To vote with my head instead of my heart?

[ImNotDaveGorman]

I need advice from random people as I don’t like to talk politics in real life.

I’m in scotland and we have an election next month. The 2 main parties in my area are SNP and conservative. TBH I really dislike them both, but absolutely detest SNP. For reasons I’m not going to get in to I really don’t want scotland to be independent (also, that is not what I want this tread to be about!). I found it so difficult during the last referendum-people were horrific to each other and I want that vote to stand.

So, every time there has been an election I have voted for the party I do like, but every time the results come out the percentages are tiny for any party that is not SNP or conservative! So, basically, I feel like my vote is being wasted.

So....
YABU-vote with your heart for the party you want

YANBU-vote conservative, the lesser of 2 evils (in my eyes) and hopefully we won’t have to go through a second referendum

Again-this is not a thread to change my mind on my reasons for being against Scottish independence, so I won’t be having that argument.

Go for it. The way No voters were treated during the independence referendum was disgusting and we're still not over the division.

The most important thing to the SNP is another independence referendum. The only way to stop this is to tactically vote for the unionist party that is most likely to win in your constituency.

I don't want to vote Tory but I certainly would to stop another referendum. Its likely to be Labour in my area that could topple them

@mermaidsariel

I was intending to vote Green, but am concerned now about what I am reading about their stance on women etc. Could someone elaborate for me?

don't you READ their material before deciding how to vote? They want to phase out "female" and "woman"

The Scottish Green Party manifesto promotes

" to end the registration of the sex and gender of the person in identity documents such as birth certificates, identification cards, passports and driver licences".

The only way to rid Scotland of the snp is to tactically vote.

I liked Douglas Ross when he was interviewed by Nick Robinson, genuine bloke who has actually run a business (farm) though isn't great at holding his own due to lack or experince, and the Labour party leader seems ok too, unfortunately as Nicola hogs every tv op we don't hear much from them.
I live in Scotland and schools are poor, roads are crap, industry is non existent, the only jobs are NHS and police and teachers. Transport is pathetic. I honestly can't see they've done anything in their time in power, oh, sorry baby boxes and the named person oh that was chucked

to end the registration of the sex and gender of the person in identity documents such as birth certificates, identification cards, passports and driver licences
The green's policy - WTF really, if you have green policy it is to save the planet surely - but no let's get embroiled in a no win squabble about gender.

Honestly don’t understand how anyone could consider voting Tory 🤷🏻‍♀️ They are corrupt, morally bankrupt wankers!

Commentators still seem to think they are going to walk it - notwithstanding the recent party in-fighting, hate crimes bill and #waronwomen. Depressing times. Most friends I have spoken to are voting strategically - some very reluctantly - for the only other party that has a chance of knocking them off the podium. News coming to light like this is making the decision a bit easier to stomach: www.thetimes.co.uk/article/rape-suspects-can-choose-to-self-identify-as-female-vfl678tg6
Good luck. It sounds like it's going to be brutal and divisive, no matter the outcome. xx

@Quincie

I liked Douglas Ross when he was interviewed by Nick Robinson, genuine bloke who has actually run a business (farm) though isn't great at holding his own due to lack or experince, and the Labour party leader seems ok too, unfortunately as Nicola hogs every tv op we don't hear much from them. I live in Scotland and schools are poor, roads are crap, industry is non existent, the only jobs are NHS and police and teachers. Transport is pathetic. I honestly can't see they've done anything in their time in power, oh, sorry baby boxes and the named person oh that was chucked

Yeah, this is all bollocks, isn't it?

I'm in a similar boat. To me, stopping an SNP candidate matters more to me than my personal grief at the prospect of voting conservative. So I will vote conservative. (Labour have no chance here so a vote for Labour is effectively a vote for enabling the snp to win this seat.)

Vote with your heart as if everyone did we might end up a better place.

As a Welsh person I've found this thread quite fascinating. I didn't realise so many Scottish people didn't like the SNP as the media portrayal indicates the opposite. If I was in your position and felt that strongly I'd vote tactically for the Tories. I wish I had the opportunity to vote tactically myself but living in the Welsh Valleys it's always going to be Labour.

Same as the majority don't vote for the Tories, more people vote for other parties than the SNP, it's the rubbish first past the first the post system that makes a mess of it.

I'd go for the tactical vote if I were you.

Round here it is literally pointless to vote anything but Tory as the hides out woman wins with 30k majority or close to, but I still always vote for the one most likely to beat her.

In local elections I always go with my heart and vote Green.

I find it odd the whole area is Green council but Tory MP.

Cant believe anyone in Scotland would hate the SNP do much they would consider voting Tory but hey ho it takes all sorts I suppose.

I think people are pretty ignorant of Scottish political history. Personally I think you have to be pretty self-hating as a Scottish resident to vote Tory. But voe with the orange order etc if you will...

i feel the same about the Tories, but were i in your position, i'd have to hold my nose and vote Tory, in the vain hope the SNP would lose, and they'd sort themselves out for the next election.

It's no wonder people are considering voting tory when you observe the utter disdain coming from SNP supporters for anyone worried about another referendum and the fallout, the HCB, GRA, the mess the education system is in, drug deaths etc etc. Even if the SNP lose a few votes but not seats it may just cause them to consider that they may actually be wrong about some of their policies, wrong to even be considering another referendum now. Probably not, but we can hope. Laguna and Pourquoi, you're not going to get people to change their mind with your somewhat sneery attitude, not even trying to understand why people may not think the way you do.

In your opinion there seems to be a bit of the 'no true Scot' about anyone who doesn't want independence and won't be voting SNP. Thanks for that.

Well there must a lot of people who don't understand Scottish history locally to the OP if realistically the choice is SNP or Tory.

There must be lots of people who are chosing who to vote for without any previous bias, purely on how they think the different parties will do, their current policy positions and which party suits what they think is the most important issues.

If your priority is avoiding a 2nd indy ref above all else, then avoiding SNP winning is the priority. A vote for anyone else is as good as a vote for the SNP. A vote for the SNP (even if you mean it as an anti-Tory or anti-Labour vote) will be seen as a vote for indy ref 2.

I actually am not an SNP voter. I wasn't born in Scotland and am not white, and i'm definitely not suggesting that someone who doesn't vote SNP is "not a true Scot". I find that the way people on here talk about the SNP is so lazy though, it almost makes me want to vote for them. Many of Scotland's problems can be traced back to the way former Tory governments treated Scotland. Holyrood powers are also pretty limited - most social problems are the outcome of economic policies, and those are decided at Westmonister. It wasn't the SNP who neoliberalised the economy, gutted industry etc

*Westminster

Look at what the parties offer. The Tory candidate is against another referendum and seems to have the right ideas.

Don't listen to the anti tory bullshit I've seen on here. Just vote to whoever says the things you want to happen.

@pourqouimoi

I actually am not an SNP voter. I wasn't born in Scotland and am not white, and i'm definitely not suggesting that someone who doesn't vote SNP is "not a true Scot". I find that the way people on here talk about the SNP is so lazy though, it almost makes me want to vote for them. Many of Scotland's problems can be traced back to the way former Tory governments treated Scotland. Holyrood powers are also pretty limited - most social problems are the outcome of economic policies, and those are decided at Westmonister. It wasn't the SNP who neoliberalised the economy, gutted industry etc

The SNP have been in power 14 years yet you still blame previous governments for the mess Scotland is in?

Yes but it's the Tory party who have been in power in Westminster, where most economic policies are made.

@Blanca87

Greens? To be fair I don’t understand the Tory mindset of lesser of two evils? Cronyism, corruption and the Brexit shit show, I’m amazed anyone could bring themselves to vote for them.

Greens are so left wing as to make me wonder whether they are actually communist, and they are always willing to prop up the SNP, so its just like voting SNP anyway.

@pourqouimoi

I think people are pretty ignorant of Scottish political history. Personally I think you have to be pretty self-hating as a Scottish resident to vote Tory. But voe with the orange order etc if you will...

This attitude is poisoning political debate. Huge chunks of the electorate vote for each party, and those chunks will contain all kinds of people, from the kind and caring to the criminally violent.

By insisting we must be as bad as the worst people who share our huge, broad church political vote you make everyone a hostage to fortune, including yourself.

Who do you vote for? Are all their supporters marvellous? And will they always be?

@Quincie

I liked Douglas Ross when he was interviewed by Nick Robinson, genuine bloke who has actually run a business (farm) though isn't great at holding his own due to lack or experince, and the Labour party leader seems ok too, unfortunately as Nicola hogs every tv op we don't hear much from them. I live in Scotland and schools are poor, roads are crap, industry is non existent, the only jobs are NHS and police and teachers. Transport is pathetic. I honestly can't see they've done anything in their time in power, oh, sorry baby boxes and the named person oh that was chucked

I know. Theres almost nothing in rural Scotland in terms of local post offices, small shops or businesses and the roads are dreadful. The main road to Edinburgh is regularly reduced to a crawl due to farm vehicles and tractors using it. Life here just feels very controlled, not much fun and local authorities provide such a dreadful service that they actually scare me at times.

How many years has Nicola been in power now? Surely there must be some limit on how many terms a First Minister can have - in most countries its two.