Your say / Politics
‘Tactical voting is hindering democracy and it needs to stop’
Like Nick Sturge, who shared his opinion on the upcoming West of England mayor elections recently, I have been a Labour voter all my life.
My background is proudly working class; my grandmother was a Labour councillor and I have always sought to vote for the party who I believed would support those who need it the most.
Recently, however, several significant milestones happened in relatively quick succession to change my perspective.
In 2021, I gave birth to my son. In 2024, and continuing with force in 2025, Keir Starmer’s Labour government chose, repeatedly, to prioritise the security and prosperity of the wealthiest in society at the expense of the poorest and most vulnerable.
I agree wholeheartedly with Sturge, that “political leadership is dependent on the point in time”, and as someone who works in scientific communication it is clear to me that the point in time in which we find ourselves is one where alarm bells are ringing at every door.
As a parent, I am living with the reality that my son’s future hangs in the balance; that climate, economic and societal collapse are scientific probabilities, not possibilities, if we do not act urgently to change course.
Given the volatile times in which we are living, I was shocked to read that only one third of constituents within the WECA area plan to vote.
I understand the disillusionment with the system, especially when change has been promised for so long and fallen so far short of delivery for many.
I also understand, as someone who until recent only voted in general elections, the sentiment that local elections don’t make a difference, but I’m now learning how misguided that sentiment is.
For clarity, the WECA mayor will oversee a £380m budget in 2025/2026.
This election is critically important for the region, and I suspect that is why the deputy prime minister herself visited Bristol yesterday in support of the Labour candidate Helen Godwin.
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I’ve been speaking with friends recently, also parents, and they share a feeling that consumed me in the lead up to the 2024 general election: they want to vote with their values, but are terrified that another party will get in if they split the vote.
The communications campaigns of major parties clearly play an enormous role in this, and the higher the campaign budget the more persuasive the behavioural nudges, whether they are based on fact or not.
Throughout my voting life, I have been bombarded by campaigns that claim a particular party are the only ones who can keep the opposition out.
The data used in these campaigns is often outdated and sometimes intentionally misinterpreted to sow unease.
I recently saw my local MP share a post on social media stating that Labour “are the only party who can beat the Conservatives in the West of England” with a graph showing data from 2021, as though absolutely nothing had changed in terms of public perception since then.
Frankly, as a communications professional, a parent and a human being, I’m sick of it.
Being guilt-tripped into choosing the ‘least-worst’ option is not something I’m prepared to go along with any more, and neither are the friends I’ve spoken to. I’m voting in line with my values.
The good news is that if your values include the protection of our environment, empowerment of our communities, and upskilling and investment for environmentally sustainable economic growth, current outcome predictors suggest a Green vote for Mary Page may be what tips it.
Like most candidates, she has a plan for the buses too, and she’s already checked the financial and logistical viability of her Nature, Nurture and Needs Plan. I know, because she told me.
🟢 Meet Mary Page, Green Party candidate for the West Of England Mayor.
Mary will champion all our communities in the West of England with a Nature, Nurture and Needs plan, shifting the balance of power back into your hands.@TheGreenParty @Mary4WECAmayor pic.twitter.com/7TMZuyYLH4
— Bristol Green Party (@bristolgreen) March 31, 2025
In his opinion piece for Bristol24/7, Sturge suggested, having spoken with all candidates except the independent, that “only one candidate, Helen Godwin… has the experience in business, in politics and in life” to serve as mayor.
I disagree. To have reached candidacy-level for this critical election, all candidates have proved themselves more than capable of the job function.
What sets them apart is their values, and the values of the party they represent, and there exists a gulf.
I joined the Green Party in October 2024 when it became clear that Labour’s promised change was not coming or was going to come at the cost of my son’s hope for a sustainable future.
With each news headline detailing another failing of democracy I become more resolute – human and democratic rights stripped away; billionaires protected while thousands are plunged into poverty; a complete disregard for public concern over the horrors of our time, including the ongoing genocide in Gaza – I will not vote for this in any form, local or national.
I will protest this failing of working people in our society by not only voting for the only candidate and party committed to righting the wrongs but by bolstering the tiny local campaign team, not funded by millionaires, and bringing my son along to push leaflets into letterboxes too.
My aim? To convince those who are torn between tactical and values-driven voting, and those who are too despondent to consider voting at all, that change is made by the consistent push for the ideal choice.
The choice that gives us a plan for the future that we can all believe in, not just the least-worst option. We deserve better.
This is an opinion piece by Amy Walter who lives in South Gloucestershire; is a marketing and communications manager working in scientific publication; and a mum
Main photo: Martin Booth
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