The First Past the Post voting system is used nowhere else in Europe bar Belarus. Its ‘winner takes all’ approach coupled with voter tribalism has led to safe seats in which MPs are able to coast to victory even with less than satisfactory track records and often on a minority of the total votes cast.. Despite the popularity of progressive politics in the UK, voter factionalism has prevented it flourishing because the progressive vote is split across a number of parties. Thankfully, there is a way to remain loyal to your party and help advance the cause of progressive politics in the imminent by-elections in Tiverton and Honiton and Wakefield: Swap My Vote solves your moral dilemma and helps to avoid the undesirable outcome of a non-progressive win.
In Tiverton and Honiton, internal polling shows the Conservatives and LibDems neck and neck on 45 per cent each. Labour supporters can lend their vote to the LibDems to help achieve the shared objective of thwarting the Conservative and it seems that many are prepared to do so. For some, this will feel like a step too far and, of course, ideally your vote should always reflect your values. But sometimes that loyalty will just fall victim to the unfairness of First Past The Post and mean that your vote is not only wasted and your voice silenced, but actually leads to an undesirable outcome. That’s where Swap My Vote comes in. Principled loyalty to your party should be rewarded; Swap My Vote lets you help to ensure your party makes gains elsewhere, and that your vote is not totally wasted at home.
Swap My Vote is a simple, neutral initiative to let you do just what it says – swap your vote with someone else in the country who will vote for your party of choice if you vote for theirs. Think of it as an electoral pact made amongst two people, then scale that up to hundreds or thousands of voters disenfranchised under our broken voting system and suddenly it solves two fundamental issues – loyalty to your party and the risk of a wasted local vote.
Because Wakefield by-election is also being held on the same day, Lib Dems in Wakefield could waste their vote knowing their party will not be elected or, they can swap with a Labour voter in Tiverton & Honiton, dramatically increasing the chance that their party will be represented elsewhere AND that their vote will count solidly towards much-needed change in the political landscape.
It’s clear from polling that many Tiverton and Honiton voters want change. Splitting the progressive vote will mean that, sadly, they will get more of the same.
So, Labour voters in this constituency and LibDems in Wakefield: make your vote count both locally and nationally and use Swap My Vote to ensure that there is good news for progressive politics on Friday 24 June and a clear message to the current, disgraced regime that it is definitely not delivering on the people’s priorities!
