I have no idea whom I'm going to vote for in the next election.
What I would like is a party that prioritises the environment and more socialist policies in general. I'd like to kick the tories out but I'm not sure I really see much benefit in voting for Labour if they're going to act like tory-lite anyway.
I hate the idea of tactical voting (though I did it in the last election for Corbyn), and I'm not convinced of its necessity this time. The UK needs to do a 180 on so many topics, and another Nu-Labour (ie. Blair era) might improve some things a bit, but overall what worries me with Labour is that IMO they have the perception that they can either be true to traditional Labour values (ie. a type of socialism), or they can win elections by being tory-lite.
America has the same problem but in a far more extreme fashion. In America's situation I'd absolutely tactically vote for the Democrats. I'm wondering whether the UK's problem isn't as far from America's as I'd like to think. Perhaps I should just vote for Labour in the hope that a) they get elected and b) that improves the chances for left-wing politics in general.
While the notion of voting for the winning side would be satisfying on some personal level, I know I'm not going to be placing the deciding vote. I'm fine with the idea of just voting for the party that actually (and I cynically acknowledge the downside of this) says the things I want to hear.
Perhaps it's the more mature thing to try to put as much weight behind the least awful, most likely election winner as possible, ie. Labour? Some improvement is better than no improvement, right? Some improvements may lead to more improvements in the political landscape (though I think this will only really happen if the tories are relegated to third place or beyond)?
If only I was rich enough not to have to work or retired already, I think I'd be happy badgering my local MP etc as one of my hobbies.
Imo it comes down to your seat.
Safe labour, vote for whoever you want.
Any other seat, tactical vote for the most likely non Tory.
The polling for the Tories is so poor there is a non zero chance with a good amount of tactical voting that there can be an LD opposition. I firmly believe that we will see more progress with the LDs in opposition than we would with the Tories.
It will also totally change the dynamics of political shows and Question Time etc which may do more to shift public perception than even a tiny Tory opposition.