In one sense the answer is simple: me! But this post isn’t just about that, it is an exploration of how you can best use your vote.

Maintaining the Status Quo

If you are happy with how things are currently going in the country, then you probably already know how to vote. A vote for the conservatives is a vote for a continuation of how things are currently going.

Turning to Labour, my belief is that this is a more sensible immediate vote for those who want change, but as things currently stand a vote for Labour is a vote for continuing the current chaos, just maybe not right now. Labour want to continue:

• First Past The Post, a system which all-but guarantees that the Conservatives will eventually get back into power (NB, the Labour conference passed a motion to change this system of elections, but the leadership currently opposes it).
• Brexit, which has frankly been an unmitigated disaster, but Labour has indicated that they have no intention of rejoining the European Union, instead trying to make the most of Brexit.
• Current Tax Systems, which are fundamentally broken but subject to tweaking by both Conservatives and Labour whenever they are in power, but neither seems to have any appetite for widespread tax reform that is necessary for progression as a society.

In short, I believe the choice between Conservative and Labour is a false choice, in that both options will eventually lead to another Conservative government and neither is going to result in a fairer electoral system or the necessary tax reforms to make society fairer.

Voting Your Conscience

Moving beyond the two main parties in the UK (and ignoring the region-specific parties where there are genuine opportunities for voters to gain decent representation), there are a few options to choose from, mostly parties with very specific aims (e.g. Greens, Reform, etc). The worry here is that the votes could very easily be wasted, which gives a huge advantage to the largest parties, who then get all the power if they are able to win, with all other votes going wholly unrepresented.

It therefore makes sense to vote for the largest party which best meets your personal ethical position and also advocates for electoral reform to allow minority views to be represented at Westminster. In my case, this is the LiberalDemocrats – we do not necessarily agree on everything, especially the details, but the overall goals of fairness and equality resonate with me and they support electoral reform, tax reform and ultimately undoing Brexit. Or, to summarise, who should you vote for? Me, as I said at the start of this post!

In case you want more, here are some testimonials:

Just as an addendum, I am aware that it should probably be “Whom To Vote For” rather than “Who”, but that feels really pretentious somehow, and since I am writing this from North America, it feels like a more informal style of writing is warranted.