Seeing as it’s anonymous… where is your vote going?

[Wheresyourvote]

My views -

Conservative - Potentially had a tough ride with Covid & brexit aftermath to navigate. However, looking at the state of the NHS & the ever increasing price rises in almost everything… how could I vote them in again?

Labour - Almost feels like the only likely alternative. Change is as good as any? But Keir starmer does precisely 0 for me. I cannot get passionate about him.

Greens - Won our constituency a while ago, whilst I appreciate what they stand for the changes they made locally have had a negative impact on the average citizen IMO.

Reform - Nigel Farage is DIFFERENT, I don’t think that can be denied. Part of me thinks bold and controversial is what we need and the other thinks he is a brilliant campaigner and is just playing up to the people trying to act like ‘one of the working class’ to garner votes.

Where is your vote going?

Where I live, it would have to be a vote for the Lib Dems to oust the Conservatives, as Labour don't stand a chance. What is a shame, is the Conservative MP isn't actually bad at doing the day to day graft of being a constituency MP, I don't necessarily agree with his voting record, but he does respond promptly and has helped to sort out various local issues. I sort of feel sorry for him, shafted by his own party in many ways !

@happiest I think that sort of relates to my point. sunak has been a good leader in resolving and settling some major cock uo's. strategically.

But he is employing a crap team of people who should be properly representing all our peoples needs and delivering policies to solve or improve services etc

So in my mind, the conservatives loosing is a whole party rejection and not a Sunak rejection. If he had better MPs delivering better policies we'd be in a better place, but they are all either lacking capability, too self absorbed and out of touch.

Voting in support of Kier Starmer though ... still make be shudder with dread.

I'm not so sure I agree that Sunak has been a good leader to be honest. I think he's too far detached from reality being so wealthy. He can't help but employ a crap team as they don't have any good people left. Politics is shit these days. Weak leadership, and weak opposition. Absolutely dire.

I don't think Starmer advertises himself as well as he could, but I'm still not sure they'd be any better. Just no worse.

I'm in a similar position to many others here. I want the Conservatives out, but Labour don't stand a chance where I live.

Was a Tory member but haven’t renewed and I cannot honestly vote for them now. I’ll be voting Labour - I’ve had enough of Boris/Rishi et al lining their pockets with contracts etc & taking us all for fools. The conservatives are promising lots of tax cuts but if the money is there why haven’t they cut them already - just an election ploy. I would vote Lib Dem but I don’t think they have enough of a following at the mo and I don’t want to waste my vote. I would never vote Reform - racists. We need migration - we have thousands of jobs that need filling in NHS/ social care/ farming labour etc. We are much worse off because of Brexit - like it or loathe it, it’s been badly handled. Starmer looks like he will be able to hold his own with other leaders and although he may not set the world alight, I want someone credible who I believe is going to be more honest with the public. Frankly, if Labour cock it up then in 5 years time we can vote them out.

@Jellykat vote tactically, go with whichever party is most likely to win against the conservatives.

Labour, as only option here.

Voting reform for something different seems a massive act of self sabotage (immigration aside) since they want to do away with the NHS. Cannot for the life of me imagine the attraction of Nigel Farage.

How about Mebyon Kernow - Dick Cole has worked tirelessly for over 25 years for Cornwall.

Our Labour candidate is very good, so even though Starmer leaves me cold, I’ll be voting Labour.

The Tories… just no.

Reform is a business, with its biggest shareholder being Farage. It exists to make money for those shareholders, not to help the rest of society.

@Northernnature

"I feel sorry for people who are voting for Labour in the hope that things will get better. There is no money"

That's the truth of it but for most voters misguided hope will triumph over hard reality.

Labour after much thought.

My politics are generally left wing but I voted conservative last time on the grounds of anyone but Corbyn.
I think Sunak is a good, genuine man but hasn't got the party backing.
Starmer doesn't enthuse me but seems to have got the party in order.
My local labour candidate is a local person who I am sure would make a good constituency MP.

I do feel that voting is a responsibility. Spoiling ballot papers is a pointless futile gesture. Nobody cares. You may as well stay at home.

and make sure Farage and Reform don't get a hold. Would be happy to vote Lib Dem or Green, but would be wasted due to ridiculous, outdated FPTP system. So Labour.

Labour. Because I remember the last Labour government as being transformative for society -Sure Start, Winter Fuel Allowance, NHS investment was massive and waiting lists slashed, schools rebuilt. It was a far better time to bring up a family.
Also because the last 14 years have seen the Tory government squander all of those advantages with NHS, education and children's services worse than ever before. They have cut public services and social services to the bone while giving £millions to allies and themselves, especially through covid. I can't think of one thing they have done for us apart from possibly furlough.
No one could be worse. Time for a change.

@RobinStrike

"No one could be worse"

Voters said the same in 2010 and in 1997 but were proved wrong.

Not fussed on Starmer, he's never going to set the world alight with his speeches, but unlike Cameron, Johnson and Sunak I don't think he'd be awarding contracts worth millions to his mates. Theresa May is the only PM of the last 14 years who has had any integrity or moral standards.

@1dayatatime as you see I believe 1997 was the best government of the last 60 years.

I’m going to start a poll on this.. it will probably get moved but worth a try

@RobinStrike

"Labour. Because I remember the last Labour government as being transformative for society"

That's easy to do when you increase national debt from 37% as a percentage of GDP to 70% by 2010.

Unfortunately a large percentage of Government spending now goes on interest payments.

@1dayatatime the figures suggest the current government has been worse. The increase came with the worldwide financial crash. Many countries felt Gordon Brown's international lead helped navigate them through it.

https://www.ukpublicspending.co.uk/uknationalldebtanalysis

@RobinStrike

So debt to GDP was 37% in 1997 after 13 years of Labour Government it doubled to 70% by 2010.

By 2024 after 14 years of Conservative government it had increased by half to around 100%

Both are bad but Labour increased it by 100% over 13 years and the Conservatives by 50% over 14 years.

This is why the economy is in such a state, money lent to the Government is money not lent in investing in the UK economy worsening productivity.

Growing national debt means a higher proportion of Government spending goes on interest payments so that we are (or were) spending the same on interest payments as we were on education.

Reform

Yes we are in a massive debt spiral borrowing £100bn plus pa and haven't had a surplus since 1999/2000. I haven't seen Labour or Tories addressing this but then the level of debate is very poor and the electorate is spectacularly undereducated financially. At the time of lockdowns it should have been explained how much it was going to cost us but then the media is also financially illiterate and didn't question it.

Absolutely this. I remember watching politics in the 80s, and each person listened to the point the other was making and then responded. The it degenerated in to chicken suits and headless chicken suits for 1997. It never really recovered. No side has made any form of reasoned argument since, just that the other party will be worse, without saying why, or what they will do to make it better. Just sound bites and key jangling.

Couple this with the disinterested, or under informed (by their own choice) electorate, and it's a recipe for disaster.

I think it would have been better to have pointed out how much Brexit was going to cost as opposed to lock downs. By the government's own admission, the cost of Brexit will be way higher than the lock downs were. I am similarly amazed at how the reduction of revenue from financial services moving abroad rarely gets mentioned.

I am similarly amazed at how the reduction of revenue from financial services moving abroad rarely gets mentioned.

I agree but I suspect it doesn't get mentioned in the right wing press because it's an embarrassment and in the left wing press because of the 'all bankers are bad' rhetoric.

Reading through this thread, I cant help thinking that we'll never really know how popular or not any of the political parties are!!
The number of people of people who are going to vote tactically or not at all - will skew the actual view of the general public of all the political parties.
Maybe as a suggestion once the votes have been counted and the MPs have been sorted. They should then say the leader of the party with the largest overall total number of votes should be the Prime Minister because this is numerically the most popular political party.
At least then people would actually vote the way they really want to vote instead of faffing around with tactics!! I know it won't happen but at least we would really know how the public thinks instead of these polls that are not a true representation of the public opinion.

And that's why I agree with proportional representation rather than FPP. When you vote, you know it counts.