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If you’re feeling politically homeless right now, but still want to vote and would really like a change in government, it’s worth trying tactical voting.
The polls are showing Labour are on track for a big majority, but plenty of voters have still to make up their minds two-and-a-half weeks out from polling day on July 4.
The pro-EU campaign and research group, Best for Britain, has just launched a website called GetVoting.org to help those who want to vote tactically and prevent the Conservatives (and Reform) from winning many seats.
PM Rishi Sunak, chancellor Jeremy Hunt and ex-PM Liz Truss could all be kicked out, and Theresa May’s former seat of Maidenhead could switch to Liberal Democrat through tactical voting, they say.
Here’s what you need to know.
What is tactical voting?
Tactical voting is when a voter backs a party or political figure they would not normally support in order to stop a rival candidate winning the seat.
For instance, in some seats the Conservatives are set to win because the left-wing and centrist votes in that constituency are split between Labour and the Liberal Democrats. Under tactical voting, they could unite behind the party best placed to defeat the Tory.
But, according to Best for Britain’s findings, two in three people cannot name which party is likely to come in second place where they live right now – which is why the group has launched its platform.
This tactical voting system intends to keep the Conservatives out of No.10 for a decade, and prevent the election of the right-wing populists, Reform UK.
How does it work?
Based on the current MP, local factors, and latest polling, the group explains who is the best candidate to vote for in your area if you want to keep the Tories out.
It’s calculated on up-to-date MRP polling – that’s an estimate of opinions for geographically defined areas which combines large data from large national samples – as well as constituency-level insights and expert analysis.
The website has 370 Labour candidate recommendations, 69 for the Liberal Democrat, seven for the SNP, three for the Greens and two for Plaid Cymru.
The only recommendation in Northern Ireland is not voting DUP or TUV.
However, there are 181 seats across the UK without recommendations because Best for Britain believe the Tories have no chance of winning anyway.
Could it work?
The group says there is real appetite for tactical voting across the electoral spectrum.
A Best for Britain poll of 22,000 people found 39.6% said they would vote tactically to change the government, which works out at 13 million people, nationally.
Just 14% of those polled said they would keep the Tories in.
At the launch of GetVoting.org on Monday, psephologist Lewis Baston said the Conservatives “are under siege in a way they haven’t been before”.
He noted that an “extinction-level defeat for the Tories will change how we do politics” and that voters are “mobilised and in a harsh mood”.
In fact, Best for Britain claims 70 of the 98 seats on July 4 predicted to be won by the Conservatives are marginal.
The platform added a fifth of people voting Labour are doing so tactically, as are a third of Lib Dem backers.
According to Best for Britain, GetVoting.org reached 4.5 million at the last general election in 2019 with its recommendations – which turned out to be 97% accurate.
The platform also claims to have helped 800,000 people vote tactically, boosting at least 10% to opposite candidates in 19 constituencies.
Who might it impact?
Best For Britain identified several senior politicians who could lose their seats because of tactical voting – including the prime minister himself.
According to their polling, the Conservatives only have a narrow seven-point lead in his seat of Richmond and Northallerton, with 40% of local voters considering voting tactically.
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt is also at risk in his seat of Godalming and Ash, as Liberal Democrats are shooting ahead.
Other senior Tories at risk if their constituents vote tactically, the group say, are former PMs Theresa May and Liz Truss.
The group also said Labour can win in Clacton, where Nigel Farage is standing for Reform UK, if locals vote tactically to defeat him.
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