Will you really vote for one of the ‘big’ parties in the local elections?
The ballot box: but will you be putting a vote into one of these on Thursday, May 5? Or do you think Boris Johnson and Keir Starmer have so badly harmed the UK’s democracy that it doesn’t matter whether you vote or not?
Unless you’ve been living under a rock (and that’s not beyond reason), you’ll know local elections are taking place across the UK tomorrow (Thursday, May 5).
We’ll be electing councils to run services in England, Wales and Scotland, and the government in Northern Ireland.
But probably more importantly, these elections will be viewed as a test of the mood on national issues like the government’s provocation of Russia over the war in Ukraine, its disastrous mishandling of the Covid-19 crisis and the row over parties held in Downing Street while the rest of us were in lockdown, and particularly the current cost-of-living crisis affecting most of the population (but not the Tories’ extremely rich supporters).
If that makes it seem that the Tories should take a hammering, don’t be so sure!
Many parts of England are Conservative heartlands where people will vote for a monkey if it is dressed in a suit with a blue rosette.
And Labour has not acquitted itself in any way honourably over the two and a half years since the last election, with outrage over Keir Starmer’s blind support of the Conservatives during Covid, and his persecution of left-wing party members under a pretence of attacking anti-Semitism.
This Writer asked commenters on Vox Political‘s Facebook page for their opinions and the responses may be informative:
“No reason to vote either Tory or Labour, under current conditions,” wrote one respondent. “Green or PAL if available or you could vote LibDems if no other possibility but I won’t, if there is no Green or PAL candidate I’ll vote independent.”
Another stated: “I think people are seeing the light more and more now. I believe there can and will be change if enough stand together. We are reaching the point where many folk have nothing left to lose, and that will bring change .”
And yet another stated: “Why pretend there’s any reason to vote Labour! Say it how it is!”
There was a large amount of support for denying votes to Labour: “Go green or independent – or do the Labour thing: ABSTAIN,” said one respondent.
“If they can abstain on important issues then you can abstain on Election Day. I plan to,” added another.
“Independent socialist if any available or green,” stated another.
One point of view may be easily encapsulated in this comment: “I won’t be voting Labour whilst Starmer is leader.”
Another respondent added: “With Starmer in charge [of Labour] it’s effectively a one party state.”
But another insisted, “We can all bang on about what ifs and maybes but there are only two parties to vote for,” meaning the Tories or Labour. But they continued: “You have to question your integrity, honesty and morals when voting if you can honestly say the Tories have done nothing wrong and hide behind the saying Johnson is doing great for Ukraine what is he actually doing for this country?”
There was a discussion of whether votes should be spoiled – as these are included in the counts and people believed a large enough number of spoiled ballot papers may spur electoral watchdogs to consider changing the system.
“My advice and I say this every year: if a party doesn’t represent you then write none of the above on your ballot slip and spoil it,” said one respondent. “If enough people do it then they’d have to take notice. Spoiled votes aren’t just discarded; they’re actually counted.”
“I’m gonna advise my fellow no political home pals to discuss exactly this,” another commenter stated.
Nobody advocated voting Conservative.
And the only support for Labour was on the basis that “tepid Tory” was better than “Fascist Tory”. Nobody believed that a Labour Party under Keir Starmer would provide a genuine alternative that might offer prosperity to more than a small number of extremely rich political donors.
Most support went to independent candidates or members of the new left-wing organisations that are springing up to replace Labour as representatives of the majority of UK citizens who are poor and struggling – or for spoiling ballot papers.
So, what will you do?
Will you take the tired old route of supporting whichever of the Big Two parties you think can remove a candidate you despise, even if you don’t support the policies of either of them? (Personally, I would call that madness.)
Will you try supporting somebody new, despite fears that most people will take the first option and your vote will be wasted?
Will you spoil your ballot paper in protest at the undemocratic farce that Johnson and Starmer have made of the UK’s voting system?
Or will you stay at home and not vote at all? If you do, then you’ll have to take the blame if a disaster happens as a result.
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Our postal votes went in a week ago. We looked at the second highest votes party in our ward on recent history, and voted for them. On the basis that ANYTHING except the Tories will do – could have been the “Child-eating kill all pensioners” party, but it just happened to be Labour. But stuck in a “Vote Tory even though they are killing us” ward, it won’t make any difference. Not as long as we are stuck in the medieval FPTP system shared in our part of the world only with….Belorus ffs!
I will not vote for Starmer’s fake labour party, I will not vote tory or lib dem…none are to be trusted…I will vote, but for who? All I can see at the moment are the Monster Raving Loony Party, they will get my protest vote.
I wish I’d known about the spoiled vote counting, alas I have a postal vote and marked my X in Green Party. Shame there was no socialist party.
This is silly. Here in Wales a vote for Welsh Labour is a vote for the measured sensible politics of Mark Drakeford and all the Welsh Labour Councillors and Welsh Labour controlled councils who have worked so hard for our communities especially over the last couple of pandemic years.
Welsh Labour have been at the forefront of our support for the most vulnerable. Here in the Vale of Glamorgan, I the three years since we took over control, we have built or renewed more schools under the 21st Century Schools program including the first zero carbon school in Wales. We are one of the best performing authorities on recycling, our green policies need no lessons from the Green Party.
We have provided the necessary tech for all the children to be able to keep up with their education during Covid.
We have supported all our care homes and vulnerable residents.
We have started an arms length, not for profit, catering company that supplies school meals, meals on wheels and has provided a half million surplus in its first year of operation, again during Covid, all of which has gone back into schools to pay for the extras like sports strip etc. It has also taken over Penarth pier pavilion which was making a massive loss under its previous management and in the first year of operation has again made a surplus which is being plowed back into the building and schools.
A vote for Welsh Labour is not a vote for Starmer, it’s a vote for your communities, a vote for education and a vote for the vulnerable. Any advice to abstain etc is a advocating throwing the people who need support under the bus.
I’m a councillor in Penarth in the Vale of Glamorgan and I’m immensely proud of what we’ve done.
Okay. And will all Welsh Labour representatives promise to remove Starmer and his poison from the national party or at least to separate from that organisation if he can’t be rooted out?
Otherwise, for all the good you do locally, you’ll still be contributing to a poisonous organisation nationally. Won’t you?
I’m Welsh and in Wales so my national party is Welsh Labour. Supporting Drakeford and demonstrating that Wales supports a left government is very different from supporting Starmer et al. As we saw at the last election where Welsh Labour had their best result ever compared with the struggling English Labour. So yes, supporting Welsh Labour strongly will send a message to the UK party though I’m not sure they will hear it. Then it’s up to us to keep reminding them.
I think we’ll have to agree to disagree on how that happens. I don’t think Welsh Labour can remain a part of the national Labour Party with Starmer in charge of it – that sends the wrong message to voters. You do. You admit that UK Labour is unlikely to understand the message delivered by the support Welsh Labour receives. I don’t see how that can be changed with Starmer in charge.
Won’t vote for any of the greedie swines not one
Who are PAL? That aside I am lucky that I have an alternative to Labour where I am for two of the candidates. NB each ward in Scotland has three candidates and there’s a single transferable vote system. This can be good or bad. If there are enough decent candidates you can vote for them in order of preference but in many wards it means unpopular parties get in as they can field enough candidates. In one ward close to me there are only three candidates standing for three seats – they will be ‘elected unopposed’ Hence the reason we have Tories in our council. This reminds me of how undemocratic the Holyrood system is in preventing majority rule but that’s another story.
PAL – People’s Alliance of the Left. It’s a group of left-wing organisations/parties that are co-operating with each other to provide an alternative to the current right-wing monopoly (Labour, Lib Dems, Tories). I’m sure there’s a website.