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  The noes presently seem to be in the ascendant on both Dover Forum and Dover Ferry Photos Forum but these are very limited samples and there is no way of telling if they are truly representative.
  
  Perhaps a more reliable indication is that the electorate in Dover decisively rejected the privatisation plan offered by the Conservatives at the election before last. More difficult to tell at the latest election as both Gwyn and Charlie stated that they were adamantly against privatisation. Charlie won and then immediately produced a privatisation plan. No surprise there and I doubt that the electorate expected anything else so the privatisation issue may not have influenced their voting. With the disastrous state of the nation's finances, and the usual swing against the incumbent government out of sheer boredom with the same old faces, it was inevitable that there would be a huge swing to the Conservatives anyway so the privatisation issue may not have been of much relevance.
  
  Both Charlie and DHB are continuously increasing the value of the carrots that they are dangling in front of Dovorians to tempt them to view privatisation favourably. Bob Goldfield is now offering an immediate cash settlement of £10m plus £20m in share entitlements in the new company. Charlie has acknowledged this by claiming that his campaigning on the issue has meant the community benefit has increased from some £10m towards £30m but states that it should be more like £50m.
  
  If it can be proved that these sums will indeed be provided to Dover, then I would imagine that the Yes vote would be overwhelming. In the short term, Dover would benefit immensely. One downside is that the nation as a whole would lose an enormous amount of wealth built up over a very long period. The record on privatisation is that the assets are sold for roughly a quarter of what they cost the nation to build up, the current privatisation of the CTRL (HS1) being a perfect demonstration of this. Another downside is that the port will become a great deal more expensive to operate, with the new company needing to find a return on its investment and pay profits to shareholders, and may cease to expand or even decline. In the long term, Dover may stand to lose more than it gains in the short term.

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