Election 2024: What is tactical voting and how could it impact the outcome?

With just over a week left until the general election, debate has emerged over whether tactical voting is the best use of an individual’s ballot.

Some campaign groups have urged the public to use their vote to reduce the Conservatives to as few seats as possible, while others have dismissed the voting method as bizarre.

Here’s what you need to know about tactical voting and how it could affect the election results.

What is tactical voting?

Voting tactically is when you make your decision on who to vote for while keeping in mind what other voters are likely to do – in order to increase your chances of being happy with the outcome.

For example, you might dislike candidate A, and prefer candidate B. However, in your area, candidate B is unlikely to win.

But, you could choose to vote for candidate C, in the hopes that they’ll secure enough votes to defeat candidate A. This increases the chances of you being happy with the outcome.

Are there issues with tactical voting?

Some people have criticised this method, including the Electoral Reform society who have called it “bizarre”.

They warn tactical voting can encourage people to back candidates or parties whose policies they may not agree with – and force voters to second guess who might win or do well.

Others think it perpetuates cynicism, as it can lead voters to prioritise who they want to prevent winning over who they want to win.

They say that a more proportional system would allow voters to use their hearts, not their heads, when it comes to making a decision.

How could it affect the election results?

A major element of this election has been the public’s increasing dissatisfaction with the Conservative government, which has been in power for 14 years.

The UK’s first past the post system means that most constituencies are likely to elect either a Labour or Conservative MP to the House of Commons.

But Labour are still unlikely to win in some areas which traditionally vote Tory, despite growing frustration with the party.

Campaign groups Best for Britain and Stop the Tories are urging voters to pick the parties with the best chance of defeating conservative candidates in their area.

And how do these campaigns work?

Stop the Tories allows voters to search for tactical voting candidates according to their postcode, while Best for Britain has drawn up a list of 451 ‘tactical voting’ seats.

The group recommends that the public vote Labour in 370 of these, while they advocate for the Liberal Democrats in 69, and some smaller parties in others.

Voters on the right, however, could be more likely to vote Reform UK over the Conservatives. This could even be as a form of protest vote.

Polling analysis by Best for Britain found that at least a third of voters in 558 constituencies would vote tactically against the government.

40 per cent of voters in Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s constituency have said they would vote tactically to remove the Conservatives.

With Felix Armstrong