How do you decide how to vote?

I totally agree.

Well it definitely won’t be labour as they don’t know what a woman is so that’s a no from me

I listen, look at manifestos and past performances. I also look for who wants to make the UK better for everyone not just themselves and their mates! After 13 years of shambolic leadership ( I say that tongue in cheek) by a government who take no responsibility for their actions and rewards failure , I could not vote conservatives.
I value our nations health, education and wellbeing too much.
For me it’s less about voting for a party than it is voting against an immoral bunch of incompetents .

I'm working class. Only one way to vote. Always will.

I used to vote LibDem, because they were the only party supporting Proportional Representation at the time with any chance of ever getting a say.
Sadly, in 1997 the reality of gm raised it's ugly head, which LibDems supported, so the only party I could vote for that year, was the Natural Law Party.
Luckily we had Green candidates ever since, except 2019, when they did a deal with LibDems, so I voted Labour. Sadly, in a Tory Safe Seat, even though the MP of 50 years retired, it was still a con walk over.
Think about that result, though. A vote of less than 44%, far less than voted to Remain, gave the cons a 'Large Majority'
And think about Germany for a minute. They had ONE leader for 16 years of some sort of stability, even though, through that period, they had several different coalition governments.
How many leaders have we had over that period?
Now, coming back to the Green Party, they have an extensive range of policies, covering everything to create a well being society, providing housing, care and everything people need, without exploiting the earth's resources to provide for people's greed. I'm not saying it is realistic to get an entire Green Government any time soon, but we need more Green MPs to provide balance and insight into what really matter, which is air, we can breathe and food and water, which does not poison us all.
Per MP, Torys get something over 30,000 votes, Labour over 40,000 and Greens over 850,000. Is that fair?

Lathyrus

What they do rather than what they say.

Which leaves me with nobody to vote for☹️

That criterion does make choosing who to vote for difficult.
If people were satisfied with what whichever government is in power has done, there’d be no need to change governments.

Recently i am exercised by the Trans question. I have no problem with adults deciding they are born in the wrong gender. However, i am a feminist from many years ago and know that nobody can simply decide they are now a woman and i stand by the side of JK Rowling, Julie Bindel
and other women who are fed up
about the way being a woman is being thrown into the dustbin. Next election i am going to ask EVERY candidate where they stand on this issue. I do think the Tories need a new leader. I do like Keir Starmer but wish he had a bit more charisma. The Lib Dems get my vote locally because they do a good job. Never nationally though. I am very interested in how people love the NHS but never mention its shortcomings and the shocking over abundance of jobsworth managers. I do appreciate the sterling work it does but it needs a thorough overhaul which both main parties are too frit to do just as they fail to tackle the enormous problem of social care. At heart i am a Tory but i am not oblivious of their failings. I despair that remarks like “all Tories are racist” are made by intelligent women just as judging all Labour voters to be lefty Marxists is plainly ridiculous. However, i may not be living in UK by the the next election. And as my mother used to say “Man proposed but God disposes” so i also msy have popped my clogs by then. I will do that questionnaire because trying to be open minded is important.

I vote for the party's policies and leader.
If their leader isn't definite about their policies or just tries to criticise other parties they don't get my vote

I vote cos I want to have a say in how my taxes are spent & I don't want them spent on private healthcare cos it ends up in well off people's pockets with poor service as a result. I want decent public services, respect for the poor, facilities for refugees, a proper NHS so I vote Labour, but I think under Keir he is moving it to the middle to avoid the billionaire owned newspapers saying what a load of unrealistic socialists labour are cos that does affect votes. Cos I live in a Tory safe seat next time I'm thinking of voting Lib Dem just to get him out, as a lot of us are doing

I find the whole thing such a dilemma; listening to a party political broadcast I am convinced that this is the way my vote will go, and then I listen to the next.... Every government seems to end its term in office with some triumphs and an equal share of disastrous outcomes, along with the usual list of unfulfilled manifesto promises. What's to do?

I decide based on the ideology of the party. Since quite a few comments imply it's a choice between the Tories and Labour, people might be interested in this new summary of what the LibDems stand for (as I think quite a lot of people don't know). www.libdems.org.uk/what-liberal-democrats-believe-2022 . And yes, we definitely need PR, so that everybody knows that their vote counts!

I am totally conflicted about who to vote for in the upcoming elections. I have voted for the same party all my life even doing leaflet dropping before I was old enough to vote.
That same party are running my local council and I have seen the council area going very far downhill. It is absolutely a disgrace what is happening in a once vibrant and industrious area.
I hope I can find a political party to vote for. I have always voted and do not want to miss this election

Here in the states, Our Constitution and Billl of Rights and which candidate is going to protect them to the fullest is where my choices lay. As in any apple box, there are good and bruised ones. Only thing is an apple can't speak and lie! I don't vote full party tickets, I go with who is backing America as a whole, not just certain groups.

I've always been told to read the information even the manifesto if you can understand it. Take into account your local candidates and what they stand for then make your choice. Which is what I do. However it doesn't always work as they all lie. They tell you what they want you to hear then once in power they find excuses not to do it. Usually blaming who ever they took over from.

I find that what is promised and what is delivered are so far apart you may as well flip a coin. Luckily due to my status I am not affected by which ever party wins so I don't bother encouraging them by voting

It's easy. Never, ever vote Tory.

If I was in her constituency, I would vote for Caroline Lucas to Varian; we need that voice. Which contradicts what I said previously. Every day is a school day and that just shows me that I would vote for a "not my particular bias" candidate if they were influential across the county (in a way I approved of!). It's not easy, is it?

It's a pity we don't have a polling facility on GN. It would be interesting to track the backing for PR. I wonder if, and how much, that would change how people decide to vote.

I saw that Maizie I appreciate how difficult it is as we all bring a little of our own bias into our explanation - there is no other way.

I think GN should be proud of its carefully thinking grandparents after reading these posts. I am and it's not always easy to be proud to be a GNetter

Under First Past The Post very many people do not vote because they live in a "safe seat" and know their vote will never count.

If they do vote, many will vote against the candidate, or more likely the party, that they hate the most. Would it not be better if every vote counted and people voted positively, for the candidate or party they like best, rather than negatively?

l am represented by a useless Tory yes man who joined the ERG and so was one of the people responsible for inflicting the huge harm of brexit on our country. Natuarlly I want him gone. The main contender is the Liberal Democrat prospective candidate and as I strongly believe they have the best policies, I am able to vote for the party I support.

In another constituency currently represented by a Tory I would look at the results in recent elections and might possibly vote Labour if they were the strongest challenger.

If I was in her constituency I would vote for Caroline Lucas as I think she does a good job and it is important for the Green Party to be represented.

If I considered voting Labour I would need a Labour candidate who actively supported changing our voting system to Proportional Representation, so that the Uk could become a true democracy.

Ouch. This was about how we decide rather than what we decide.

I did try to make it clear that I didn't want to derail this thread...

Whitewavemark2

MaizieD

M0nica

I can never see myself ever voting Conservative or Labour, I do not know which of those parties I hold in most contempt.

I have certainly never voted for either at any point in the past either..

One of these days MOnica, though not on this thread, it would be interesting to know why you hold Labour in contempt

It would also be interesting to know what you actually believe in.

Ouch. This was about how we decide rather than what we decide.

JackyB

When I was little, my parents were Tory voters and I never really thought that serious, real grown-ups would ever vote labour/left. (Still as innocent in 2016, I couldn't believe that any serious grown up could consider voting for Trump)

I left the UK aged 19 and only took on German nationality a couple of years ago so have only ever been able to vote in one General Election ever in my life. (Last year here in Germany, when Angela Merkel retired as Chancellor) As the system here is proportional representation you get to vote for a person and with another vote you choose a party. The two don't have to be the same party.

From decades of observing, I had decided that whoever you vote for, they all eventually end up the same and none of them keep their election promises. So last election, I went with gut instinct and neither the person nor the party I had picked got in, so I don't know why I bothered.

Listening to the massive political shift in Germany over the past couple weeks. Interesting times we live in.

Germany will be a changed country now. It must be difficult to take in?

MaizieD

M0nica

I can never see myself ever voting Conservative or Labour, I do not know which of those parties I hold in most contempt.

I have certainly never voted for either at any point in the past either..

One of these days MOnica, though not on this thread, it would be interesting to know why you hold Labour in contempt

It would also be interesting to know what you actually believe in.

When I was little, my parents were Tory voters and I never really thought that serious, real grown-ups would ever vote labour/left. (Still as innocent in 2016, I couldn't believe that any serious grown up could consider voting for Trump)

I left the UK aged 19 and only took on German nationality a couple of years ago so have only ever been able to vote in one General Election ever in my life. (Last year here in Germany, when Angela Merkel retired as Chancellor) As the system here is proportional representation you get to vote for a person and with another vote you choose a party. The two don't have to be the same party.

From decades of observing, I had decided that whoever you vote for, they all eventually end up the same and none of them keep their election promises. So last election, I went with gut instinct and neither the person nor the party I had picked got in, so I don't know why I bothered.

DaisyAnne

Blossoming

The party whose values most align with my own.

How do you decide that Blossoming?

Research.

Past performance.
What they say.
What they do.
What they promise and how they intend to achieve it.

I rarely join in the political threads on here but I take a keen interest in politics. It’s not hard.