First things first – I’m not here to tell you how you should vote. I’m no political guru – I have my opinions, and my views on things, but ultimately, democracy allows us to make our own decisions, and that’s what we should all do.
All too often, I hear people say “I don’t trust <insert political party name here>, and there’s no point voting for <another political party name> because they won’t win, and that’s a waste of a vote”
There is no such thing as a wasted vote.
Remember, by not voting, you are saying “I don’t have an opinion on how the country is run”. There’s no if’s and but’s.
As flawed and archaic as our political system is, we are stuck with it. We have a “first past the post” voting system, which basically means that the candidate in a given constituency with the highest number of votes, wins. In terms of the country as a whole, the political party with the largest number of candidates will obtain the “majority” or parliament, meaning they win, because in theory they have the numbers to ensure they will win votes on matters in Parliament, and that’s how it works. The reason for the current election is exactly that, the Conservatives don’t have a “working” majority, which means that even if all the Conservative members in Parliament vote for something, if everyone else votes against it, then they won’t win. Basically
Your vote, in your constituency, counts. No matter who you vote for. Yes, you may think that a vote for the Green Party in a typically Conservative winning seat is a “waste”, but it really isn’t.
Don’t forget, you have no idea how others are voting – for all you know, everyone has had enough of the current party in control, and your vote for a different party could swing it.
It’s not rocket science, here. So on the December 12th, please, please, don’t be lazy.
Don’t be ignorant to what our country has to offer – people literally died to enable us to have this freedom. Walk to your polling station, put a X in the box for the party that you believe in and trust, and walk away, proud to say that you have taken part.
And if you’re selected party doesn’t win, you can then spend the next X years saying “THIS IS WHY I DIDN’T VOTE FOR THEM…..!”
In the UK, you have to register to vote. If you haven’t already, you have until midnight on the 26th November to register. You can register here
Why not have a read of some manifestos, and make an informed decision about who you should vote for. Remember, these are only stating what a party would *like* to do, not what they will do. Use your judgement, use fact finders, and take a look at a parties track record to make your decision
Labour Party : https://labour.org.uk/manifesto/
Conservative Party : https://vote.conservatives.com/
Liberal Democrats : https://www.libdems.org.uk/
The Green Party : https://campaigns.greenparty.org.uk/manifesto/
The Brexit Party : https://www.thebrexitparty.org/
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