Today is the day that the nation is probably going to vote for another Conservative government that has ruined education for many, has run down the NHS, has cut police numbers and has increased in work poverty.
Needless to say, I am not happy with this. The sad thing is that people are voting for a government that has done this, and is to vote for a Prime Minister who has been sacked more than once for lying and is not trusted by those who were political allies because he lied to them! My wife cannot understand why people would vote Conservative considering what they have done to the nation, but many are. And sadly, many have decided not to vote Labour due to Jeremy Corbyn, my wife being one, even though she ended up more left wing than me when it came to comparing the policies of different parties in this election. I have friends who voted for him when it came to the Labour leadership election who have been driven out of Labour, being called Blairites (even though I am more of one than they are). I also have other friends who used to vote Labour, but who feel that cannot due to the direction that the party has now taken. And I have friends who are natural Conservative voters who have voted Labour in the past who would never vote for Corbyn.
I do think that Corbyn has been great at inspiring young people to vote, I do admire his push for kinder gentler politics and at heart, I think that he is an honest man who despises racism and injustice. But elections are won by getting people who normally vote for other parties to change. Blair did this in 1997, 2001, and 2005 and while many in Labour despise him, they forget what he did for our nation. Sadly, Corbyn does not appear to have done this in parliament, though his performance was better than Blair in 2005. And yes, part of this is due to the numerous smears that he has faced, by Labour overcame this in 1997, 2001 and 2005. It is a shame that the lessons that had been learned then have been forgotten now.
All I can do is hope that Colchester, where I live, gets rid of Will Quince. As an MP, despite blocking me on Twitter (for asking him if he voted for police cuts), he has been kind enough to respond to the letters that I have sent him. But ultimately, he is a Tory and it would be great if Colchester could get rid of him. My fear is that with an increased majority in the last election, this will not be possible, and conflicting messages have been sent about tactical voting.
So in the election today, I am not going to vote tactially, like I have done in the past. I am not going to vote on personality (I have never done this in the past), but I am going to vote on policies. And pray that the Conservatives are not returned into office, in Colchester and in Number 10.