Following Your Conscience

It's Election Day. There are so many of us torn between tactical voting and following our hearts. In my day to day life, I follow my heart. Not in ignorance, but after a great deal of research. And that's why today I will be voting after my own heart.

I want the Tories out, believe me, but not at the expense of my conscience. A tactical vote may well ensure a change of government, but every time we ignore that little voice in our heads, it becomes harder to acknowledge it the next time. Every time we vote Labour to get the Conservatives out, or Conservative to get Labour out, we make it more difficult to vote for the policies we believe in the next time. 

A vote for the party I believe in may well seem ineffective this time around. But the more people who follow their hearts this time, the greater the numbers voting for someone other than Labour or Conservative. 

It's not pointless to vote the way your conscience points. Even if that means your party don't win this time, next time more people will be more likely to vote that way because they've seen the numbers grow. And if the Tories stay in for another 5 years, they will be in the great minority, and just perhaps those "blue through and through" never-read-a-scholarly-article voters might start to see them for who they truly are.