When you take the Vote for Policies survey you’ll most likely choose policies from more than one party, so how do you decide which party to vote for? Ultimately there is no substitute for reading the manifestos in full (gulp!), but if that idea fills you with dread, here are a few tips to help you on your decision-making journey…
- Focus on the issues you care about most
What sets your passion alight? Is it Health, or Education, or the Economy? If there is something that really matters to you, the party whose policies you chose for those issues could be worth closer inspection. In this case, use the Policies Browser (via your personal results page) to find out what the rest of their policies are. Whoever you give your vote to, it’s good to be comfortable with everything else they are promising as well. - Find out if you match on other issues too
If you didn’t compare policies across all of the issues, try taking the survey again for those issues you left out. This might show you if you agree with the same party on other issue too – or if you have nothing else in common! - Check the track record
Even if the policies are realistic and well costed, will the party deliver them? Knowing how much the the government has delivered is important (our Policy Tracker website provides this) but obviously that will only help if you are considering voting for that party. We recommend visiting They Work For You to find out how MPs from all parties have voted on different issues, and whether they tend to vote in line with their own party or not. - Get into the detail…
We’ve said this already, but in a perfect world everybody would read the manifestos (and want to!). That’s far from reality of course, but if you’re having trouble deciding – or if you want more detail about specific issues – it’s the only way to go! Sorry! Take a deep breath, and head to our 2019 manifestos page! - Get a second opinion!
There are other useful websites out there that we recommend you try. Because the 2019 election was called quickly, there aren’t as many as there have been in previous elections. We’ll keep updating this list as we get new recommendations.- Vote Savvy
An even better version of their GE2017 quiz – super simple, and now includes voting advice for your constituency. - iSideWith
An engaging quiz to find out which of the political parties you side with.
- Vote Savvy
Don’t forget to vote!
After all this, don’t forget to get out and make your voice heard! If you’re not sure where to vote, use this polling station finder.
At Vote for Policies our aim to help more people to vote, and to feel informed about what they are voting for. Whichever party you vote for, we hope 2019 is a positive election for you.