Tactical voting 2024

Be kind to your canine companion; get a postal vote

In 2019, I advised voting tactically for whichever candidate with a winning chance in your constituency had the least bad policy on Brexit. In 2024, the stakes seem somewhat different. I assume at this point that an overall Labour majority is virtually certain, so priorities are rather different. In happier times, as those who know me will realise, I would be celebrating the collapse of the Tories, but as it is I see serious dangers in a situation where something like a quarter of the electorate changes its preferences within five years, and voting patterns in Europe reinforce my impression.

Voting intentions via Wikipedia (UK average). Click to enlarge; visit site to update

You can get advice on tactical voting here, and no doubt many other places closer to polling day. However, that may not be the most important consideration. (Of course, you need to register to vote. if not already registered, you must do this before midnight 18th June. The process is easy, and you can do it here. You will need to download a copy of your signature. To vote in person at a UK election, you need to show photo ID, but you do not need this for a postal vote.)

If the Faragist Party has any real chance of winning in your constituency, the leading priority is to shut them out, even if that means voting for a party that you would otherwise never consider.

In my own view, the best possible outcome of the election would be to see the LibDems outnumber the Conservatives, and find themselves the official opposition, but I fear that this is exceedingly unlikely. If, nevertheless, you agree with me that a strong LibDem presence is desirable, and if the LibDem candidate has a real chance in your constituency, vote for them.

Otherwise, since we know which party is going to be in power, I think the most important thing is to do what you can to get decent thoughtful individual MPs into Westminster, so take your pick on that basis among the leading individual candidates. In 2019, when I was living in Glasgow NE, I voted across party lines for the admirable Paul Sweeney, who narrowly lost, is now a Scottish Parliament list MSP for the Glasgow region, and is not standing in the General Election.

In the constituency where I now live, Stirling and Strathallan, the two leading candidates are Alyn Smith (SNP) and Chris Kane (Labour Party). Alyn Smith was MP for Stirling in the 2019 – 2024 Parliament, and in correspondence I have found him attentive, and concerned with human rights. I have had no personal interaction with Chris Kane, but note that he is the leader of Stirling Council, having chosen to go into coalition with the Conservatives, rather than SNP, and in that capacity has overseen a reduction in the number of nursery school places, and a sell-off of public fishing rights.