Monday 20 April 2015

Five reasons to question the value of a (tactical) Labour vote in Reading East

Labour bar chart v1Our advice is to vote for what you believe in at the general election. Some people have told us though, that they are considering a tactical Labour vote. If this is you, you might want to think about these things:

1. Labour are saying only they can beat the Tories in Reading East. In 2010 they said the same but fell from second place to third place. https://electionleaflets.org/leaflets/5438/

2. Nationally Labour are NOT targeting Reading East. It is unlikely for a party to win somewhere that they are not targeting.

3. Nationally Labour are targeting Reading West (106 national targets in total, these are the seats they think are most winnable) and that is where the bulk of their resources are going. Full list of target seats here: http://labourlist.org/2013/01/labours-106-battleground-target-seats-for-2015/

4. After the 2010 general election Labour had 258 MPs. Recent polls are forecasting Labour winning around 282 seats (an increase of 24) indicating that they are not even going to win the 106 targets (the most winnable seats) let alone other constituencies such as Reading East.

5. Last time Labour finished in third place in Reading East. It is difficult to jump from third place to winning.

Our advice would be to vote for what you believe in, and you might just get it, or at least move things in that direction.

The Green Party has been working hard in Reading East to create a fairer, healthier and more affordable area. We are offering a radical progressive alternative to the business as usual of the old parties, policies that none of them offer (a living wage for all, a publicly owned NHS, massive investment in insulation and renewables). If you agree with these policies then vote for the Green Party, and why not get involved: http://reading.greenparty.org.uk/get-involved/

1 comment:

Unknown said...

I strongly urge all of your readers to ignore your advice and VOTE LABOUR TO GET A TORY OUT!

To set my stall out, I will be voting Green, in my safe-as-a-corrupt-bank constituency (up the road from you) - Maidenhead. Yes, I live in Tory hell, with Theresa May safely ensconced and immovable. No other party stands a chance of getting her out, so I will vote for my preference - Green.

Rob, as you know, Labour held the Reading East seat, from 1997, until 2005. If the Liberal vote collapses (highly likely, after the disastrous decision to go into coalition with the Tories) - LABOUR COULD GET THE TORY OUT. Much as I'd like you, the Green candidate, to get in, it's not going to happen.

If you urge your readers to vote anything other than Labour, you're encouraging them to keep a Tory in.

Why not point your committed Green-voting readers towards VoteSwap - they can then vote Labour in Reading East, knowing they can HELP GET A TORY OUT! Likewise, a Labour voter, in a safe Tory seat, can vote Green, on their behalf.