Local elections: for the first time ever, I don't think I can vote for anyone

Yup, same wasteland of candidates here too.
If we can agree a # to spoil our ballots then I'm in

I'll be voting conservative because our local candidate is a gender critical woman (who also happens to be an immigrant!). She does loads already for the local community and has a genuine interest in fixing local issues.

Our local labour incumbent is everything that is wrong with the Labour party. Old mysogynist who is more interested in his expense claim than any local issues. He's racist and just an awful man. He'll probably win because you could pin a labour rosette on Hitler and he'd win in this area because you vote labour and that's all there is to it.

I also worry that labour won't get the spanking they deserve because of the attitude in some northern areas that you only vote labour. (And I say that as a Geordie)

Spot on RedToothBrush as usual. How many of us would be brave enough to stand up in a room full of Labour party activists and tell them we think 'transwomen are women' is Orwellian doublespeak? Get called a bigot and ostracised for our troubles? I'm not quite there yet, but I'm working on my cowardice. This is important.

I wonder if Labour were spanked at the local elections they would rethink some of their ideas, maybe see how unelectable they are?

The direction of most political parties is driven by their members. If you are looking for and not finding a left wing party which represents your views, join one, be an active member, and help to push it in the direction you want it to go in.

That is only true if the party promotes a culture where everything is up for debate and has a culture in which people are not afraid to argue for an idea.

What I am seeing are deliberate attempts to obstruct that, and make that difficult. In several parties.

Its coming from the leadership to control the membership, and is enforced by their fanatics.

Smith - I don't think that you understand how important this is - it's not just about ladies loos, it's about the definition of the word 'woman' and all that entails.

And just a moment, smiths - why do women have to give up their rights "for the greater good" and vote Labour??

Would you like to explain that one to me please.

Why can't the Labour party stand up to the heckling trans-activists for once, for the sake of half the population of the country??

I'm in exactly the same boat OP, but no elections in May in my area.

I will not vote Labour, LibDem, Green or WEP because of their stance on self ID. It is the most important political issue for me at the moment (it was Brexit, but I think we're fucked there - both Lab and Con are pushing that through).

Which leaves Tory (but I'm a leftwinger, who cares about welfare, NHS etc) or spoiling ballot.

I've never spoiled a ballot, or voted Tory. I will have to choose one of these options. The only Independents that stand in this area are far right nutters, so that's not an option.

I suspect I might vote Cons.

I am another person with no party to vote for.
Always voted Labour.
With deep regret I am going to have to spoil my vote.

Every time its women that are supposed to give way 'for the greater good.'
Its not just about men in the Ladies ffs.

Yeah, Smiths, so why have labour thrown women under a bus? Is it because they still expect we'll acquiesce and give them our vote?

Mind - this isn't the only election issue. It's not even the only feminist issue. I don't know if Mumsnet Towers will let me put up a blatantly party political post, but - who's hit by cuts to education and underfunding of childcare? Everyone, but mostly, women. Who's hit by lack of protections for low-paid workers? Who's hit when the NHS gets cut to the bone? Who's hit when the ethos of the country slides further and further into a masculine, dog-eat-dog, who-can-piss-the-highest form of market capitalism?
You might be pissed off at the idea of men in the Ladies' - so am I. But don't kid yourself that letting the Tories continue in power is any sort of feminist act.

Another potential ballot spoiler here. I've never dreamed of doing such a thing before but I can't vote Labour until they ditch self id.
I'm thinking of writing 'Labour losing women' so they are aware.

I was supposed to be standing for a regional party but I've had to knock it on the head this time as I personally have too much going on. I might do a bit of campaigning though, and I not sure if I could financially manage a donation but I will if I can.

I can't stand. If I was well enough I would.

I just can’t in all good consciousness vote for any party. My local council is Labour (and always will be) and home to some pretty right-on bromentum types.

I feel sick at the thought but spoiling my ballot is my only option. I’ll be writing before and after to let each and every party know why.

Why don't you stand yourself as an independent? There's no deposit in local elections and it's pretty easy to get ten signatures on your nomination papers.

politicalnamechanger
The trouble is that standing up in a political party and arguing for the rights of women for privacy, dignity and safety brings down a shedload of abuse and roars of transphobia. Look at the current threads about Kiri Trunks and the suggestions that she is unfit for post - because she's gender critical.
Until and unless one of the political parties stands up and insists that we live in a democratic society and ensures that women can make our voices heard without our jobs being threatened, it's a pointless and frankly dangerous exercise being in the Labour party or the Lib Dems.

There isn't a least worst option in my ward. They all support self ID.

I hope its a big pile of spoiled papers.

I am glad I live in a Conservative stronghold and will be voting to keep my local council blue. My local MP has been very supportive re all things "trans" and it gives me hope that they will see what is happening with other parties and realise that it is a non starter considering all the grief caused already even before legislation has been passed.

I wouldn't vote for any political party endorsing self-ID. So, until one of them comes out of the woodwork, I will be spoiling ballot papers.

We have never really had a significant ballot-spoiling movement in this country so how it would be reported if there were huge numbers of spoiled ballots is a moot point. I see no reason why women with nowhere to go shouldn't try it.

That's disappointing, political

I take your point on voting on local issues (and I more or less did that in the General Election, voting for a really good local Labour candidate and trying to ignore the shit show and doublespeak at national level in all the parties). I live in a true blue stronghold, so it never feels that my vote counts anyway in any type of election. I always have, though, haven't missed voting in an election in 30 years. Until now. Drawing a wang seems quite apt in the current circumstances.

I intend to vote as I would otherwise and send a postcard on the day to party HQ, advising that this support is time-limited and cannot continue for much longer if they continue to be complicit in the denial and silencing of women's concerns.

Sorry, one more post on this thread.

The direction of most political parties is driven by their members. If you are looking for and not finding a left wing party which represents your views, join one, be an active member, and help to push it in the direction you want it to go in.

There are plenty of people in Labour - to use the example I know about - who are worried about Brexit, who are horrified that our leadership is doing such a poor job of tackling anti-Semitism, and who know it's essential that trans rights don't cancel out women's rights. Right now we need more of these voices in the party to drown out those who are trying to use the party to re-fight a battle they lost 25 years ago.

You will never find a party that agrees with you 100% on everything that's important to you. Democratic politics is necessarily about compromise and you can either join in with that or you can sit it out and be ignored.

Echo they are not categorised. Your thoughtful comment will unfortunately be lumped in with confused people who tick multiple boxes, and the idiots who draw a wang.