Common Decency

Why are you voting? We asked our readers to tell us why they’re heading to the polling stations on 7 May – here’s what they told us

1- I see it as a civic duty - a right, but also a responsibility. Of course I’ll vote on 7 May, I always do. I’ve voted in every election I’ve been registered for since I turned 18 - local, national and European. I guess I see it as a civic duty – a right but also a responsibility. However, I am now 62 and have yet to vote for the winning candidate in any election – ever.

Is this because I support some fringe party perhaps? Alas no, I’m a staunch Labour supporter. It’s all down to the crass and unpardonable stupidity of the first-past-the-post electoral system. There must be millions of us, up and down the land, who have spent a whole lifetime being effectively disenfranchised by it. When will we ever get the chance to join the lucky few in marginal constituencies whose votes actually matter?

2 - Every decision made after this election will affect the course of my life

This is the first general election that I’m old enough to vote in. I’m young but I’ve already seen the country shift under me in the last 5 years, and for so many reasons I want the Tories out. But it’s more than that, I’m voting because I know that every decision made after this election will affect the course of my life, and the lives of my children. This is a critical point in history, we can choose ruin or face up to climate change and corporate power, with a more compassionate form of government. I’m voting Labour.

I think it’s our duty to vote, and current level of apathy is why we’re stuck in the position we’re in right now. Too many people believe that they can’t make a difference without realising that they could make a difference if enough of them didn’t think like that. We’ve been fooled into believing there are only two options – red or blue and that they’re the same as each other. I don’t think this is true, but there’s little point in me voting tactically in my constituency (it’s a toss up between Tories and Lib Dems, with the emphasis on toss) so I’m voting with my heart and voting Green.

3 - Most people in the world can’t vote, we are lucky
We are very fortunate to have the opportunity to be able to choose from a range of bland anodyne politicians with their mindless slogans. Many people in the world don’t have this right and their lives are far worse than ours. Our PR-driven political discourse is depressing and uninspiring, but we should treasure the right to vote because it’s immoral not to exercise it when thousands across the world have died fighting for this right.

4 - To send a message

I have always voted Labour, but this time I am going to vote Green. I was originally alienated from the Labour party by the Iraq war, and now I no longer see them as a left-wing alternative - they are too centre-ground these days. The most important issue of all to me is climate change. I regard reducing reliance on fossil fuels, increasing investment in renewable energy, and working to protect the natural resources we have as the most important issues facing us all as human beings. I cannot believe how little all other parties talk about this existential threat to all of us. I originally joined the Green party because of environmental reasons but I am increasingly with them for their humanism, care of the vulnerable in society, and they are the only party saying we should increase taxes and spend more in the public sector - I 100% agree.

5 - I am voting for the vulnerable
This is the second election in which I am able to vote. I am too young to remember Thatcher, but I have been shocked and sickened by the politics of the past five years, in particular the denigration of the most vulnerable members of our society.

The bedroom tax, the changes to sickness and out of work benefits, the rhetoric about ‘shirkers’, the horrendous ‘assessments’ by Atos, the slashing of social care budgets, and the costly and disastrous reorganisation of the NHS: all of these policies have been ideologically driven by people who fundamentally doubt the sick, disabled and unemployed’s right to a decent quality of life.

Ultimately, I would personally gain from a Conservative victory. I am a young professional, getting married later this year and ideally would be looking to buy my first house within the next five years. I would benefit from help to buy, the married couple’s tax allowance, changes to the personal tax allowance, and the introduction of postgraduate student loans. But there is absolutely no way I could compromise my morals to benefit myself - placing myself at a further advantage to further destroy the lives of those who actually need governmental support is morally wrong and the thought of it sickens me.

So I will be voting for Labour. They are nowhere near as progressive as I would like - if I were Scottish or Welsh I would vote for the SNP or Plaid Cymru (and I’m a big fan of both Nicola Sturgeon and Leanne Wood), but when it comes down to it, a vote for the Greens means taking away votes from Labour in key constituencies and therefore increases the likelihood of a Conservative-led coalition. Last election the Lib Dems were the protest vote I chose, but they betrayed everything I believed they stood for and have done nothing but facilitate this government. I completely understand why people will vote Green as a protest vote but fundamentally, people are dying because of this government. Now is not the time for a protest vote.

To see the other reasons and read the full article please click here