy act every bloody year, collecting registration numbers of voters for party purposes while trying to give the impression that they are associated with polling station staff and/or the Electoral Commission.

This year, I decided to record it.

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• conservatives
• polling day
• election law

[TheRacketBoss]

I wouldve spilled my coffee all over it.... part of my political activism on behalf of labour i'd say....

[bloggerheads]

@TheRacketBoss Hot coffee, even on a the most dishonest of little old ladies, is probably not a good idea. Even cold water is risky. You know; because of the risk of melting.

[mdcslater]

The only way this can be called 'electoral law' is if your definition of 'law' is 'Everything the Tories do is illegal'. The Electoral Commission issues guidance to tellers, but this is NOT statuatory. But I suspect you already know this isn't illegal, otherwise you'd have gone to the police/Returning Officer on the day. See the Electoral Commission's website.

'Who am I representing? I'm representing c...'. So YOU cut her off, stopped her saying who she was representing and that is her fault?

[bloggerheads]

@mdcslater I think you'll find I 'cut her off' with a more specific question about who she was working for (how very dare I?) and if it was a political party, and she still managed to avoid saying so. But thank you for playing dittohead to Phil 'Dizzy' Hendren and not watching the whole thing before passing judgement.

This has been reported to the Returning Officer and the Electoral Commission, BTW. Why do you think I collected the evidence of this recurring issue in the first place?

[Boratlon]

you are such a dolt. This woman was clearly unprepared for telling. However, every party does this: tories, labour and lib dems. If you don't want to give your number, then don't. Acting like you have been violated is just some prissy bullshit show.

[bloggerheads]

@Boratlon If it's simply a mattter of local tellers being unprepared, then it's a recurring problem and the local Tories should address it.

[pennypacker555]

All the parties do this. The liberals do it here at every election. Seems that you are easily offended. All you had o say is 'no thanks' and move on. She is (it seems) an older lady and you were giving her a hard time over nothing. Hardly big brother is it...

[Norrie754]

Every party does this up and down the country but the only fault is the lady should have declared who she was doing this for the first time of being asked.

[HardeyLeone]

@Boratlon That was abusive.

[Richbeatable]

Today and everyday when an election at the local school there is always people outside. How are they ? All sounds very nice people and I given them my number and a woman not knowing how I was know the number before I have given it to her, she also remind me of a lady in a soup called Waterloo Road. She had long blond hair and very slim always smiling, I don't think she look evil so me, do you think they are Scientologists or what ?.

Richard Bealey

Exeter UK

[doucedinpiss]

well done sir! that told the bastards haha

[adecentusername]

@gingashields electoral matters are legal matters. They're not complicated but they are serious. If she volunteered to be a teller then it was her responsibility to work out what that involved and what she was required to tell the public, how she was required to behave around a polling station etc.

Ignorance of the law is no excuse and waiting to be told is negligence, especially when the Electoral Commission bend over backwards to provide easy-to-understand materials for everyone involved.