UK General Election - May 7th 2015 (The Official Election Day & Results Thread)

[ag]

What does "Lost deposit" mean?

You have to make a monetary deposit to run. If you do not get, I believe, 5% of the vote, you loose it.

[Iosif]

What does "Lost deposit" mean?

You have to pay a deposit to get on the ballot which you lose if you don't meet a certain vote threshold.

[Chancellor of the Duchy of Little Lever and Darcy Lever]

What does "Lost deposit" mean?

You have to pay a £500 deposit to get on the ballot paper.  If you poll over 5%, you get the deposit back; if you don't, you lose it.

The BBC coverage is full of communication problems and dropped OBs tonight.  This is the sort of thing I watch live TV for.

[Torie]

lol, apparently the ballot boxes in Ed Balls' district haven't even been opened yet, they just arrived...

I assume it's based on the exit poll. But if the UKIP vote votes Tory, he's probably done for. That is one of the things in play here - are UKIP voters voting Tory where the Tory is in the hunt, and UKIP is not, otherwise voting UKIP, draining votes from from Labour. Labour's vote in Sunderland went up because of the LD collapse, while at the same time Labour was losing votes to the UKIP, is what I strongly suspect. That is a very dangerous dynamic for Labour if that is what is going on.

Maybe, but UKIP has been doing better than predicted in the first two seats.

Because the Tories were not in play. The LD's in this part of the country are not Tory sympathetic voters, and if the Tories are not in play, Tories feel free to vote UKIP to send a message without impact on who is in government. That is the theory, and it has to be right, if the the Exit Poll is right and the Tories end up with 316 seats or so.

[Lief 🗽]

David Cameron apparently plans to go to Thanet and publicly celebrate if Farage loses?? What??

[Vosem]

What does "Lost deposit" mean?

Below 5%, or symbolically relegated to minor-party status in a certain constituency.

[rob in cal]

     Would be fascinating to see UKIP become the primary opposition to Labour in the north in the future. I remember reading something about a future Red-UKIP emerging as Labours main challenger in its northern heartland.

[jaichind]

What does "Lost deposit" mean?

Every candidate must put up a deposit which is not returned if vote share is below 5% (I am not sure of threshold).  The idea is to stop joke candidates.

[DC Al Fine]

What does "Lost deposit" mean?

You have to put down money (500 pounds in this case) to be a candidate. If you get more than 5% of the vote, the money is returned to you. If you get less, the state keeps the funds. This is to reduce the number of unserious candidates.

[ag]

What does "Lost deposit" mean?

Below 5%, or symbolically relegated to minor-party status in a certain constituency.

I never thought 500 quid was merely symbolic

[Thomas D]

Thank you......everyone.

[Suburbia]

If the Tories win again, Labour Party needs a reboot like the 2004 Democrats.

[Lief 🗽]

Al will surely take some solace as Sunderland do the football-vote counting double over Newcastle this year.

[Chancellor of the Duchy of Little Lever and Darcy Lever]

    Would be fascinating to see UKIP become the primary opposition to Labour in the north in the future. I remember reading something about a future Red-UKIP emerging as Labours main challenger in its northern heartland.

If the number of UKIP leaflets I got through my door is any guide, that's already happened.

[World politics is up Schmitt creek]

    Would be fascinating to see UKIP become the primary opposition to Labour in the north in the future. I remember reading something about a future Red-UKIP emerging as Labours main challenger in its northern heartland.

My aforementioned lesbian UKIP supporter friend would be a happy camper.

[Lief 🗽]

BBC now reporting that South Thanet labour source is saying UKIP in third as Lab-Con fight it out for first.

[ObserverIE]

What does "Lost deposit" mean?

Below 5%, or symbolically relegated to minor-party status in a certain constituency.

I never thought 500 quid was merely symbolic

Multiply it by three or four hundred and it's not going to be symbolic for the Lib Dems either.

[Snowstalker Mk. II]

Deeply suspicious of the exit poll, especially given the results.

[ag]

What does "Lost deposit" mean?

Below 5%, or symbolically relegated to minor-party status in a certain constituency.

I never thought 500 quid was merely symbolic

Multiply it by three or four hundred and it's not going to be symbolic for the Lib Dems either.

I know

[Vosem]

What does "Lost deposit" mean?

Below 5%, or symbolically relegated to minor-party status in a certain constituency.

I never thought 500 quid was merely symbolic

When it happens on a massive scale in many constituencies, those 500 quid also start to add up, but usually when commentators are talking about parties losing deposits they're referring more to the loss of face than the loss of money

[Phony Moderate]

Rumours about DUP talks etc.

[DC Al Fine]

So how long until results start coming in more frequently?

[World politics is up Schmitt creek]

Rumours about DUP talks etc.

meh fleg

I'm basically just making stupid jokes at this point to dull the pain.

[Lief 🗽]

sunderland west

lab 20,478
ukip 7321
con 7033
grn 1091
lib 993

lab +2, tory -3

[Vosem]

The random far-left candidate in Washington & Sunderland West taking a selfie with the returning officer