Voting when you know it doesn't make a difference?

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Is anyone else in one of 'those' seats where if you vote for anything other than one party, it feels pointless as there is one party that is destined to win? Democracy is so important, I'll never not vote for who I believe in, but it feels a bit sad, knowing that it won't change the outcome. I obviously want the choice to vote for other parties, but does anyone else feel like their vote doesn't have a chance of changing their constituency?

1. First of all, you don't know it won't make a difference. If it's a small local election, you never know. I just learned that for Bernie Sanders' first election, he won by only 10 votes. If he'd lost, presumably he wouldn't have gone on to eventually run for president and influence the whole direction of America.

1. You don't really know that it's just one vote. Maybe you'll discuss it with friends beforehand, and you might influence a few other people.

1. Even if you are voting for a candidate who is not with a major party, they still tally the votes, which can be a meaningful sign of interest and may give the candidate leverage even if he loses.

1. Voting keeps you engaged.

Remember: Bad actors want you to feel hopeless and not vote. Don't give in to that.

The vast majority of votes in the country make no difference to anything and never will. First Past The Post is a sham that has nothing whatsoever to do with genuine democracy. And even that's getting worse.

Same here. I think Conservative always get about 98% of the vote here but I vote anyway (my husband however, forgot)

I always vote, regardless of whether it's likely to make a difference. Women died in the struggle to get votes for women, and as a young woman my grandmother wasn't allowed to vote.

Its called being Scottish op.

I always vote but live in an area with long-term conservative support (I'm a long time labour supporter). Since I've lived here I've not voted labour because they don't get anywhere near enough votes, so I've voted for liberal Democrats because I feel they'll have more of a chance of getting a seat and work better with our local council (long term labour control). I don't think it's a wasted vote but isn't how I'd really like to vote.

It is a responsibility on all of us to vote. Apart from the fact that people died to secure a general franchise, we all live in a democracy. The easiest way to lose that precious state of affairs is by not exercising your right to vote. I can just imagine a future government saying ‘ such a low percentage of people have voted that we are going to do away with it’.

Well l voted and l got my husband to vote and guess what? Conservative lost the seat. In a county that is usually entirely blue. So never say never.

@6Helen7 I vote too, always, I'm very familiar with the Suffragettes.

@ssd yes, that's true  how did you know?

@LadyTiredWinterBottom2 I'm glad that it worked where you live, however the result in my constituency did prove my point.

In general elections if you vote for a party that doesn't win, your vote helps that party to get more money.

Other than the ruling government party, the parties get money (called short money) to help run their operations. It's based on how many votes they get altogether. So if you are in a safe seat, you can tie for a small party (green/LD etc) knowing you're helping them out.

And in local council elections, it really does come down to 1 or 2 vote in some cases.

I live in one of the safest Tory seats in the Midlands. A dead dog with a blue rosette pinned to it would get elected here. Our current MP couldn’t be any less interested in his constituency if he tried. He’s a management consultant from London (of course) who has no links whatsoever to this area, but he was parachuted into a safe seat. He’s now a minister and will probably be in the cabinet before long.

Voting is a completely pointless waste of time, but I go through the motions anyway. FPTP is a ridiculous way to run a democracy.

@AgeLikeWine that's depressing but I laughed at the dog comment 😂

In the past have always felt that as live in a strong Conservative town but have continued to vote. Today our town voted in 5 new Labour county councillors. Looking forward to hearing the Borough Council results tomorrow. It will still be s Conservative majority but it is getting closer after each election..

You seem to be suggesting that your vote only counts if your chosen candidate wins. This seems like quite a cynical attitude to me. Official and other opposition is essential for effective democracy. The weakness of this at the moment is why our government is able to get away with huge authoritarian moves relatively unchecked.