There are more than two parties...

I am fairly interested in politics but I am so fed up with the run up to the general election. It seems to me that this election is about choosing the worst from a bad bunch rather than anyone talking about their policies. ‘Vote for us because we won’t fuck things up quite as much as them.’ Well that is all well and good, but what am I going to be voting for?

Let’s be honest, we all know that politicians make a lot of promises they cannot or will not keep during the election build up (see Lib Dems and tuition fees…) and that leaves a lot of people not even wanting to vote. It’s a case of why bother voting when very few of these policies will go ahead? So how are we supposed to decide who to vote for?

I have found the BBC policy guide to be really useful and simple to understand. You can find it here.

As it stands, it looks as though there will either be a Conservative or Labour government. This is leading to a lot of people considering voting for one of these parties purely because they do not want the other. Many of my friends who want to vote Green are planning on actually voting Labour to avoid the Conservatives winning.

While I completely understand the thinking behind this, consider what might happen if this was not the case. Who would you vote for if there were no statistics and polls flying around? Who would you really want leading our country for the next 4 years?

If people continue to see it as a two horse race and just choose between the two big parties then it will always be this way. Vote for the party that you really support rather than who is likely to beat the party you hate. If you support a smaller party then vote for them, give them the chance of getting bigger. There are more than two parties and as long as we keep failing to see this then there will only
really ever be two options.

Personally, I do not like the thought that in a so called ‘democracy’ we are led to believe that we only have two options – Labour or Conservative. That is not true. We have more options and we should remember that. So I urge you, in the general election, to vote for the party who you would want to win if we had no idea who really stood a chance. If people start voting this way and looking at all the choices then politics might actually slowly start to change in this country and become more representative.

I really believe that things would be different if people realised that voting for smaller parties is not a ‘wasted vote.’ It is encouraging those parties to keep going because there are people out there who share their values. It is showing the bigger parties that they might need to adjust their policies. Otherwise, they will keep doing what they have always done knowing that they will get votes because people have no hope of anything changing.

Politics in this country can change. It does not always have to be Labour or Conservative if you do not want it to be. Do not let the past define your vote. This vote is possibly the only chance you will get to voice your opinion and have it make an impact in the next four years. Use it wisely.

Do not let the political system in this country fool you into thinking that Labour and Conservatives are the only parties in this election.

Engage and vote

People get bored by talking about politics as well as confused. Political leaders use big words and complicated phrases and it makes it difficult for the everyday person on the street to engage with politics. So if you want to understand, if you want to know who/what you're really voting for then where do you start?

There's plenty of online quizzes which give a good indication of where your views might lie in relation to political ideologies. This was my result, for example:

Essentially, these sorts of things can show you the basics of ideals that you might like to follow. It's a good starting point to understanding politics of today.

In the UK, we have some main political parties: Conservative, Labour, Liberal Democrats, UKIP, Green, BNP. They all throw around promises and crap to try and get votes. It's no wonder that a lot of people do not bother voting, they're tired of hearing false promises from white middle class men as leaders who cannot relate to the average population. It's frustrating! What can we do though? Well, we need to get people engaged with politics again. We need to help people learn about politics in a simple way. If more of us can engage then there is more of a chance for a wider variety of people to eventually get into power. Choosing not to vote is just another way of letting parties win that you do not want.

So take some time to do a little research. Use Google, use books, understand all the parties as well as you can. If you do not like any of them, then pick the one which is most aligned to your views. Do not let a lack of good choice leave you thinking you have no choice. If we continue, as a country, to not bother with voting then we will not be living in a true democracy and the government will never reflect our views. 

The situation we are in is not ideal. But we are fortunate enough to have the right to vote when a lot of people do not get that. So when the time comes, use it. And if you're really fed up with the parties then look into starting your own!

Politics might seem dull and something only for middle class men. It will continue to be this way unless more people engage and take an interest. It can change but it will take a whole lot of people to take action.