How you choose your vote

I nearly posted this in another thread but thought it might be worth a discussion of its own.

How do you decide who to vote for in national and local elections? Do you consider yourself a supporter of any particular party and does this mean you always vote for them?

I generally vote Conservative because in general terms the Conservative party matches my outlook: smaller State, greater emphasis on individual graft, mutual assistance within communities rather than a mouth-open, eyes-shut insistence that the State must 'look after' us.

However I have voted something other than Conservative on a number of occasions, sometimes to register a protest at the Party's behaviour at specific times (I voted for the Referendum Party in 1997 and will vote UKIP at every opportunity up to and, possibly, including the 2015 general election).

Chose the party and joined the party and maybe one day will even be a candidate as we need more to have a chance of change. UKIP the only way towards a Greater Britain

Policies for me all around if you click my sig its to a pdf of what UKIP stand for and I agree and back all of it

Put Britain first ...

I live in a Conservative safe seat so I usually vote for the party that I want to win just to be included in the numbers - no point tactually voting. I don't vote for a specific party each time, the first time I could vote in a General Election I voted Labour, last election Liberal Democrat.

Local Elections it depends. I have voted Green, Liberal Democrat and Labour. I just go for the one that is a match between what I want/who could win in those cases.

I don't like being a 'loyal' supporter to a party. It seems pointless. Don't give your vote away for free afterall, people should have to work for it.

[papa smurf]

my voting habits are pretty much on a par with yours chris ,and i will be voting ukip from now until the EU is just a distant memory .

UKIP should have its own category in the vote seeing as the latest opinion polls put them as 3rd party

[danielf]

I don't consider myself a supporter of any party, if only because I'm used to PR and that breeds an entirely different outlook on politics than the partisanism that you get in FPTP.

However, despite the recent fiasco, I find myself agreeing with the LibDems quite often.

[Gary L]

I don't vote.

but if I did vote, I'd vote labour so they give state support to the hungry.

[Osem]

I can't bring myself not to vote but have voted for all of the main parties in my life and tend to base the final decision on what feels best (or least worst) at the time. Best I can say right now is that I won't be voting for Miliband's Marauders.

Conservative.I hate too much state support and i have lived through Labour ruining the country twice

[Sirius]

If i do vote at the next election is presently looking like it will be UKIP. In the past its always been the Conservatives.

[Gary L]

Originally Posted by Sirius

If i do vote at the next election is presently looking like it will be UKIP. In the past its always been the Conservatives.

Is it Dave himself and not so much the party that has made you change your vote?

Originally Posted by tizmeinnit

UKIP should have its own category in the vote seeing as the latest opinion polls put them as 3rd party

A good point, but in 1983 the opinion polls suggested the SDP could form a government ... things didn't turn out quite that way.

UKIP's opinion poll showing is a great result in and of itself for everyone who has worked for them to achieve recognition, but I think they need to show a little more hard support before they supplant the Lib Dems in general political discussion like this.

Of course, if they put in a good show at the Euro elections next year ...

Personally I'd love to see UKIP rise and rise. The Left dismisses them as an 80s Thatcher tribute act, but you can hear the fear in their voices - not surprising, seeing as Thatcher and the 80s Tories repeatedly handed the Left's ass to it on a plate. David Cameron and assorted metropolitan hangers-on, take note.

[mertle]

For me picked Green voted them in councils. Hate them but dont like tory light ukip. There not exactly anybody else to vote for here.

You would be insane to vote lib dems, could argue all three main parties. They back stabbing, corrupt and lieing cheats all three.

Labour dont convince me but hell ed is better his blairwitch brother. Alot labour supporters should guard on wanting his brother. You will end up labour party more blue than blairs rein.

To be fair all three leading parties absolute rubbish with weak members uptop. Even worse alot the parties got alot rubbish behind not got any good up and coming future leaders.

All got bunch current leaders which so stuck up the top 10% they forget they running a government for all. They forgotten what its like to live or never experienced living like the others. They all persecute those who cant fight back those not to blame for issues. Most talk the talk very little substance in actions against corrupt banks, big corporates.

Cant be on my own disalusioned with the corrupt way politics has and is being heading.

Originally Posted by Chris

Personally I'd love to see UKIP rise and rise. The Left dismisses them as an 80s Thatcher tribute act, but you can hear the fear in their voices - not surprising, seeing as Thatcher and the 80s Tories repeatedly handed the Left's ass to it on a plate. David Cameron and assorted metropolitan hangers-on, take note.

I am not sure the left, or at least most of them, see UKIP in fear. If anything UKIP is a benefit to the left as it's getting most of it's support from voters who normally would vote Tory. That's rather simplistic but I think it's generally correct. A strong showing for UKIP in 2015 would make it really hard for the Conservatives to win the election....

Correct, but it might prompt the Tory high command to reconsider its positioning in time for 2020. There is a long game to be played here.