Who can you vote for now? (From St Albans & Harpenden Review)

Who can you vote for now?

9:36pm Sunday 17th May 2009 in

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The MPs' expenses debacle has clearly undermined the public's faith in the political process and in politicians.

With elections to the European Parliament (as well as to County Councils) coming up on June 4th many people may be wondering whether it's worth bothering to vote at all. The problem is, that even with a low turnout, the same parties could get re-elected.

So to people who cannot bear the thought of voting Labour, Conservative or Lib-Dem: I would urge them to think about voting Green. The Green Party is not tarnished by the MPs expenses scandal, and our existing Green Party MEPs have a very good reputation of hard work on environmental and social issues.

Because the European elections use a form of proportional representation, if 10% or more of voters back the Greens, this region will get its first Green MEP, Rupert Read. He will replace a Tory, Labour or Lib Dem MEP - or perhaps replace a UKIP MEP - a party that itself has had its fair share of scandals and many of whose MEPs have a poor record over the last 5 years.

Greens are also making gains year on year in this region on local councils. The "wasted vote" argument no longer holds.

So there is a real alternative to the other parties and a good reason to vote on June 4th.