#tactical voting

There's a lot of talk about voting tactically, about getting the Tories out, blah blah blah.

Personally, I think if you're going to vote at all, you should vote with your conscience for a party who's policies don't abhor you.

But also, whoever is in government on 5th July, we need to keep doing all the other things we have been doing, industrial action, protests, direct action.... We cannot afford to give Labour or a coalition an easy ride because they're "not the Tories". Starmer's labour sits very far to the right - don't be fooled by the red tie, he's not actually going to help us in any way.

If you’re in the UK and of voting age please make sure to be aware of your polling location, what you need to bring and when you need to go. Also please look at polling in your area and tactical voting plans. I know none of the options are great just now, but we cannot let apathy allow even worse candidates to take seats from the Tories.

If the conservatives are allowed to get away with second place, they will still have the platform to poison our politics and rebuild to come back down the line.

If the lib dems get to finish second instead, they will get to set the narrative, the media will be forced to platform them more and the conservatives less, and we actually stand a chance at having the labour government held to account. Polls show that this is on the cards.

We are so close to a seismic shift in politics in this country.

This website lists every constituency and who to vote for to get the Conservative Party out of government

They are updating at the moment but tactical voting is a great tool to make the best out of our terrible electoral system.

I know Labour are not a good alternative to the Tories at the moment, but we cannot have another Tory government. This is damage limitation.

Update: Best for Britain has another tactical voting resource https://www.getvoting.org

Also

Make sure you are registered to vote wherever you will be living on 4th July (especially important for students!) https://www.gov.uk/register-to-vote

Check whether you can vote in a general election- Irish citizens and some commonwealth citizens living in the UK can vote! https://www.gov.uk/elections-in-the-uk/general-election

Make sure you have photo id https://www.gov.uk/apply-for-photo-id-voter-authority-certificate

So both Britain and France have used Tactical Voting in the past week, yeah? What if we did something similar?

I absolutely hate Biden, but what if (share your thoughts, this is just me putting an idea on the table) we voted en mass for Biden, for the sake of keeping Trump out?

THEN (because we DO need ACTUAL change) we vote for candidates that support SOME/ALL of the issues we support. Then pick the candidate out of your choices that is most likely to win.

The only way to fight back is to organize. Not only that, but supporting candidates that support out core issues (ie, Palestine) and putting pressure on candidates that don't (contacting reps, calling officials, social media, etc).

If we combine these two ideas (Biden + Left leaning locals) we can use a similar strategy that Britain and France did. Keep in mind, the far-right party in France (actual self proclaimed nazis) we predicted to win, but the left and center collaborated, which kick the far-right party to the back.

It IS NOT ideal, but I think strategy is the number one priority this election.

PLUS, when talking about this to friends, remember that when you vote, you voting for (or against) an administration. Talk about the BIG PICTURE and what people have actually done, not just said.

If this idea seems shitty, again, turning up the heat is always an option. I live in a college town and they are already ready to go. Multiple Pro-Palestine displays were in town and there was a small protest on campus. turning up the heat is always an option.

We don't HAVE to be happy about this, but we still have to vote. of course, if Biden ends up stepping down and someone takes his place, the plan would change to support whoever that person is.

The system is stacked in favour of the Tories and tactical voting is the only defence we have. If you refuse to vote for Party X because of Ideological Reason Y, or refuse to vote at all then you are playing into the hands of the Tories. This is why they keep winning even though less than 40% of the electorate support them.

You're not selecting a life partner or making an irrevocable career decision. You may not like it, but do what needs to be done on this one occasion. You don't even have to tell anyone who you voted for. Tell your friends you voted whatever way you like. Trust me, there will be thousands of people who won't admit they are voting Tory or Reform, but they will go and do exactly that because they are selfish bigoted arseholes who enjoy hurting other people but they are not brave enough to admit it publicly.

So check the tactical voting advice in your area and when you get into that polling booth vote to keep out the Tories and Reform, because you are an adult and that's what needs to be done. Then after the election join the campaign to get Proportional Representation so that next time you can vote with your heart. But don't fuck it up this time.