07/06/2026
๐ง๐๐๐ง๐๐๐๐ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ง๐๐ก๐? ๐๐ฒ๐'๐ ๐ฏ๐๐๐ ๐ฎ ๐บ๐๐๐ต!
I'd like to share with you the truth about tactical voting. I'm keeping this non party political, just telling a true story here. Not heresay, I had first hand evidence at the time. Another long post (sorry), but if you're not interested then feel free to scroll on by!
๐๐ณ ๐๐ผ๐ ๐ต๐ฎ๐๐ฒ ๐ฎ ๐ณ๐ฎ๐๐ผ๐๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ๐ถ๐ฑ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฒ๐น๐ฒ๐ฐ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป (๐ผ๐ฟ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ ๐ณ๐๐๐๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ฒ๐น๐ฒ๐ฐ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป), ๐ฝ๐น๐ฒ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐ง๐๐๐ , ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฝ๐น๐ฒ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ข๐ก'๐ง ๐๐ฟ๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ผ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ฎ๐ฐ๐๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐น๐น๐ - ๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒ'๐ ๐๐ต๐...
I've heard that there are people who would normally vote for X and they are voting this time for Y to keep Z out (substitute ANY parties for X,Y and Z, this is not targeting any particular party, but it is being spoken about around the area). Be very careful what you wish for. Here is what happened in the county council elections in Hemel in 2009 (my first ever election, but not my seat), with the relevant screenshots from Wikipedia to demonstrate...
In 2005, as you can see, St Paul's Division (Highfield and Adeyfield West), was won by Labour, with a very strong majority. However, in 2009, it was won by the Liberal Democrats with a majority of just 37.
It was my first venture into politics and it's commonly known that at that election I stood as a Conservative in what was believed to be an 'unwinnable' seat (which I won with a majority of 1013). I got to know the very young Conservative candidate (I think he was only 19 at the time), Dan Wood, who canvassed every day of the week for 5 months before the election. He'd also been told the seat was unwinnable, based on the 2005 numbers, but with a week to go it was looking so close Dan believed he could win.
Canvassing - for anyone who doesn't know - has one purpose, and that is to find out where your voters are. The parties make a note of what they've been told on the doorstep so they can use that information as they see fit.
Two days before the election date the Lib Dems wrote a personalised letter to every person that had told them on the doorstep they were voting Tory, asking them to 'lend them their vote' to get Labour out, telling the recipients that the 'Conservatives can't win here'. I saw the letter myself (and the Lib Dems at the time confirmed they had sent it). Over the following months I spoke to probably 20 people from that area who had received the letter, and actually did what was suggested, because people believe what they are told (and possibly what the Lib Dems believed at the time, although looking at the result their canvassing was skew if that was the case!).
Now, back in those days I probably only knew 30 or so peopke who lived in St Pauls area, so if 20 of them told me that, how many of the thousands more voters had been persuaded to do the same. More to the point, if the 20 people (must have been Tory or wouldn't have had the letter) who told me they had 'loaned their vote' to Lib Dems had stuck with who they had planned to vote for, they would have had their first choice candidate, as it only needed 19 people to have voted the other way to make a difference!
I'm not saying that the result was just or unjust, I have since worked with Ron for many, many years and have always respected him, just that this is how it happened.
๐๐ค๐ง ๐๐ก๐๐ง๐๐ฉ๐ฎ, ๐ฉ๐๐๐จ ๐๐จ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ซ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ ๐๐ค ๐๐ฉ ๐ผ๐๐ ๐ฅ๐ค๐ก๐๐ฉ๐๐๐๐ก ๐ฅ๐๐ง๐ฉ๐ฎ, ๐ ๐๐ช๐จ๐ฉ ๐ฌ๐๐ฃ๐ฉ ๐๐ซ๐๐ง๐ฎ๐ค๐ฃ๐ ๐ฉ๐ค ๐ง๐๐๐ก๐๐จ๐ ๐ฉ๐๐๐ฉ ๐ฉ๐๐๐จ๐ ๐๐ง๐ ๐ฃ๐ค๐ง๐ข๐๐ก ๐ฉ๐๐๐ฉ๐๐๐จ, ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐ค๐ฃ๐ก๐ฎ ๐ฌ๐๐ฎ ๐ฉ๐ค ๐๐ ๐ฉ๐ง๐ช๐ ๐ฉ๐ค ๐ฎ๐ค๐ช๐ง๐จ๐๐ก๐ ๐๐จ ๐ฉ๐ค ๐ซ๐ค๐ฉ๐ ๐๐ค๐ง ๐ฌ๐๐ค ๐ฎ๐ค๐ช ๐ฉ๐๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ฌ๐๐ก๐ก ๐๐ ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐๐๐จ๐ฉ ๐๐ค๐ช๐ฃ๐๐๐ก๐ก๐ค๐ง ๐๐ค๐ง ๐ฉ๐๐๐จ ๐ฅ๐๐ง๐ฉ ๐ค๐ ๐๐๐ข๐๐ก.
