'We are the only two parties
that can win.
So a vote for any others
is a wasted vote'
say the two big parties
in every election.
'Vote for us
or you'll waste your vote
and let the others in.'
It's a grim choice.
So what do we do?
Nothing?
More than a third
of us don't vote.
And decades on
little changes,
because we stayed at home
and buried our hopes,
and just wasted our votes.
A wasted vote
- a truly wasted vote
is a vote
not in hope
of better things
in life.
But a vote
made in fear,
for a party we don't like
to beat a party we fear.
While the independent
man or woman
and the smaller party
who offers hope,
is left to waste away
without our vote
without our hope.
That surely is
a wasted vote.
'It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.'
J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
It's your vote…
The only real waste is to vote for a party you don't really believe in, or to give up and not vote at all.
It's frustrating when an election result is not what you want. That's a familiar experience in sport. The point is to try, to encourage others, and to hold on to what you believe in. If we don't succeed, we live to try again.
Improving this country takes time and requires us to do it together. It may take a lot more than just elections, but it is worth the small effort of using our vote.
Wasted votes and AV
When you hear the Conservatives and Labour saying that votes for others are 'wasted votes', remember the AV referendum in 2011.
AV (the Alternative Vote) was about enabling us to vote for an independent candidate or a smaller party as a first choice, without the fear of it being a 'wasted vote'. If our first choice had few votes, our vote would pass to our second choice. AV was therefore about giving independent candidates and smaller parties a chance. It was about opening up our democracy. It's why the Conservatives and the money were behind the 'No' campaign.
So the same old game carries on. In every election they gain by creating (i) fear of 'the other side', and (ii) fear that voting for anyone else will be a 'wasted vote'. Don't fall for it again.
If in doubt, just look at The Real results.