Why does the UK only vote on Thursdays?
It’s a old tradition of the country that dates back to 1931 for national elections and since 1965 also for by-elections, although there is no official reason. As often happens in this country, it is a “convention” that has become unshakable over time. Until 1918, each electoral district voted on the day it wanted. Then, after 13 years, little by little, Thursday was silently agreed upon for some purely practical reasons.
First of all, Friday, especially for workers, was traditionally the paycheck day and so many went to the pub to spend the money they had just earned. In short, not the best time to vote in a clear-headed manner. The same goes for Saturday, the usual day of long drinks. So what about Sunday? No, because then everyone went to mass and there was a fear that the priests could influence the vote with their sermons. So, Thursday has been the chosen one, for almost a century, because it was also the market day. So even the farmers or those who lived in the countryside were in the city or in the village, and it was therefore convenient for everyone to go and vote.
However, some very rare exception there has been in recent decades. For example, in the by-election of the Scottish Hamilton in 1978. She decided to hold the vote on Wednesday because the next day was the start of the highly anticipated World Cup in Argentina. However, many do not agree with this system. According to Alisa Henderson, a professor at the University of Edinburgh, if there were two days of elections, “the turnout would be even higher”, she told Bbc. In the last elections in 2019 it was 67.3%. In 1997, when Blair triumphed, it was 71.4%. The highest was recorded in 1950, with 83.9%.
2024-07-05 03:33:02
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