Elections: voting tactically and finding a place to party
I'm annoyed. After putting my money where my mouth is to some extent, earlier stating that I'd vote for candidates opposing the Digital Economy Bill Act, which due to public statements to that effect easily gets me voting for Jonathan Fryer, I've still been considering voting tactically.
Given the state of play in my local seat, a LibDem vote will almost certainly be wasted. And I'm desperately hoping that against predictions, the Conservatives don't possibly get enough seats such that they can ignore the popular vote once again. Voting tactically would be the right thing to do, because I want First-Past-The-Post to be a distant memory, and this may be the last chance for a long time to get rid of it, and voting tactically for Labour would be the use of my vote most likely to get that.
I even wrote an earlier version of this post saying I was going to vote tactically, arguing for rational choices over my conscience, and I found something useful out of that: I can't stomach it. No matter what the arguments, it would result in something I just can't do. If I vote for the LibDems, and it's wasted, I can live with that, even if the Conservatives get in. Life may be a lot more shit, but I'll have a clean conscience. If I vote for Labour, and they got back in, I don't know. Even if they don't get in, even if things go the way I'd like in part due to my vote, I'd still have issues that I can't resolve.
So, I'll be voting the same way I always have (barring London mayorals, where Ken has my support), and agreeing with Nick (except on Nuclear power).
In related news, what's everyone doing election night? I've got the day off afterwards, and I'd like to stay up and watch the whole silly thing. I'm considering the event at the Bethnal Green Working Men's Club. Anyone else up for that?
Given the state of play in my local seat, a LibDem vote will almost certainly be wasted. And I'm desperately hoping that against predictions, the Conservatives don't possibly get enough seats such that they can ignore the popular vote once again. Voting tactically would be the right thing to do, because I want First-Past-The-Post to be a distant memory, and this may be the last chance for a long time to get rid of it, and voting tactically for Labour would be the use of my vote most likely to get that.
I even wrote an earlier version of this post saying I was going to vote tactically, arguing for rational choices over my conscience, and I found something useful out of that: I can't stomach it. No matter what the arguments, it would result in something I just can't do. If I vote for the LibDems, and it's wasted, I can live with that, even if the Conservatives get in. Life may be a lot more shit, but I'll have a clean conscience. If I vote for Labour, and they got back in, I don't know. Even if they don't get in, even if things go the way I'd like in part due to my vote, I'd still have issues that I can't resolve.
So, I'll be voting the same way I always have (barring London mayorals, where Ken has my support), and agreeing with Nick (except on Nuclear power).
In related news, what's everyone doing election night? I've got the day off afterwards, and I'd like to stay up and watch the whole silly thing. I'm considering the event at the Bethnal Green Working Men's Club. Anyone else up for that?