Why tactical voting is never (ever) a good idea

By Mark Ferguson / @markfergusonuk

Back in 1997 a swathe of blue seats that might otherwise have been considered safe began to turn red and yellow. The Tory collapse was dramatic and nationwide, and it was exacerbated by tactical voting. So far so good, you might say.

The impact of that 1997 landslide has, in one sense at least, lasted to the present day. Seats in the South West that a resurgent Tory Party might have expected to gain as they returned to power failed to fall to the blues. Many of the yellow seats in the South West were retained, thanks to a weak Labour vote and the continuation – 13 years after that initial landslide – of tactical voting. Across large parts of the country, Labour voters chose to back a different party in a bid to keep the Tories out. In many cases that involved voting Lib Dem. That evidently didn’t work out as planned.

As a Labour supporter I’d usually back any means of reducing the number of Tory seats. Yet in the case of tactical voting, there are unseen knock-on effects that weaken the Labour Party – and in a small way democracy too.

Whilst Labour may never have been (and may never be) a strong presence in the South West, by actively competing for seats and canvassing for support in parliamentary elections, the party was able to pick up council seats in areas that are now lost to Labour. By withdrawing from the battlefield in favour (even subconsciously) of backing the Lib Dems in a tactical bid to defeat the Tories has led many voters in large parts of the South to question whether the Labour Party is still a going concern. There is a whole generation of people in such areas for whom voting Labour – nevermind joining the party or standing for office – is unheard of.

Such areas and such mentality’s breed moribund local parties, and distance Labour from the need to win votes across the country.

For that reason, and regardless of the electoral system, tactical voting is never – ever – a good idea.