FAQs

1. What is tactical voting?

Tactical voting means voting for a party which isn’t your first choice. It is a way of using your vote strategically, so that your least-preferred party is prevented from winning.

For example, your preferred party may be Labour, but the Liberal Democrats may have a better chance of beating your least-preferred party (the Conservatives), so you vote Lib Dem.

2. How do I vote tactically in my area?

Tactical voting tools like GetVoting.org will provide the most up-to-date information on how to vote tactically in your area for the general election. It’s important to sign up to get alerts for GetVoting.org, as the final recommendations will only be released near polling day, to ensure they are based on the most recent data and insight.

3. Are tactical voting sites accurate?

At the last election in 2019, Best for Britain used MRP (multi-level regression with poststratification) data to make tactical voting recommendations on GetVoting.org. For that election the accuracy of the data and resulting predictions were unparalleled.

The last election was Brexit-driven. Best for Britain recommended the highest-placed Remain candidate in 97 per cent of constituencies where we made a recommendation.

Other tactical voting sites will be available. While we cannot vouch for the accuracy of their methodology, we do encourage people to use multiple sources of information before deciding how to cast their vote.

4. What is MRP?

MRP is a way of taking a normal poll and using additional data and statistical modelling to get breakdowns of the results which accurately show the opinions of particular groups of people, for example it can take a nationally-representative poll and model the results for individual constituencies.

The MRP polling method has two main elements. The first is to use a survey to build a multi-level regression model that predicts opinion (or any quantity of interest) from certain variables, normally demographics. The second is to weight (post-stratify) your results by the relevant population frequency, to get population level (or constituency level) estimates. At the end of this process you get more accurate, more granular estimates of public opinion than traditional polling.

5. How do I know who I should vote for? Can I vote tactically where I live?

GetVoting.org will provide accurate tactical voting recommendations based on the most up-to-date information and polling ahead of the general election. To see the tactical vote recommendation for your area, you will need to simply input your constituency name or postcode.

6. Did tactical voting work last time?

In the 2019 general election, tactical voting played a significant part. The election was held on deeply ideological grounds, so those opposed to Brexit often strategically voted for parties that had the best chance of defeating Conservative or Leave-supporting candidates in their constituencies. 

According to the election day Ashcroft poll and analysis by our own data experts:

• 10 per cent of the electorate voted Labour even though another party was their first choice. This group would largely have been Remain voters who felt Labour were the best chance for a Final Say vote.
• 5 per cent of the electorate voted Lib Dem even though another party was their first choice. This group would largely have voted Labour in 2017.
• 7 per cent of the electorate voted Conservative even though another party was their first choice. Some will have preferred the Brexit Party but there will also have been quite a few who were Lib Dem leaning but very anti-Corbyn (e.g. people who voted Conservative in 2017, Remain in 2016, Lib Dem in the Euros).

7. Will tactical voting work this time?

In 2024, tactical voting will have an even bigger impact. More than 13 million voters would consider voting tactically to get rid of the government, and according to our latest poll, there are 187 marginal and ultra-marginal seats where tactical voting could make a big difference to the result. 

Best for Britain will be publishing tactical voting recommendations on GetVoting.org based on the most up-to-date polling, to give voters the most accurate picture of how to vote in their area.