Aibu to disagree with tactical voting?

[MsMarvel]

I will acknowledge just now that I for really know much about how elections work in terms of vote counting and areas etc.

But if everyone just voted for no they wanted to vote for surely it would be fairer?

I've seen a lot of people on here and on Facebook etc saying that they would like to vote greens (for example) but because they don't want Tories to get in, they are going to vote labour.

I understand the logic behind it, but surely if lots of people are thinking this then if they all voted greens then it would be representative for what people actually want?

Not sure I'm explaining myself very well!

YABU, I'm just glad if people use their vote.

I see your point but people can choose to vote how they like unfortunately

A tactical vote is better than a wasted vote.

I live in an area where the party I support don't stand a pig in a pokes chance of getting in. Therefore I choose to vote for the party which is nearest to who I wanted to vote for

I agree that a tactical vote is better than no vote, but surely the ideal is everyone votes, and votes for who they want to vote for, irrelevant of what they think everyone else is going to vote for?

But not a lot of people want to vote Green - even if everyone who wanted to vote green voted green, they STILL wouldn't get in in many seats. In a FPTP system, tactical voting is logical.

It helps them get the government they want which after all is the point of voting.

You really do need to understand the electoral system to understand tactical voting. In a first past the post system, tactical voting is what you do. If we had proportional representation, you would be right.

I don't think most people are dead set on a single party - someone might like a lot of what the greens say, some of what labour say, a little of the tories and none of UKIP. So they're not voting for someone they dislike, just selecting the realistic option they like best.

It's the electoral system that's unfair. Tactical voting is just making the best of a bad system.

I know that the Scottish system is different, which is were I am. Does this make a difference?

Where we live a vote for the labour party would be a lost vote as they barely keep their deposit. If you wanted to remove the current MP you would have to vote for the second party though not sure whether I could vote UKIP to do that. That's why PR would be fairer and give everyone a voice but the country didn't want that.

I think you don't understand our 'first past the post' system OP.

In the Scottish elections definitely vote for the party you actually want for your second vote, you may want to consider voting tactically for your first vote. In General elections, because it is first pass the post if your preference is for a very small party, you should vote tactically or your vote will be utterly pointless.

We need a better system where each vote does count. There are several suggestions, but how about this.

Everyone who gets more than a minimum number of votes gets in (is there a downside to two MPs in one constituency?), but their vote in parliament is worth more if they got more votes.

So if Fred gets 100k votes he has twice the voting power while in parliament of Joe who got in with 50k votes.

When MPs voted for something they'd count up those votes and you could see something like this:

For: 27,030,351
Against 27,030,350

And you'd know your one vote tipped the balance.

Can I ask what an FPTP is? :)

My degree is in politics, and whilst I would say I understand the FPTP system, I will always vote with my heart rather than my head. I know my voting green is not going to make a difference in my constituency, but I'm going to damn well do it anyway. I think something that is forgotten in this process is that every vote is counted, and whilst waiting for results the media loves to poke holes in FPTP, and enjoy doing this with cumulative figures from the nation as a whole.

I'm not going to vote based on how I think others are going to vote, and therefore vote strategically in order to wield maximum political clout; I'm going to stand by my morals and vote for the people I believe are least likely to disappoint me ideologically. What if ok so this is never going to happen absolutely nobody turned out to vote, except you? You'd look like a right twat voting for someone who you don't want in power in order to get one over on the party that you reallllllly don't want in power. You had the chance to make a difference and you lost it. I know this is hypothetical, but its true!

Going further with this, how do we ever expect parties to make progress in government if plenty of their votes come from those employing tactics against incumbent parties? It's hardly a mandate for the winners, meaning they'll be met with even more opposition than usual from the electorate, and an air of discontent before they've even got their foot in the door. Hardly a recipe for success.

FPTP is 'first past the post', which is the voting system we use in the UK.

YABU

Your argument only stands up if every vote actually counted. Unfortunately for the majority of voters this isn't the case. Elections are effectively decided by a minority of voters in a few marginal seats.

We had the opportunity to bring about much needed electoral reform a few years ago but it seems that most people misread the referendum question as 'Do you like Nick Clegg?' rather than 'Do you want your vote to count in future elections?'.

First past the post

I agree with you, I don't like tactical voting either. That said, it's the system we've got. I live in a deeply Conservative area and so a vote for Labour is largely wasted. They don't even really bother campaigning. The Lib Dems have a slim chance so that's a better vote if you don't want a Tory government.

I have to admit I have not voted for a candidate in a long time, always against by voting tactically. :(

FPTP is 'first past the post', which is the voting system we use in the UK.

To elect the Westminster government. Sxotland/Wales /NI elect their governments differently.
www.parliament.uk/about/how/elections-and-voting/voting-systems/

Yes, sorry ItsAllGoingToBeFine, I was trigger-happy with the use of UK there...I work in Europe and 'England' is almost never used. My bad. Although, I did think that Wales used FPTP for Westminster elections as well as local- forgot it was AMS!