Tactical Voting

Lesson Objectives I will get the opportunity to analyse election results for evidence of potential tactical voting I will get the opportunity to express an informed view on why people might vote tactically in the next election

Tactical Voting On the next slide, you will see two results from the 2010 election As you look at them, think about the following: (copy down) What is fair about them? What is unfair about them? Why might Conservative voters in Stirling and Labour voters in Perth, think about voting a different party in 2015?

General Election 2010 Stirling ANNE MCGUIRE - Labour 19,558Elected BOB DALRYMPLE – Lib Dem11,204 ALISON LINDSAY – SNP 8,091 GRAHAM REED - Conservatives 6,797 Perth PETE WISHART - SNP 19,118Elected PETER LYBURN – Conservative 14,739 JAMIE GLACKIN - Labour 7,923 PETER BARRETT - Lib Dem’s 5,954

Tactical Voting What is tactical voting? It is where someone votes for the party who are most likely to defeat their fiercest rival when their own party has no chance of winning. It happens under our First Past the Post system as only one person can win, with votes for losing candidates not counting.

How many people vote tactically? Dr Stephen Fisher at Oxford University, believes the power of tactical voting should not be under- estimated. He estimated in 2010 up to 9% of voters voted tactically, influencing the results of about 45 seats in the process.

Tactical Voting Around 37% of people polled before the 2010 election said they would consider voting tactically. Peter Hain, a Labour minister, called for his voters to ‘vote intelligently’. The Conservatives tried to get Liberal Democrats to help them oust Ed Balls, a key member of the Labour government. ‘Operation Castration’ nearly worked, with Ed Balls winning by only 1,000 votes.

2015 The Tories are in second place in 38 of the Lib Dems' 57 seats Lib Dem support has dropped significantly in many areas around the country 1) Why should these facts worry Labour going into the 2015 election but hearten the Conservatives? 2) What do you think Labour supporters will need to seriously consider doing come the 2015 election?

2015 Why should these facts worry Labour going into the 2015 election but hearten the Conservatives? If the Conservative take some of these seats, it will put them in a strong position to win the next election, potentially with a majority What do you think Labour supporters will need to seriously consider doing come the 2015 election? If Labour is to prevent the Tories from decapitating scores of Lib Dems, it will need to consider whether to advise its supporters to cast tactical votes.

Conclusion Tactical voting has become more of an influence in recent elections with the rise of the Liberal Democrats However it is only really an influencing factor in elections that use a winner take all system