"There's no point in voting Lib Dem's they will never get in"

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It's not a wasted vote - if they win in your constituency, they will get a seat. And Labour/Conservatives/BNP/etc... will get one fewer seat.

If nobody else in your constituency will vote for them then it may be a wasted vote - but otherwise it's not!

Reply 21

paddyman4

It's a wasted vote if they have no chance of winning your constituency. It's not a wasted vote if they do.

It's just the wrong choice.

Reply 22

im so academic

Let's be realistic - it's true. I can *not* see the Nick Clegg running this country.

Although the media reports that this general election will be close, I'd bet any money the Conservatives will win. 2010 is Cameron's time. :yep:

Reply 23

Installation

I basically think this, but where I live they're not too much behind Lab. and this election they've got everything to play for.

Reply 24

skotch

Well Vince Cable is the constituent leader for my area, so it's no question - of course I will.

Reply 25

DarkWhite

Didn't they go up 6 points in the last opinion polls? They're upto 23%, with Labour on 29% and Tories somewhere over 30% last I heard. I can't say I see them getting a majority, but if we end up with a hung parliament, I wouldn't rule out anything.

Reply 26

DJ AgnieszkaA

theres no point voting lib dem as they wont do anything, just cede all power to the EU

Reply 27

domino0806

DJ AgnieszkaA

theres no point voting lib dem as they wont do anything, just cede all power to the EU

The EU is sexy.

Reply 28

trying2help

Michael XYZ

How DOES the political system here work then? And why is it so confusing?

So is it to do with the amount of votes you get or the amount of constituencies?

Currently there are 646 constituency MPs in the UK Parliament so to have an overall majority a party needs 323 MPs. Each MP is elected by getting the most votes in a constituency i.e.a first past the post system. There is no proportional representation system.

If no party has an overall majority of MPs this would be called a hung parliament. The party with the most MPs would try to form a government but in order to carry votes in Parliament they would need the cooperation of other parties.

The way constituencies are arranged in the UK favours the Labour party and could be elected with an overall majority of MPs but have less votes than the consevatives. The consevatives would need a substantial lead in the polls to feel confident of an overall majority.

All parties will therefore target their efforts on constituencies in which they have a chance of winning. For instance in my constituency only Labour and Lib Dems have a chance of winning and it is considered a marginal. So if I want the consevatives to have a better chance I could vote Lib Dems as a tactical vote.

Reply 29

Michael XYZ

trying2help

Oh right, thank you!

Has obvious faults (FPTP) but I guess most would do anyway. What's wrong with whoever has the most votes wins though? Just seems to make, ya know, more sense.

Reply 30

*Darcie*

Not a waste in my constituency. Although I believe no vote is a wasted vote.

Reply 31

RadioElectric

Phobia27

The whole point of a democracy is to vote for what you believe in. If everyone voted for the party who they think would get in then it would be largely pointless.

It's a classic example of "bad faith", and how what may seem rational at an individual-level (voting tactically to make your vote count as much as it can) breaks down and becomes very irrational at a population-level (you could end up with most people voting for parties they don't want to get into power!).

You should vote for what you believe in, I think if people were actually willing to do that then the Lib Dems may actually have a chance.