Not wanting to vote Tory but best local candidate is Tory

[MarshmallowPink]

I'm not sure what to do! We have a very good local Tory MP - young, advocating for change within the party etc, hard working, quick to respond. Was going to do a tactical Lib Dem vote but the LD candidate is bad. Previously I said I'd rather skin myself than vote Tory so I'm surprised I'm even in this position. On a national scale I do not want a Tory govt; on the local scale he's the best. What would you do?

That's not how it works. They would be the one representing the OP's area and serving it as a constituency MP, but the only decisions that they would be making would be on how to vote in parliament on national issues. The local council is there to make decisions about the local area, that isn't the MP's job.

I'm in exactly the same position as you and I will probably vote Tory for that reason - I want Labour to win the election, but our local Tory mp has been brilliant locally and I want to keep him. Both labour and Lib Dem candidates are crap

Similar position here but the other side. I would usually vote Lib Dem or Labour or Green but absolutely don't want to. The best local candidate is Labour or Tory but I don't believe either will improve our public services AND protect women's rights.

Wherever you fall on the spectrum it's a horrible feeling to compromise your values in some way isn't it. Just do what you think you won't regret? Does any party have beliefs that aren't abhorrent to you? Vote for them?

I really don't think MPs really have that much influence on local issues. They help individuals sometimes because they think it will make them look good, and they turn up to the odd local event. But most of the time they are in Westminster dealing with national issues.

If I was in your shoes, I would vote Tory in this instance.

But he must have actually voted for something? He can’t be that new if you’ve had time to form such a high opinion of him.

you can look up his voting record here. www.theyworkforyou.com/

Vote for him.

My best candidate is a Tory who lives in the area and knows what a woman is. I'm voting for him, he's been a decent constituency MP. Labour is predicted to win, with a candidate who looks about 12, parachuted in by Keir Starmer. Locals didn't get a look in during selection. I hope he loses.

The biggest factor that affects local services isn't having an MP that says the right thing, it's national decisions on public sector budgets. Council decisions can have an impact but again, national cuts have meant that their budgets have been crippled too.
The Tories have presided over austerity and cuts, which these 'good' local MPs have voted for, while simultaneously campaigning in their constituency for e.g. their local hospital as that gets them good PR, even if it has little effect. Of course it's not just the Tories who might say one thing and do another - for example an MP's party policy might be for more housing to be built but at the local level they will publicly support a campaign against a large housing development.
So I wouldn't vote for a party where I strongly disagreed with their policies on a national level as I think that has more of an impact than the personal qualities of the MP.
I suppose you might think that it would be beneficial nationally to have some sane people left in the Conservative Party so it isn't dragged further and further to the right, but how much will one MP make a difference against the weight of Tory Party members who elected Liz Truss as leader...?

If he's young and brand new into politics ask yourself why on earth he's in the Conservative Party at this moment in time. What is so important and meaningful about being a Tory that he's willing to represent those responsible for the past fourteen years of austerity driven policies and the current shitshow of incompetence, lies and rightwing flag waving?

He might seem like a great candidate, but choosing to stand for this shower indicates either questionable judgement or something worse.

If you think he’ll be a good local MP then vote for him. We had a great MP, and after the last election ended up with an utterly useless one. It’s really frustrating.

@TiredArse thanks for that - there's no voting record for him though. He hasn't been elected before.

It's the national level that I'm worried about - I think I'll hate myself if I vote Tory. It's such a shame. I'm leaning towards the Labour candidate though the fight in my constituency seems to be between tories and Lib Dems

Same here, ours has been MP for a while, apparently does an excellent job of helping locals out with problems, always writes back when you write to him with a well thought out response, supports women’s rights, has a lot of experience in a field important to me, never attracted a whiff of controversy. But the Tories have been a disaster nationally and he always votes with the party and I don’t agree with so much they do. I still haven’t decided.

He says he wants to improve standards and competence

Then he's naive about what a junior MP can achieve. He he is elected he will be drawn immediately into fighting an internal party war between the extreme right wing and the rump of the ones who aren't complete bastards.

well he has questionable judgment if he has just watched the last few years unfurl and thought that’s the party that aligns with my values & I want to represent them.

It’s your vote to do with what you will. In all good conscience I couldn’t vote for a party that has behaved like this Government has as it would be like sanctioning their behaviour.

I couldn't conceive of making a vote that people like Sunak will claim as some sort of endorsement for them and the awful mess they have made. If he's answering queries well, it's because he's parroting what Central Office have fed him. In your shoes if I really couldn't vote Lib Dem I'd for for Labour or Green.

Similar position here but with a Labour MP. I'm not sold on Labour at all (nor Tory!), but a friend who knows far more about politics than I do (and is a Tory himself) advised me that if I can't place a vote on any other basis, then base it on that. Apparently our local Labour candidate is really efficient and active.

It’s a bit like when a bloke is chatting you up in the pub & your friends warn you he’s a player and he’ll say anything to get in your knickers but you say, oh but he seems so nice…. We know how that ends don’t we…

I am voting tory our female MP is amazing here. I also think the wider picture nationally is safer with the conservatives. Easy decision for us.

A decent constituency MP is worth their weight in gold. Vote for him.

How do you know he’s good if he hasn’t been elected before?

His responses to my email and its concerns; his endless local campaigning, his performance at hustings...

I will vote for my Tory local. We have a good one here. Other candidates are awful so not a chance from me.

So he’s not your MP, he’s just a candidate?

Of course he’ll promise you the world.