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At the coming election I will be voting the same way that I always have – against the Tories. Why? Because they exploit the fears and incite the prejudices of the narrow-minded. Because they affect to take the moral high ground while dragging the debate down into the sewers. Because they will reward the powerful while punishing the poor. Because they follow the agenda set by the Daily Mail. Because, if Labour lose the election, the Tories will win.
Until the last general election, the Conservative Party held all of the seats in Dorset and had done so for years. Tactical vote swapping by progressive voters in 2001 helped to deliver victory to the Labour candidate in South Dorset and to the Lib Dem candidate in Mid-Dorset & North Poole. For the first time since the sixties, the blue stranglehold on the county was broken. The voice of those who oppose the Conservative Party was heard at last in Dorset. However, both South Dorset and Mid-Dorset were won with the slimmest of majorities and are highly vulnerable to a Tory resurgence. The aim of this campaign is to hold on to our gains and to capture West Dorset from the Tories by ousting Oliver Letwin, the sitting Conservative MP. In order to achieve this, it will be necessary for Labour and Lib Dem voters to work together across all three constituencies to ensure that, whatever differences we may have, the Tories do not prosper from our disagreements. Clearly, progressive voters face hard choices in the coming election. The invasion of Iraq has severely undermined the centre/left consensus that helped to defeat two sitting Conservative MPs last time. However, the election of a government led by Michael Howard is not the solution to that particular problem. Handing Dorset back to the Tories will not help the people of Basra. In the short term, if Labour lose the election, the result will be a Conservative government. The Liberal Democrats cannot yet win office. However, this election could see the Lib Dem’s challenge the Tories for the right to be the official opposition. The recent successes of the UK Independence Party threaten to seriously undermine the Tory vote across the country. In 2001, tactical voting helped to keep Tory gains down to one solitary seat. This time, we could actually see them losing seats overall, while the Lib Dems, helped by tactical Labour voters all over Britain, make significant gains. If the Lib Dems emerge from this election with enough momentum to become the official opposition, a Labour administration would be forced to tack to left of centre in order to deal with the perceived threat. The Lib Dems have already been able to influence Labour policy in this manner in the Scottish Parliament. However, for this scenario to unfold, it is crucial that the Tories are defeated in our target seats. If the Conservatives cannot defend their Shadow Chancellor in West Dorset; if they cannot win back traditional Conservative seats like Mid- Dorset; if they can’t even win the most marginal Labour constituency in the country, South Dorset - then the chances are they will be finished as a political force for the foreseeable future. And that is what we want to see on the morning after the election – not a government led by Michael Howard. Labour voters in West Dorset, you can make headlines on May 6 by helping the Lib Dems defeat Tory Shadow Chancellor Oliver Letwin. We ask you to consider using your vote tactically in support of the Lib Dem candidate Justine McGuinness. Labour voters in Mid-Dorset and North Poole, you can keep the Tories on the floor by helping the Lib Dems hold on to this seat. We ask you to consider using your vote tactically in support of the sitting Lib Dem MP Annette Brooke. Lib Dem voters in South Dorset, you could stop the Tories from making any gains and make a significant contribution towards helping the Lib Dem Party emerge from this election with sufficient momentum to become the official opposition. We ask you to consider using your vote tactically in support of the sitting Labour MP Jim Knight. All of these seats are highly marginal – a small number of people voting tactically can make a huge difference. In an age where cynicism and abstention are the easy options, we aim to show that not only is it worth voting, but if you use your vote wisely, then both Labour and Lib Dem voters can achieve positive progress at the Tories' expense. Billy Bragg
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LIB DEM VOTERS We believe that Lib Dem voters in Labour/Tory marginals hold the key to this election. If the Lib Dem Party fulfils its own expectations and wins 80+ seats, that will make no difference if the Tories win 250. Cynics will again claim that a Lib Dem vote is a wasted vote. However, if Lib Dem voters in Labour/Tory marginals can be persuaded to vote Labour in exchange for tactical support in Lib Dem/Tory contests, then the Conservative presence in parliament could be significantly reduced, giving the Liberal Democrats the momentum to become the Official Opposition. We here at Votedorset realise that this is a big ask, given the Lib Dems principled opposition to the war but we feel that becoming the Official Opposition would be a fair reward for their stance. To help achieve this, and in recognition of their importance in the coming contest, we are offering Lib Dem voters a special two-for-one offer – two Lib Dem MPs for the price of one Labour MP. Here’s how: Using this website, Lib Dem voters in South Dorset who are willing to vote tactically for the Labour Party can find ‘voter valentines’ - Labour voters who are willing to reciprocate by voting for the Lib Dem Party in the two neighbouring constituencies of West Dorset and Mid-Dorset and North Poole. The more people who sign up, the more likely we are to keep the Tories out of our corner of Dorset – an area they have always considered to be their own. Register for our bulletin board now and find your ‘voter valentine’. For those of you who are not in our target seats, we invite you to join the discussions in our general political discussion forum. This site is owned and paid for by the singer-songwriter and political activist Billy Bragg. It is not affiliated with or funded by any political party. |
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