Will you be voting tactically in this UK general election?
This poll is closed
Will you be voting tactically in this UK general election?
Bold of you to assume that I’m eligible to vote20%
I will not be voting tactically in this general election13%
I will be voting tactically in the general election60%
I have no idea what tactical voting is o_O (read below to find out)0%
Who said anything about voting in the first place? (I won’t vote/something else).7%
Total votes: 15
Hello everyone so as we all know, there’s a general election taking place in this country on the 4th of July 
. As a result, people across the country including those abroad who are abroad are eligible to vote are getting ready to vote in this upcoming general election. Some people however, are deciding to vote in a tactical manner rather than voting for their preferred-choice candidate in order to oust a certain candidate out of power or in order to prevent said certain candidate from gaining power, this is known as tactical voting.
So what is tactical voting?
Tactical voting is when a voter casts their ballot for the candidate they believe is most likely to defeat another party’s candidate, even if this candidate is not necessarily their first choice.
For example you goal might be to defeat the Conservatives and you see that between the candidates that are running in your area, the Labour candidate is the one that’s most likely to defeat the Conservative candidate so you vote for that candidate even if though your preferred choice of candidate is actually the Green Party candidate for example and not the Labour one.
Why do some people do it?
Many people believe that the First-Past-The-Post voting system or FPTP for short (the voting system that gets used for UK general elections) is an unfair system and believes that it leads to a system where voters are not well represented. For example a party gaining 10% of the vote might only gain 20/650 (3%) seats in parliament instead of 65/650 seats due to the way that system is designed. This can likewise happen in the opposite direction as well under this system: a party who only got 43% of the vote could get 64% (418/650) of seats in parliament. This what happened in the 1997 general election where Tony Blair and Labour had 64% of the seats in Parliament despite only having 43% of the vote share.
The result of this? Some organisations such as Electoral Reform Society believe that this system encourages tactical voting thus not having voters vote who they truly want to vote for. This in turn leads to countries having two party systems with the UK and USA being the most notable and notorious examples of this, so people might say that it’s a waste of a vote to vote for anything other than the main 2 parties of their country.
You could further argue: Is it really a fully democratic election then with such system in place? Especially if it encourages tactical voting rather than people voting for their first-choice candidate.
This could explain why many people are campaigning for FPTP voting system to be ditched and instead want a Proportional Representation System or PR for short to be used instead.
The UK along with France are some of the few European countries that still don’t some form of proportional representation for its state-wide elections.
Miscellaneous
You can read more on the subject here:
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/tactical-voting-best-for-britain-general-election-where-b2567823.html
What is FPTP in the UK?:
https://inews.co.uk/news/politics/first-past-the-post-voting-system-uk-explained-general-election-2019-proportional-representation-371371?gad_source=1
https://www.electoral-reform.org.uk/voting-systems/types-of-voting-system/first-past-the-post/
https://youtu.be/WLiC1xpblKM?si=25gdB59WwAuJaD8y
https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/z2ptycw/revision/1
There’s also examples of popular websites that have guides on tactical voting:
https://stopthetories.vote/
https://tactical.vote/
So simple question as above, will you be voting tactically in this general election or not? (Note: if you’re unsure as to whether you’ll be voting tactically not in this election then select the last option on this poll).
Disclaimer: There have been changes to constituencies since they were last fought, and lots of tactical voting guides rely on national modelling and may not pick up local factors. For example, at the last election the Brexit Party didn't stand in some seats, and parties opposing Brexit stood down for one another in others. As well as using tactical voting guides unquestioningly, if you'd like to vote tactically you should also look at which parties are actively campaigning in your area, have put placards up etc.
. As a result, people across the country including those abroad who are abroad are eligible to vote are getting ready to vote in this upcoming general election. Some people however, are deciding to vote in a tactical manner rather than voting for their preferred-choice candidate in order to oust a certain candidate out of power or in order to prevent said certain candidate from gaining power, this is known as tactical voting.So what is tactical voting?
Tactical voting is when a voter casts their ballot for the candidate they believe is most likely to defeat another party’s candidate, even if this candidate is not necessarily their first choice.
For example you goal might be to defeat the Conservatives and you see that between the candidates that are running in your area, the Labour candidate is the one that’s most likely to defeat the Conservative candidate so you vote for that candidate even if though your preferred choice of candidate is actually the Green Party candidate for example and not the Labour one.
Why do some people do it?
Many people believe that the First-Past-The-Post voting system or FPTP for short (the voting system that gets used for UK general elections) is an unfair system and believes that it leads to a system where voters are not well represented. For example a party gaining 10% of the vote might only gain 20/650 (3%) seats in parliament instead of 65/650 seats due to the way that system is designed. This can likewise happen in the opposite direction as well under this system: a party who only got 43% of the vote could get 64% (418/650) of seats in parliament. This what happened in the 1997 general election where Tony Blair and Labour had 64% of the seats in Parliament despite only having 43% of the vote share.
The result of this? Some organisations such as Electoral Reform Society believe that this system encourages tactical voting thus not having voters vote who they truly want to vote for. This in turn leads to countries having two party systems with the UK and USA being the most notable and notorious examples of this, so people might say that it’s a waste of a vote to vote for anything other than the main 2 parties of their country.
You could further argue: Is it really a fully democratic election then with such system in place? Especially if it encourages tactical voting rather than people voting for their first-choice candidate.
This could explain why many people are campaigning for FPTP voting system to be ditched and instead want a Proportional Representation System or PR for short to be used instead.
The UK along with France are some of the few European countries that still don’t some form of proportional representation for its state-wide elections.
Miscellaneous
You can read more on the subject here:
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/tactical-voting-best-for-britain-general-election-where-b2567823.html
What is FPTP in the UK?:
https://inews.co.uk/news/politics/first-past-the-post-voting-system-uk-explained-general-election-2019-proportional-representation-371371?gad_source=1
https://www.electoral-reform.org.uk/voting-systems/types-of-voting-system/first-past-the-post/
https://youtu.be/WLiC1xpblKM?si=25gdB59WwAuJaD8y
https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/z2ptycw/revision/1
There’s also examples of popular websites that have guides on tactical voting:
https://stopthetories.vote/
https://tactical.vote/
So simple question as above, will you be voting tactically in this general election or not? (Note: if you’re unsure as to whether you’ll be voting tactically not in this election then select the last option on this poll).
Disclaimer: There have been changes to constituencies since they were last fought, and lots of tactical voting guides rely on national modelling and may not pick up local factors. For example, at the last election the Brexit Party didn't stand in some seats, and parties opposing Brexit stood down for one another in others. As well as using tactical voting guides unquestioningly, if you'd like to vote tactically you should also look at which parties are actively campaigning in your area, have put placards up etc.
(edited 1 year ago)
Reply 1
I could vote in London or in Oxfordshire, but have chosen to vote in Oxfordshire. I am a Labour supporter. In London, I would be voting for a Labour MP who will increase her majority. In Oxfordshire, by voting Lib Dem I can help to get rid of a Tory. I've just posted my vote.
I hope for the destruction of the Tory Party as an electoral force. I expect that the rats will survive somehow - they are like stubborn weeds - but at least we shall have a change of Government and no Tories in power for the next five or ten years.
I hope for the destruction of the Tory Party as an electoral force. I expect that the rats will survive somehow - they are like stubborn weeds - but at least we shall have a change of Government and no Tories in power for the next five or ten years.
I've voted yes, since in a vacuum I'd vote Lib Dem. But I live in a Plaid Cymru safe seat, with a decent and influential local MP, and both parties' manifestos are similar enough on the points I care about. I'd rather she wins again than split the vote and potentially end up with somebody worse.
(edited 1 year ago)
No, I live in a safe Labour seat that is only going to get safer. I don't massively want to vote to return my previous MP – the good news is I can vote for whoever I would most like to have instead; the bad news is they're not going to win.
Reply 4
Original post by Saracen's Fez
No, I live in a safe Labour seat that is only going to get safer. I don't massively want to vote to return my previous MP – the good news is I can vote for whoever I would most like to have instead; the bad news is they're not going to win.
Are you seeing much local campaigning? I'm also in a safe Labour seat and its like there no election on other than a couple of leaflets through the door with the usual takeaway adverts.
Reply 5
Original post by Gazpacho.
Are you seeing much local campaigning? I'm also in a safe Labour seat and its like there no election on other than a couple of leaflets through the door with the usual takeaway adverts.
No reason to waste resources in safe Labour seats. The focus is on unseating Tories.
That Labour will win is obvious, but for the good of the country the Tory Party must be smashed. If Sunak is the last ever Tory Prime Minister, the future will be brighter.
Original post by Gazpacho.
Are you seeing much local campaigning? I'm also in a safe Labour seat and its like there no election on other than a couple of leaflets through the door with the usual takeaway adverts.
Not at all – I don't think I've seen a single placard and I had my first freepost leaflet through the letterbox today.
Reply 7
I will not be voting for the Tories or Reform, I know that.
Tories: Do I need to say more? Last 14 years have been absolute crap and can't say I wish for it to continue.
Reform: I am not voting for a party (yes it is the same party, just with a different name) which took the country out of the EU which I didn't want, plain and simple.
Only other parties are effectively Labour, Greens or Lib Dems. Of which I have no bias towards.
Reform only gave me a slight "hmm..." when they said they'd wipe the student debts of all medical staff in their manifesto, purely because I think this would make me about £50 better off per month (My BSc and MSc student debt currently rack up over £115 which is ridiculous as the interest alone is over 7k per year).
Tories: Do I need to say more? Last 14 years have been absolute crap and can't say I wish for it to continue.
Reform: I am not voting for a party (yes it is the same party, just with a different name) which took the country out of the EU which I didn't want, plain and simple.
Only other parties are effectively Labour, Greens or Lib Dems. Of which I have no bias towards.
Reform only gave me a slight "hmm..." when they said they'd wipe the student debts of all medical staff in their manifesto, purely because I think this would make me about £50 better off per month (My BSc and MSc student debt currently rack up over £115 which is ridiculous as the interest alone is over 7k per year).
(edited 1 year ago)
Voted yes, I’ve read the Labour manifesto and it’s enough for them to get my vote I think.
However like when it came to me voting for Macron in France, if Labour do fail to meet their promises and do stuff wrong (that’s not due to the chaos of the 14 years of Conservative rule), then I can hold some responsibility for that if I do indeed end up voting for them on the 4th of July.
I need to attempt get the Tories out of my area despite the fact that you could argue that they’ve actually done some good to the area (assuming that it’s under them that bus services and roads have been somewhat improved in my local area).
#ToriesOut
However like when it came to me voting for Macron in France, if Labour do fail to meet their promises and do stuff wrong (that’s not due to the chaos of the 14 years of Conservative rule), then I can hold some responsibility for that if I do indeed end up voting for them on the 4th of July.
I need to attempt get the Tories out of my area despite the fact that you could argue that they’ve actually done some good to the area (assuming that it’s under them that bus services and roads have been somewhat improved in my local area).
#ToriesOut
Reply 9
I always tactically vote. Whilst I'm not fond of Keir Starmer and don't follow politics closely/much at all, I'm generally more Labour than anyone else - but Labour can never win in my area. So I always vote Lib Dems!
Original post by The_Lonely_Goatherd
I always tactically vote. Whilst I'm not fond of Keir Starmer and don't follow politics closely/much at all, I'm generally more Labour than anyone else - but Labour can never win in my area. So I always vote Lib Dems!
Is it only the Lib Dems that have a chance to get rid of the candidate that you don’t want?
(edited 1 year ago)
Reply 11
Original post by Talkative Toad
Is it only the Lib Dems that have a chance to get rid of the candidate that you don’t want?
Yes, afaik. Greens don't stand a chance, afaik
Original post by The_Lonely_Goatherd
Yes, afaik. Greens don't stand a chance, afaik
Makes sense. Yeah I think that in my uni town, it’s Lib Dem and not Labour that have a chance to smash the Tories.
Reply 13
I am voting tactically, but it is unlikely to do much because I live in one of the safest Tory seats in the country.
Tactical voting won't work in my constituency, which is diehard Labour. I can therefore vote however I like and it'll either contribute to the outcome or not make a shred of difference!
Reply 15
I'm feeling really positive that others want Tories out. I've done my research so I know what I need to vote for to help defeat the Conservatives 
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