ELECTION GREY
It takes more than rotten weather.. or jihadi maniacs.. to put Scotland’s voters off
VOTERS across Scotland braved pouring rain and heightened security to do their civic duty yesterday.
The anoraks and brollies were out in force as young and old defied the vile June weather to have their say.
Nervous politicians were left fretting as it chucked it down nationwide. Some of them fear the weather can have a major effect on polling day.
Labour’s Shadow Attorney General Shami Chakrabarti blamed the rain for her party’s shock defeat in the Copeland by-election in February. She claimed Labour voters were more likely to be put off by bad weather because they’re less likely to have cars.
But the all-knowing guru of British electoral politics, Professor of Politics John Curtice of Strathclyde University, poured cold water – appropriately – on that theory.
He said: “We’ve had one or two general elections when it’s been raining in some parts of the country and not in another and there has been no significant variation in turnout.”
While most of us got soaked, it was a lovely, tranquil day in one of Britain’s most unusual polling places – Anne Gibson’s garden in Lochbuie on Mull.
She’s been welcoming the local electorate – not a massive job, since there are only 30 of them – for 35 years as they cast their ballots in a caravan outside her home.
Anne said: “We got our first voters at 7.30am. That’s unusual for us – it’s usually nearer lunch time.”
No one in any corner of Britain has been left untouched by the terrorist atrocities of recent weeks.
But voters everywhere were keen to show the fanatics of Isis that their crimes will never undermine the democracy they despise.
Police chiefs in Scotland were taking no chances amid fears of attacks at polling stations. They doubled the number of armed officers on the streets.
Armed police were on duty at every count venue too – for the first time ever – and increased numbers of armed units patrolled around the country.
In the run up to the poll, Police Scotland Assistant Chief Constable Bernard Higgins said: “Obviously there is nervousness about the potential to disrupt the democratic process.
“While we are operating at a ‘severe’ threat level, there is no intelligence that any election venue is going to be the target of terrorist activity.
“That said, we have worked with all the returning officers across the 32 local authorities and looked at the police posture across Scotland.
“We will be maintaining a more visible presence, including a static presence at all counting venues. Armed response vehicles will be patrolling to support this operation, and our armed response posture is approximately double our ‘business as usual’ posture.
“Hopefully that will give some assurance.”
Security expert Michael Fuller, who worked at the 2012 Olympic Games in London and the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, said: “There is a significant risk that people will be intent on disrupting
the voting process. To do that at a polling station on the day would be an achievement from their point of view.
“But there are simple things that can be put in place, such as a visible police officer in the area of a polling station.
“I wouldn’t think that would be too much of a drain on resources.”
A total of 46.9million people were eligible to vote across the UK.
Hundreds of thousands of people aged 18 to 34 applied to register to vote before last month’s closing date, including more than 450,000 on the final day.
Labour supporters were pinning their hopes on the young vote. But even before the heavens opened yesterday, there were fears over whether it would turn out.
A YouGov poll conducted at the start of June suggested support among 18 to 24-year-olds was at 71 per cent for Labour.
But the estimated turnout for that age group was just 43 per cent in 2015, compared with 78 per cent for voters aged 65 and older.