Tactical voting seems to be on everyone's mind at the moment. We've got Russell Brand recommending a tactical vote for Labour, the Tories recommending one for the Lib Dems to get Nick Clegg back in and many urging those north of the border to vote either SNP or Labour tactically. The fact that so many people, apparently, are considering voting tactically (or, to put it another way, voting for the lesser of two evils) is a stark reminder of everything that is wrong with the electoral system we presently have. It really shouldn't be like this.
I live in a constituency where my choices are quite stark:
* Vote where my natural allegiances are (and there's an extremely hard decision to be made there between Labour and Green, neither of which have a chance of getting anywhere).
* Vote tactically for the Lib Dem with the view of keeping the Tories out. (Now, I’m not one of those people who think that all Tories are evil. I know too many Tories who are decent, 'normal' people and I can make a distinction between the voter and the thing they’re voting for. Life is long but far too short to dislike people but it’s entirely legitimate to dislike a set of ideas. And how I dislike the ideas of the right-wing establishment – their self-interested newspapers, their self-deceiving friends in the City, their socially regressive views, their self-serving business supporters etc).
As I said earlier, it really shouldn't be like this. I, and many like me, should be able to cast my vote in the clear knowledge that it will be count towards a more equitable representation of my views. The first-past-the-post system we have does not allow this. I know this assessment is widely shared: perhaps we'll see the issue moving centre stage after this election?
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