Comments on: Morning and ignoring from the US of A http://www.newstatesman.co.uk/generalelectionblog/?p=5 Covering the 2005 General Election as it happens Thu, 02 Sep 2010 14:34:22 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=1.5 by: thomas fornash http://www.newstatesman.co.uk/generalelectionblog/?p=5#comment-14 Fri, 06 May 2005 22:43:10 +0100 http://www.newstatesman.co.uk/generalelectionblog/?p=5#comment-14 I ran into two English expats today, the day after the election, and was surprised at the reaction I got when I asked them what they thought of the results. The first, a man in his 50's, didn't even know that there was an election. Imagine that. The second, a young woman in her 20's, replied that she "didn't go for that sort of thing." I was more than a little amazed that I knew way more about the election and it's issues than either of the two expats I talked to. Noticing today that 4 in 10 Brits didn't vote it's made me rethink my impression that Brits care more and pay closer attention to politics than we Yanks do. I'm not sure I buy that assumption anymore. I don't know where you are but here in Raleigh, NC the talk radio programs had several shows and segments on the voting in the UK. The local NPR station, WUNC, carried the BBC World Service's election coverage all night. Perhaps we're not as clueless as is assumed after all. I ran into two English expats today, the day after the election, and was surprised at the reaction I got when I asked them what they thought of the results. The first, a man in his 50’s, didn’t even know that there was an election. Imagine that. The second, a young woman in her 20’s, replied that she “didn’t go for that sort of thing.”

I was more than a little amazed that I knew way more about the election and it’s issues than either of the two expats I talked to. Noticing today that 4 in 10 Brits didn’t vote it’s made me rethink my impression that Brits care more and pay closer attention to politics than we Yanks do. I’m not sure I buy that assumption anymore.

I don’t know where you are but here in Raleigh, NC the talk radio programs had several shows and segments on the voting in the UK. The local NPR station, WUNC, carried the BBC World Service’s election coverage all night. Perhaps we’re not as clueless as is assumed after all.

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