Voters defy the wet and gloom to cast ballots in their millions
The weather forecasts were grim but voters were up early and forming queues, writes Tom Gordon
VOTERS were already queueing for polling stations to open at 7am yesterday as people ignored the winter weather in the most important election in decades.
Long lines were reported across the country, particularly in London and Manchester, but also in Leeds,
Edinburgh and the north of Scotland.
James Mackenzie-blackman, the chief executive at Inverness’s Eden Court Theatre, tweeted: “In our tiny wee village hall, in the rural Highlands of Scotland, there was a queue, at 7am.”
Early morning queues were also reported in Edinburgh East and Edinburgh North and Leith after a fiveweek campaign dominated by Brexit, the NHS and the Union.
Many of the longest queues were reported from key marginals in university towns such as Canterbury and Lincoln, where Labour benefited from the student vote two years ago.
The Labour-promoted hashtag “#youthquake” trended on Twitter.
Turnout in the 2017 election was 68.8 per cent in the UK, 66.4 % in Scotland.
Boris Johnson, who gambled his premiership by triggering the vote despite Parliament backing his Brexit withdrawal deal legislation, arrived at Central Methodist Hall in Westminster at around 8.15am to cast his vote, bringing dog Dilyn along with him.
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn was met by a small number of supporters as he arrived to cast his vote in Islington, as well as a protester dressed as the Sesame Street character Elmo.
As the woman in fancy dress argued with police, Mr Corbyn said: “Hello guys, can we stop the arguments, please.”
North of the Border, Nicola Sturgeon and husband Peter Murrell, the SNP chief executive, cast their votes in Broomhouse Park Community Hall in Glasgow East, where the SNP’S Daid Linden was defending a majority of 75.
Scottish Greens co-leaders Patrick Harvie and Lorna Slater voted in Glasgow and Edinburgh respectively.
Liberal Democrat leader Jo Swinson cast her vote at Castlehill Primary in Bearsden with husband Duncan Hames.
The SNP had been fighting hard to regain her East Dunbartonshire seat.
Scottish Tory leader Jackson Carlaw sparked a Twitter row after visiting Clarkston Hall in East Renfrewshire.
The party said Mr Carlaw would be “casting his vote” and Mr Carlaw himself posted a picture of himself on Twitter saying “I’ve just voted at Clarkston Hall” for candidate Paul Masterton.
However it then emerged that last month Mr Carlaw had also uploaded a picture of himself at a letter box – saying he was voting by post for Mr Masterton.
Ms Sturgeon agreed it was a “glaring discrepancy” and tweeted “oh dear”.
Her Brexit Secretary Michael Russell added: “Surely not, as voting twice would be a criminal offence. Whereas tweeting something that isn’t true for electoral effect is just crass and dishonest.”
Mr Carlaw responded by saying he had not, after all, been voting in person yesterday, but had been casting two proxy votes on behalf of constituents.
“Poor Nicola Sturgeon foolishly jumps on a bandwagon. But then we know Nicola rarely bothers with facts.”
With broadcasters limited to minimal coverage of the election while polls were open, the closing phase of the campaign moved online to Twitter and Facebook.
In the final half hour, all the party leaders issued Twitter appeals urging people not to miss out on a vote.
There were also some celebrity endorsements, with Mr Corbyn and his party promoting a video of the US actor Danny Devito saying “Vote Labour”.
The award winning grime artist Stormzy also posted a video of himself calling Mr Corbyn “man of hope, a man of justice, a man of equality”, adding: “And the other guy’s a f***ing p **** .”
Most bizarrely, Californian rap-metal band Rage Against the Machine urged people to vote for the former Tory Justice Secretary David Gauke, who was standing as an Independent in South West Hertfordshire.
“From John Major to Rage Against The Machine. I do seem to have a broad coalition of support,” he tweeted.
In Orkney &Shetland, aircraft were deployed to take ballot boxes to the count, making it the only seat in the country where flying conditions are a consideration.
Loganair Captain Colin Mcallister and Jan Riise, the returning officer for Shetland, were due to set off from Sumburgh Airport at 1am on an 8-seat Britten-norman BN-2 Islander aircraft for the 90-mile flight to Kirkwall.
From John Major to Rage Against The Machine. I do seem to have a broad coalition of support