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Is it worth voting any party other than Tory/Labour?

I'm not 100% on board with either and want to vote for a different party but it's an unlikely chance that they'll get in so is it worth voting for that at all?

Reply 1

gr8wizard10

no just vote Tory and be done with it

Depends on your seat

Original post by HazMusicPanda

I'm not 100% on board with either and want to vote for a different party but it's an unlikely chance that they'll get in so is it worth voting for that at all?

You should vote for whoever you want to. Even if the likelihood of them getting government is low.

Spoiler

Reply 4

JMR2021_

Debate & Current Affairs Helper

No
Vote Labour.

Reply 5

user 42005

If they have a realistic chance of winning the seat, then yes. If not, then it will probably be futile voting for any party outside of the mainstream (due to the FPTP electoral system).

Reply 6

username2703735

I'd question if even the Tories or Labour are even worth voting for to be honest.

Reply 7

fruit101shoot

Yeah party round mine instead, 7pm on the dot. Be there or be square

Reply 8

aleishans

Lib Dem

I live in a Labour safe seat tho, otherwise I'd be voting Labour :smile:

Reply 9

shamei

Yes! Depending on your constituency. In some areas, the Lib Dems, Greens or SNP are in a good position to compete with Labour and the Tories for the seat.

You can check which constituencies these are with some tactical voting websites:

tactical2017.com

or

http://ge2017.com/students if you're a student

:smile:

good luck!

Reply 10

Gyoza

People saying it's not worth voting for a different party in a safe seat are missing the point. A surge in Labour votes, or Green or Lib Dem or whatever in a safe Tory seat paints the picture that a certain contingent aren't happy with their status-quo.

It's not always about voting your party in here and now, otherwise you're wasting your time. It's about laying groundwork and foundations. If the media sees a large portion of Harlow residents are voting Labour, even if the Conservatives win, then that's evidence that the tide is turning and will pave the path for Labour victory at some point in the future. The same is true for Tory votes in Wirral, or Green votes in Stirling.

If people refuse to vote, or just vote along local trends because they think their vote wont matter, then that's a recipe for stagnant politics. That's how we make zero progress in any direction.

Reply 11

RF_PineMarten

Yes, it absolutely is worth it. If people stick with the two main parties because "smaller parties won't win", that's a self fulfilling prophecy - if those small parties aren't going to win, it will be precisely because of people who think that voting for an alternative party is pointless. This attitude is an enemy of political progress. If those people voted based on who they actually supported, and voted for these smaller parties in large numbers, they would have a chance of winning eventually.

Aside from that, it's not all about winning. Think about what happens as a party increases its vote share. At 5% of the vote, the party keeps its deposit, helping them financially. If they get 10-15% of the vote or more, then other parties start to notice them and may try to win voters back by addressing those issues. And their candidates get more media attention because of this, giving them a chance to get their message across better.

Furthermore, other people see growth and see that the party has a chance - that could then sway some tactical voters who support that alternative party at heart but didn't think they had a chance. And all this could well add up to a victory eventually, even if it doesn't happen until the next election or the one after.

Look at how UKIP were able to influence the pubic debate, even before they had a single MP and when their vote share had risen into the teens of %. They're on the decline now, but only after their growth pressured the Conservatives into an EU referendum and we had the Brexit vote. So they've achieved their main objective. There's no reason why other smaller parties couldn't do the same for their issues if more people voted for them.

Reply 12

Rakas21

Original post by HazMusicPanda

I'm not 100% on board with either and want to vote for a different party but it's an unlikely chance that they'll get in so is it worth voting for that at all?

As polls stand the Tories and Labour combined are more dominant than any time since 1979 (80.8% of the vote). Having eaten the Liberal bird, the Tories are preparing to feast on smoked Kippers.

Reply 13

That Bearded Man

Sadly, it's not.

With the exception of picking a good local candidate, versus an idiot who's parachuted in, then I think you have to vote one or the other.

At this time, I would vote for whoever the most likely candidate was to unseat the Tory, and I expect anti-Labour people think the same. Under FPTP there is little other option. By all means, vote for Fish Finger, but it'll make no difference and worst case 100 people think like you do and so the candidate you didn't want got in.

If you're a Remainer, you just check out Gina Miller's tips on who to vote for to get Remainers elected.

Reply 14

Max12121

Original post by HazMusicPanda

I'm not 100% on board with either and want to vote for a different party but it's an unlikely chance that they'll get in so is it worth voting for that at all?

Vote anyone but Labour and it'll be all good

Reply 15

That Bearded Man

Also everyone, please actually go out and vote.

Reply 16

bones-mccoy

It's not likely that anyone other than Labour or Conservative will actually win the election, which is unfortunately where tactical voting comes in

Reply 17

username2324315

In other elections, maybe. But in this one, unless you're completely happy with the Conservative Party being in charge, then no (unless you're in a seat where it's Conservative but also very Lib Dem - in that case voting for a third party makes sense to get rid of the Tory government)

Reply 18

Rakas21

Original post by bones-mccoy

It's not likely that anyone other than Labour or Conservative will actually win the election, which is unfortunately where tactical voting comes in

That's the case in all elections. The notable thing about this election is that after seeing the rise of the Liberal Democrats and Kippers and the two main parties struggling to get historically poor winning vote shares (35-37%) it does appear that in the end, the people have decided that the two parties are not so bad after all.

As we head towards an election where the Con-Lab vote share is the largest since 1979 it would appear that multi-party politics is dead.

Reply 19

United1892

Original post by HazMusicPanda

I'm not 100% on board with either and want to vote for a different party but it's an unlikely chance that they'll get in so is it worth voting for that at all?

Worth voting for any party which has a chance in your constituency more than it is the other parties but any vote is better than not voting.

Note Green, SNP, Lib Dem, Plaid will all win at least 1 seat