When you take the Vote for Policies survey you’ll most likely choose policies from more than one party (here’s the data). So how do you decide which party to vote for? And can they even deliver on their promises?
In the above example, two parties have been chosen an equal amount of times, plus a third party was preferred but on fewer issues. So what do you do?
Even if you have a party way out in front, does that guarantee they get your vote?
Ultimately there is no substitute for reading the manifestos in full (gulp!), but if that idea fills you with dread there are a few other options to try first to help you on your decision-making journey…
Focus on the issues you care about most
Not all issues are equal in everyone’s eyes. You might care far more about Education than anything else, so that might influence which party you choose. It might help you split the difference between two parties with an equal score, or it could mean the party you agree with least gets your vote because you agree on the issue that matters most. It’s purely for you to decide. Whoever you choose, don’t forget you are voting for all of their policies when you vote, not just the policies you like. So check to make sure you know what the other policies are and that you are comfortable with them. You can do this via the Policies Browser (in your results page).
See how you match on other issues…
If you didn’t compare policies across all of the issues, take the survey again for those issues you left out. This will show you if you agree with the same party on other issues too – or if you have nothing else in common!
(please note, you can only access results from the most recent survey you took, so save the link and/or take a screenshot)
Will they deliver these policies?
Will they deliver their promises? That’s really hard to predict, but we know that when governments know they will be properly held to account, they perform better. That’s why our priority is to make the next government fully accountable to their promises by bringing back our Manifesto Tracker. It will require some funding and very smart technology to make it sustainable, but we think we almost have the technology side covered. We’d love your help with the funding part.
Are they even deliverable?
This is an important question to ask. If you’re keen to understand how realistic the pledges are, there are two things we can recommend.
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See what the fact-checkers say
We recommend starting with Full Fact, who have checked some of the claims made in the 2024 election manifestos. -
Understand the context
The House of Commons Library is a fascinating and impartial library of research covering almost every topic you can think of. It’s the detail you need to make a truly informed decision.
Get a second opinion!
There are other useful websites out there that we recommend you try. There aren’t as many as there have been in previous elections, but we’ll keep updating this list as we get new recommendations.
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Vote Compass
Try this fantastic quiz-style survey that shows how your stances on the big issues of the day match with different political parties. It’s well worth a try. -
iSideWith
Another highly engaging quiz to find out which of the political parties you… ‘side with’. Really nicely put together and very informative.
Don’t forget to vote!
After all this, don’t forget to get out and make your voice heard! Find out all you need about voting in your constituency.
At Vote for Policies, our aim is to help more people to vote and to know what they are voting for. Whichever party you vote for, we hope 2024 is a positive election for you.