I still don't know who to vote for! Help me pick

[fiddleleaffig]

It's election day!!!! And I am still utterly confused on who to vote for.

1. Reform - absolutely no way. Removing us from the European converntion of human rights whilst also changing the definition of a hate crime to make it harder to report - not a chance in hell could I vote for them. So they are ruled out.

1. Conservatives - they have destroyed the country and I am really pleased we are going to have Labour government tomorrow and they will be out of power. All their manifesto is is lies, and austerity and funding cuts have been utterly unforgivable. I vowed never to vote for them again. However, we are a Tory safe seat (or at least have been for the last 100years - predicted to go red for the first time ever!!) and have had the same MP since 1997. He has done good to the constituency. Yes there are problems with the high street, but our town is well cared for and looked after with lots of investment going into it. We've recently had our large local park completely redeveloped and when the local cinema was going to close as the national chain pulled out, the council stepped in and took it over. Would Labour do all that?

1. Labour - I am excited to have a labour government, as someone who once was a single parent on benefits, I was so grateful to the support I received under the last labour government. Although I have since graduated and now in a professional career, I still believe in the importance of helping the people at the bottom. However, I hate that they are refusing to scrap the 2 child limit and the benefits cap so they will not get my vote today. I cannot support their manifesto of sitting on the fence.

1. Liberal Democrats- I like their policies and I have been swaying towards voting for them. The only thing putting me off is that I don't like the candidate. He seems to have no connection to my constituency at all, and non of his campaign has been what he is going to do for our local town. Seems young and more interested in being a career politician than being in service to the local community.

1. Greens - I like many of the policies, they align with a lot of my beliefs with the exception of GRC and making them easier to obtain. Our local candidate is well known around town, does a lot for the community, but a lot seems to be focused on environmental issues, and whilst that is important, sometimes you do need a balance to support development, infrastructure, local businesses etc. I worry she will not embrace a new entertainment complex, for example, because we should leave the land for the bees iykwim.

So, out of that list, who would you pick?

Can you look at it from the perspective of tactical voting if you are in a Tory-held seat?

I’m not sure I’ll be taking political advice from someone who can’t count.

Conservative

OP was asking for advice, not giving it

Agree with this, who can you vote for that is most likely to keep the tories out of your constituency?

Voting is like catching a bus. So imagine you're stuck on the opposite side of town with heavy shopping and need to get home. Bus A is going in completely the opposite direction. Bus B is going in the same direction as your home but does not get you to your front door and you'll still have a shorter walk. Ideally you were hoping for bus C which goes right past your house, but there is no bus C service.

Do you stand still and sulk or do you catch the bus B which is going in roughly the best direction for you?

Eh?? I don't understand your comment

Ooo I like that analogy. Bus B would most definitely be Labour for me

I think all parties have something you don’t like. So putting those aside, which party has the most ideas you do like?

I found this really helpful:

www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cxeez8271nvo

Labour. Please vote Labour.

https://stopthetories.vote/

Go tactical. Pop your postcode in to see who the polling suggests is the best to vote for to get the Tories out.

You say your only reason for not voting Labour is because of the two child cap. But they haven’t ruled it out. They just have refused to make promises they might not be able to afford in the short term because of the horrendous position they are due to inherit in which everything is broken. Meanwhile the Tories are planning to actively cut benefits, especially for the sick and disabled. Labour is the only party with a realistic chance of alleviating child poverty. It’s got a smart leader with a proven track record of interest in improving rape convictions and a - shock - qualified chancellor who is a highly intelligent economist with Bank of England experience. Normal people who didn’t go to Eton. I’d like the cap lifted but I can also see that the country is in a dreadful state and they can’t do everything at once. Obviously I’m voting Labour and feel very happy about it. (As for the woman thing, the Tories don’t give a shit about women and every single thing that people are complaining about has happened under Tory rule. Starmer has said he accepts Cass.)

From your list, I'd pick green. The green will do you good locally, but their national policies will be irrelevant as they won't be the sitting government.

Vote for Labour then.

They're not promising to get rid of the two child cap because there is no money. Ideologically, though, we know that they oppose the cap and would love to get rid of it at some point.

The smaller parties can afford to promise the earth because they know that they won't ever have to deliver. Labour is going to have to be accountable.

You don't mention anything about your local Labour candidate (but you do for the others) - if you'd be happy to have them as an MP, then vote for them.

If you have time, this is useful. https://voteforpolicies.org.uk/

I worked through this last night and it confirmed that I have picked the least worst fit for me. I really like that bus analogy. Labour is my Bus B. Off to the polls shortly!

If you really like your current MP vote for them. Especially if you're adamant about not voting labour even though you want to see a labour government. Struggling to work that out tbh but each to their own lol.

The other candidates in your area don't sound up to much. So in your shoes I'd vote labour for a labour government or vote for conservatives.

Just to add my labour MP is a bit meh but I'm still voting for them because I want the tories out of the government in general.

Vote for whoever is most likely to get the tories out!! (This is most likely labour.) I also think that labour haven't entirely ruled out the 2 child limit. The analogy given by PP was brilliant and works well, I think.

Conservative without a shadow of a doubt because;

They know who women are and don't believe you can change sex.

They won't increase inheritance tax, capital gains tax or raid pensions

They won't screw landlords and suggest that we are the villain of the story

They will hopefully slim down the NHS, removing layers of bureaucracy and stop it from promising everything to everybody which has always been unsustainable.

They will address the thorny issue of immigration and limit the numbers coming here.

What they need to do is reverse the Right to Buy for council tenants and keep social housing as that, social housing during a lifetime then after death new tenant moves in and the cycle continues. Stop selling council houses at a discounted rate.

I would love if they would abolish the increased rate of stamp duty payable on additional properties but accept that is a pipe dream.

Labour will be an unmitigated disaster forcing many to consider their options as to whether they remain in this country.

Use one of the websites that help you choose. It doesn't take long to complete. The bus analogy is brilliant also. My candidates are all pretty rubbish, but my Bus B is conservative. Good luck.

I'm neutral on the Labour candidate. He's a newcomer to politics by the looks of things (only been in local elections for 3 years), but also is also local, a middle aged family man who is a mental health nurse in our local nhs trust. So although I've never heard of him before, or what he has contributed to the town, I can also see him being invested in local services and the area. A solid candidate tbh.
Worth a punt?

ah you are barking up the wrong tree I'm afraid.
I'm a teacher, working in a local school, but as I said I had previously been a single parent on benefits, so I live in social housing. Funnily enough, Conservative is the only party who are for the right to buy.
An 2 bed house is around 10times my annual wage, so homeownership is out of my reach so things like capital gains tax, inheritance tax (I've watched my nans entire life savings being drained by her care home - £500,000 down to £25,000 under the Tory government), landlords protection etc is so irrelevant to my position.
And as much as I hate the trans ideology and I am very gender critical, I also have trans friends and colleagues who, as individuals, are wonderful people, and I do believe we need secure, safe, gender neutral facilities. A lot of mumsnet focuses on men transitioning, and the dangers to woman (I agree this is a massive issue!), but forget there are many female-to-male people who seem to be ignored in the debate (oh look - humans with uteruses being sidelined for those with penises. There's something new 🙄)

Unfortunately the bus route that goes nearest the house includes driving off a cliff and the driver won't answer passengers' questions about how that's going work in practice.

Bus analogy is good.

Another way of looking at it - under first past the post in a Tory/Labour marginal your choices are a) to vote Tory, b) to vote Labour c) to make some variety of protest vote.

It doesn't much matter what variety - spoiling your ballot, voting green, voting reform or writing in Sarah Lancashire will have the exact same effect.

The question then is - are you angry enough with Labour that it's worth making a protest vote?

One more thought - a Labour MP in a Labour government will have a better chance of getting things for the area than a Tory MP with a Labour government.