I just don't know who to vote for!!!!

I ended up voting Labour, because I think the Tories have done so much damage to the country that I want them out and Labour are the only alternative. I think if the Tories have 5 more years in power, our public services will be damaged beyond repair - and we may not have anything recognisable as the NHS any more.

My Labour MP seems to be a good constituency MP. I don't know his views on gender. Boundary changes mean the constituency has more Tory voters in it now, so I voted for him to keep out the Tory.

It was either that or spoil my vote, but after reading here about the experiences of poll workers who say that the parties probably don't read what you write on a spoilt ballot paper, it didn't seem worth it.

There were no alternative candidates to vote for - I used to vote LibDem, but certainly wouldn't vote for them now because of their position on gender. Greens' position on gender - absolutely not. Reform - no way. And of the independents, one is anti-abortion and I don't know what the others stand for.

So, reluctantly, it was Labour. But when they start trying to push through anti-woman legislation, I will be fighting it, in whatever way I can.

Not voting wasn't an option - I care too much that people fought for decades to get me the vote and I will always use it. I'm currently away from home, and when it looked as if my postal vote wouldn't arrive before I left, I was planning to drive home on polling day to pick up the postal vote and take it to the polling station.

I understand the sentiment but I don't think that will make anyone listen. I don't expect a party to align with me on every single issue and I also need to look at what affects other things like the NHS and people who are really struggling. For example personally, my DH has been out of work for months and I need the economy to have a boost. I can only see labour having the resources to do that. My vote has previously gone in to the ether of a safe Tory seat but this time the smug git should get unseated (and win his bet unfortunately)

Our boundaries have changed
My last MP was excellent. He was a Tory but the way he worked for the constituency was tireless. He was also prominent leave campaigner but apart from that I thought he was superb. He’s standing down as he no longer believes he can do good with the way the Tory party currently is. I didn’t agree with him on a lot of things but he was super.

if enough of us spoil because we feel there is no suitable candidate, they might be noticed. If you have someone who has been good on the issues that concern you vote for them.

Our Labour candidate looks like a 12 year old. He obviously isn’t but Labour haven’t fielded a strong candidate whereas Reform, LD and Tory have. We have a very prominent Tory MP in a stronghold and an area with a tiny majority that voted leave.

This is the first election (I’m almost 60) that I’m not automatically voting Labour and it feels weird, strange. I’m so so conflicted. Dh is voting Tory or LD but he also feels what’s the point. I can’t bring myself to do that at the moment.

I've become a single issue voter.

It seems Labour is a shoe in and they are in a massive muddle about sex & gender & womens rights.

I'm hoping we can get as many sex realist MPs whatever party they are with. And parties are all split on this issue.

My labour candidate doesn't know what women are. The Tory does and he has been very supportive & responsive over the years when I've contacted him. I will hold my nose & vote Conservative for the first time ever.

What mad times we are living in.

The women's rights issue is huge of course but for me it is a single issue and I do believe that labour is the only party that has the strategy, talent and will to make the country better. There is so much that needs fixing, a protest vote feels very indulgent. I also think that once in power and faced with reality, they will be more GC as the tide is definitely turning on that one.

@BaronessEllarawrosaurus

So I just don't bother?

I’m also conflicted.

I’m still very angry about Brexit but apart from Reform (no chance) and conservative (no chance) the rest have imo suppressed women’s right to safe spaces for a minority.

I wrote to most of the candidates bar reform asking about Brexit and women’s rights. Not one replied.

We have an independent candidate who I didn’t have an email for. I can’t find anything on his views on women but agree with some of his other policies & so may just vote for him as a protest vote.

You can't vote for them. You only have a choice of the ones standing in your constituency as technically you are voting for a person not a party.

Hi sorry to jump on.

What happens if the party you want to vote for doesn't have mp in your area.

I’m in a similar position to you. Safe Labour seat.

No one I want to vote for. Because it’s such a safe Labour seat I think I will vote Conservative as a protest vote on the issue of our sex based rights. I don’t want to vote Labour and feel I in any way played a part or supported them in the further erosion of our rights.

I would be facing a much more difficult choice if I were in a marginal seat. But I’m not, so there is a certain freedom there!

At least if you have Rosie as an MP you will be able to write to her. I am seriously worried that I willl be in a Labour constituency and am already thinking that it may not be safe to write to my MP on these issues because it risks outing me to potentially woke staffers who would report me for wrong think or out me to the a trans rights activists. I work in an utterly captured area and cannot risk my job which I need. I am concerned how much women's voices will be suppressed as a point that has not been touched on is a labour's intention to make hate crimes an aggravated offence so we could face two years in prison

It is difficult! I have always voted labour or green. I know the labour candidate personally and I think he will be a good local MP for local people. As for his party's gender confusion, to the detriment of women... very disappointing to say the least.
L for me

I'm in Northern Ireland so I vote in UK General Elections via the First Past the Post system and then for our devolved administration we use Single Transferable Vote (like in Republic of Ireland) and I prefer STV because I feel I have more of an ability to express how I feel about the various parties and their behaviour. I feel it gives me a bit more of a voice.

Having said that, our political parties over here still ignore us and do frustrating things like collapsing Stormont (NI) or forming coalition governments to allow the party people wanted rid of to stay in power (Fianna Fáil + Fine Gael + Greens coalition in ROI).

But, for this current General Election, as a Lefty, I'm holding my nose and voting for a party that will support the Tories because I would like it if Labour had to contend with a credible opposition over the next 5 years. But OP, I honestly feel your pain on voting in this election

The voting process in Ireland sounds brilliant, and as explained by PP gives the opportunity to support a smaller party and show them the numbers interested.

Like others I am in a rock solid Labour seat and usually vote for a small local TU aligned party. But they aren't standing.

Apart from the main parties the 2 smaller parties I am left with as an option are Workers Party of Britain (Galloway) and Workers Revolutionary Party (founded by Gerry Healy) and in both instances have terrible reputation re treatment of women.

So am torn between spoiling my ballot, or just not voting.

The idea of voting for the best of the worst just goes against the point of having the vote.

I really think the ballot paper should include non of the above.

For the serious reason that I think parties need to find out how many people just dont want any of them.

Because of this we are left with a system that was never really representative but one for the male clique who could vote (usually for friends, family or business contacts).

The idea that this translated in to a system where parties represented a far wider remit of people hasn't really worked.

And the more it goes on the more people get disillusioned.

Vote for whichever of LD or con will have the best chance of winning.

Very sadly I am in a LibDem very safe seat. The only posters for miles are orange diamonds.

While I feel very strongly that women should vote, voting for anyone else here will not make a noticeable difference.

So I will be at the polling station but will not vote, if you get my drift.

I am quite old, this is the shittiest GE I can remember.

I’m in the same boat OP, I’m a dyed in the wool lefty liberal from a family of dyed in the wool lefty liberals, but this issue is so important to me. I’ve flipped opinion on what will be the least worst option in my head at least a dozen times. I’m in what used to be a safe Tory seat but there’s a definite possibility the Lib Dema could unseat the Torys here. Working on the assumption Labour are going to win anyway I think I’m going to hold my nose and vote Conservative. I can’t tell you how surprised I am that this is the case. But I think it’s important that there is a viable opposition that will fight to protect wonen’s single sex spaces, and the fear of how this will be decimated if there’s a Labour government with a Lib Dem opposition is what has swung it for me.

So we’ve got tory, labour, reform, heritage 😳 green, lib dem, Hampshire independents and an actual independent

i know im not voting tory, reform or heritage, the independents seem very local

so its green, labour or lib dem. Like you i appear to be a natural lib dem but i don't like the same policies that you don’t like (really clumsy phrasing but you get my drift) i would like to vote labour but I’m really torn on the gender issues and the greens seem a little weird but obviously the environment is important

its haaaaaarrrddd 😩

I am conflicted too. This issue is important to me but I do not want to vote for the Conservatives or Reform who seem the only parties that are more or less aligned with women’s rights to single sex spaces. Wishing there was a Mumsnet political party!