The British election ended in a disastrous defeat.
If you’ve been watching news coverage of the UK elections, you’d be forgiven for thinking that dogs would be going to the polls – and they are.
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Joey the Shih Tzu waits outside a polling station while his owner casts his vote during the general election at St James’s Church, Golden Acres in Edinburgh, Scotland, Thursday, July 4, 2024. (Jane Barlow/PA via The Associated Press)
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A dog waits for its owner while voting in the 2024 general election outside a polling station at Coulsdon Memorial Park in Croydon, England, Thursday, July 4, 2024. (James Weech/PA via AP)
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A voter waits with her dog after casting her ballot at the Cherry Tree pub, which is being used as a polling station in Wolpeth, County Durham, northern England, Thursday, July 4, 2024. (Photo by Scott Heppell/AP)
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A voter leaves a polling station with a dog in Kingston, London, Thursday, July 4, 2024. (Photo by Associated Press/Khin Chun)
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A dog sits outside a polling station in Southfields, London, Thursday, July 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
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Joey the Shih Tzu waits outside a polling station while his owner casts his vote during the general election at St James’s Church, Golden Acres in Edinburgh, Scotland, Thursday, July 4, 2024. (Jane Barlow/PA via The Associated Press)
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Joey the Shih Tzu waits outside a polling station while his owner casts his vote during the general election at St James’s Church, Golden Acres in Edinburgh, Scotland, Thursday, July 4, 2024. (Jane Barlow/PA via The Associated Press)
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A dog waits for its owner while voting in the 2024 general election outside a polling station at Coulsdon Memorial Park in Croydon, England, Thursday, July 4, 2024. (James Weech/PA via AP)
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A dog waits for its owner while voting in the 2024 general election outside a polling station at Coulsdon Memorial Park in Croydon, England, Thursday, July 4, 2024. (James Weech/PA via AP)
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A voter waits with her dog after casting her ballot at the Cherry Tree pub, which is being used as a polling station in Wolpeth, County Durham, northern England, Thursday, July 4, 2024. (Photo by Scott Heppell/AP)
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A voter waits with her dog after casting her ballot at the Cherry Tree pub, which is being used as a polling station in Wolpeth, County Durham, northern England, Thursday, July 4, 2024. (Photo by Scott Heppell/AP)
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A voter leaves a polling station with a dog in Kingston, London, Thursday, July 4, 2024. (Photo by Associated Press/Khin Chun)
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A voter leaves a polling station with a dog in Kingston, London, Thursday, July 4, 2024. (Photo by Associated Press/Khin Chun)
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A dog sits outside a polling station in Southfields, London, Thursday, July 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
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A dog sits outside a polling station in Southfields, London, Thursday, July 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
It seems that every news site has a gallery of dogs outside polling places: good dogs patiently waiting for their owners to do their civic duty while the news industry does its duty to protect the sanctity of the election.
In the UK, there are restrictions on what can be reported on election day before the polls close, to avoid influencing voters. Unlike the US, where there is full coverage and analysis, there is no such coverage in the UK.
People are simply being told that they are heading to the polls, with pictures and footage of the major candidates entering the polls, but there is no discussion of their campaign promises.
I mean, puppy love.
There was Alfie the blond-haired dog in Chiswick, Ernie the cockapoo with a rainbow bow tie in Liverpool and Toby the Ozerhound in Norfolk, all of whom were featured on Sky News.
The BBC showed Lucian, a Bernese mountain dog, lying outside Antrobus village hall in Cheshire; Pippin, a fox-coloured Labrador, in London’s Edgware district; and Maui, an Old English sheepdog, in Wokingham.
Journalists did their best to show that it wasn’t just dogs at the polling station: they spotted at least two horses, a cat, a chicken, and a giant snake named Neptune.
