Being forced to vote tactically is not real democracy, moving the question from “who’s policies best represent me” to “who do I hate least”. That said, here in the UK, 126 marginal seats with competitive ‘axis’ of Leave/Remain will swing our country away from Europe, or swing us away.
However, Brexit isn’t the only thing at stake, what is at stake is meaningful societal change. And whether we ‘leave’ or ‘remain’, no party beholden to our current economic systems of ‘GDP’, held up by fabricated ‘demands’ beholden to our acts of compulsive consumption can ever bring the change needed.
I only know one party who can regenerate our culture and country. Who has the wisdom, values and track record to offer and deliver meaningful social, economic and climate justice that will weave and intersect at every level of reality, but they’re barely given a blip on the screen.
So I pondered, tried to gain deep understanding, and thanks to the guidance, explanations, conversations, collaborations, and creations with friends, family, fellow influencers, candidates, leaders, and think I have an idea of what those feeling lost can (try to) do. Using the power we hold in the ballot box, our belief that we can change our collective reality, and our hope for the future.
STEP 1: KNOW WHAT YOU ARE VOTING FOR
It is easy to be swayed by the media’s portrayal of this election and its parties. Instead of letting your mind be made up for you, try voteforpolicies.org.uk which will help ensure you’re voting for policies which align with your values, rather than being swayed by the ‘two-horse’ and ‘tactical’ narrative. This is the ‘Brexit Election’, but this is ALSO the ‘Climate Election’ and, the ‘Human Rights’ election. All of the issues covered in each party’s manifesto will shape our lives and all lives to follow. This is not, and cannot be a single-issue election.
please note …
Based on 526.3k surveyed by voteforpolicies.org.uk which presents policies without the party’s name for people to select based on the information, the true race would between Labour (24.1%) and The Green Party (22.9%).
However, if in addition to this, voters read each party of interest’s manifesto, uncovering how the policies connect and the reality they paint for us, collectively, would Labour still lead? Though Labour has co-opted The Green Party’s creations including ‘The Green New Deal‘ and the ‘Green Industrial Revolution‘, there are huge contradictions living within their manifesto, which I’ve listed after ‘Step 4’ below.
STEP 2: FIND OUT IF YOU CAN VOTE FOR THE PARTY YOU WANT
Based on your results from voteforpolicies.org.uk, head over to tactical.vote and see what the situation is in your constituency. Voting tactically can go beyond the party tactical.vote state, if under your constituency the site says is ‘not a marginal seat’ or ‘tactical voting is unnecessary’ then choose the party who you feel best represents you, empowering their voice in your area.
please note …
If your constituency is not a swing seat or marginal seat (having a margin between leave/remain parties of more than 10%), or if you live in a ‘remain’ party stronghold, you do not need to vote ‘tactically’ to ‘remain’, as your constituency’s future, for the most part, was decided decades ago. In this election, already existing electoral pacts will likely have a bigger impact than tactical voting at the polls, as people voting tactically along a Leave/Remain axis will broadly cancel each other out.
There are 10 places with key swing seats (North East Fife, Hastings and Rye, Canterbury, Workington, Bolsover, Kensington, Richmond Park, Crewe and Nantwich, Brecon and Radnorshire, Cheltenham) which may define the general election. There are an additional 116 marginal seats where the axis of change has a swing of less than 10%. These are the seats to vote tactically in.
STEP 3: CAN YOU SWAP YOUR VOTE?
If the party you want in power doesn’t have a member standing in your constituency, or if you live in a swing seat, you can ‘swap your vote’ with someone to give the party you align with most a voice somewhere else. The app providing this connection, Swap My Vote, is said to have swung results in the 2015 election in Hove, Chester and Ealing Central and Acton.
please note …
As most of my readers are environmentalists who would likely vote for The Green Party. A Green Vote Is NOT A Wasted Vote. In key constituencies, you can help get more Greens into parliament to speak for people and the planet free of ties to industry. These key Green Party constituencies are Isle of Wight (Vix Lowthion) and or Bristol West (Carla Denyer), Stroud (Molly Scott Cato) as well as marginal seats throughout large cities like London. So if you’re in a Labour stronghold, you could try Swap My Vote with people in those areas.
STEP 4: WHERE TO VOTE
The final step in this important process is knowing where to vote. If you haven’t received your voting ballot, that’s ok, just head to the polling station in your area and give them your name and address. Polling stations are open from 7am to 10pm on Thursday 12 December. You can find your local polling station online at wheredoivote.co.uk
PART 2: HOW TO CHOOSE BETWEEN LABOUR OR GREEN
THINGS ENVIRONMENTALISTS SHOULD KNOW ABOUT LABOUR
– Labour supports conventional economic growth (GDP), which is the main driver of climate breakdown and nature depletion.
– Labour supports HS2 which is an act of Ecocdie (a crime against nature and people). To create HS2, huge areas of natural woodland will be bulldozed, cutting already depleted wildlife habits in half and releasing carbon into the atmosphere, which increases global heating.
– Labour supports a new mine in Cumbria and Airport Expansions across the UK. If they’re truly committed to ‘carbon neutrality by the 2030s’ why would they invest in these contributors to climate change?
– Labour will renew and build Nuclear Power Stations (including Trident Renewal Programmes and Hinkey Point), a dangerous a degenerative energy source.
WHY A GREEN VOTE IS NOT A WASTED VOTE
– ”The Green New Deal‘, ‘Green Industrial Revolution‘ and ‘The New Deal For Nature’ were all creations of THE GREEN PARTY There is no better party to instigate these policies then the people who created them.
– Every party receives ‘Short Money‘ directly proportional to the number of votes their party receives. This money goes towards covering the party’s cost and the creation of proposals like the three listed above. If you care about the planet and people, ‘short money’ for GREENS is vital.
Already existing electoral pacts – like the one Greens, Lib-Dems and Plaid Cymru collaborated on – will likely have a bigger impact than tactical voting does.
– We CAN get GREENS elected into parliament THIS ELECTION in key constituencies like Isle of Wight (Vix Lowthion), Bristol West (Carla Denyer), Stroud (Molly Scott Cato) and marginal seats throughout large cities like London (and everywhere).
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