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Attention West London climate twitter! In a niche thread which nobody asked for and which is guaranteed to please absolutely no-one, I am going to tell you how to vote for the climate tomorrow in the #LondonMayoralElection
Everybody else, as you were
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Everybody else, as you were
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First, some caveats:
- these are my personal views and do NOT reflect the views of any of my employers or groups with whom I am affiliated
- I will brook no arguments and will not be engaging with those who wish to quibble. You are free to take my excellent advice, or not
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- these are my personal views and do NOT reflect the views of any of my employers or groups with whom I am affiliated
- I will brook no arguments and will not be engaging with those who wish to quibble. You are free to take my excellent advice, or not
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You get THREE ballot papers in this election, a pink one for the London Mayor, a yellow one for your constiuency London Assembly Member and an orange one for the London-wide Assembly candidates. Each vote works slightly differently
https://www.londonelects.org.uk/im-voter/how-complete-your-ballot-papers
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https://www.londonelects.org.uk/im-voter/how-complete-your-ballot-papers
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The Mayoral ballot - the pink one - gives you TWO votes - your first preference, and your second preference for Mayor.
The most important thing with this one is to NOT give Shaun Bailey either of these votes
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The most important thing with this one is to NOT give Shaun Bailey either of these votes
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Donât try and tell me green Tories donât exist. They do. Iâve met some. Shaun Bailey is not one of them. His manifesto pledges (sometimes for things the Mayor has no powers to deliver) read like a letter to Father Christmas from the Association of British Drivers
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Sadiq Khan will win. This is a good thing. He has been and is, relatively speaking, excellent on climate and environment in general. Yay! Has he been perfect? No. In particular, Sadiq supports a massive road building project in London - the @SilvertownTn
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Basically everybody, including lots of Labour political colleagues, has told him it should be rethunk. Why does Sadiq still support it? Nobody seems to know. It is very perplexing. (Shaun Bailey also supports Silvertown).
7/ https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2021/may/05/scrap-thames-tunnel-or-lose-our-support-activists-tell-sadiq-khan?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other
7/ https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2021/may/05/scrap-thames-tunnel-or-lose-our-support-activists-tell-sadiq-khan?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other
For this reason, climate voters should NOT give Khan our first preference votes. Contrary to this misleading & unedifying claim, you do not need to worry that this could inadvertently lead to Shaun Bailey becoming Mayor - SO LONG AS you DO give Sadiq your SECOND preference vote
8 https://twitter.com/labourlist/status/1386715395449557004
8 https://twitter.com/labourlist/status/1386715395449557004
You should give your FIRST preference vote to Sian Berry of the Green Party. She is a very high quality climate candidate. You can read her manifesto here: https://www.sianberry.london/manifesto/our-manifesto-a-new-start-for-london/ Giving Sian/Green your first preference sends a very clear political signal about your priorities
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If you donât like the Greens for whatever reason, other candidates of smaller parties (like Luisa Porritt of the Lib Demâs) also have strong climate policies, and donât support Silvertown Tunnel. https://www.luisa4london.co.uk/porritt_silvertown_tunnel_makes_mockery_of_khan_s_green_credentials
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It is also very important for the climate that Count Binface gets more first preference votes than Laurence Fox in this contest. Donât ask me why, itâs obvious. So it is also OK by the climate - encouraged, even - to cast your first preference vote for Count Binface
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The way the Mayoral voting system works means that every first preference vote is handed out, then everyone but the two candidates with the most votes gets knocked out. Any second preference votes for these two are then added to determine the winner
11/ https://public.flourish.studio/visualisation/1405063/?utm_source=showcase&utm_campaign=visualisation/1405063
11/ https://public.flourish.studio/visualisation/1405063/?utm_source=showcase&utm_campaign=visualisation/1405063
There is *no point* casting your second preference vote for a smaller party: this vote will be never be counted. You must vote for different candidates with your first and second preference votes.
12/ https://www.theguardian.com/politics/ng-interactive/2016/may/04/london-mayoral-election-how-to-make-the-most-of-your-second-vote?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other
12/ https://www.theguardian.com/politics/ng-interactive/2016/may/04/london-mayoral-election-how-to-make-the-most-of-your-second-vote?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other
DO NOT FORGET TO GIVE SADIQ KHAN YOUR SECOND PREFERENCE VOTE
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But WAIT
You still have TWO MORE VOTES to cast in this election - for candidates who want to represent you on the London Assembly.
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You still have TWO MORE VOTES to cast in this election - for candidates who want to represent you on the London Assembly.
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Your CONSTITUENCY ballot is the YELLOW one. These votes are counted under First Past the Post, and in the West Central Constituency, where I live, our representative for the past 5 years has been low grade Jacob Rees-Mogg knockoff Tony Devenish
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Tony Devenish is a self-appointed brigadier in the self-styled war on motorists, on behalf of the motorists
16/ https://www.mylondon.news/news/west-london-news/tory-politician-defends-residents-londons-20372990
16/ https://www.mylondon.news/news/west-london-news/tory-politician-defends-residents-londons-20372990
Tony boasts about having orchestrated the lobby to get the Kensington High Street cycle lane scrapped after a few weeks
17/ https://www.standard.co.uk/news/transport/kensington-cycle-lane-axed-refund-government-cash-b115087.html
17/ https://www.standard.co.uk/news/transport/kensington-cycle-lane-axed-refund-government-cash-b115087.html
Tony has been a DISASTER for the climate, and the West Central London constituency *desperately* needs to get shot of him at this election. Only the Labour candidate can beat Tony.
This is why you must cast your constituency vote for Rita Begum of the Labour Party
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This is why you must cast your constituency vote for Rita Begum of the Labour Party
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Donât know much about her but Rita seems pretty great
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Your final ballot - the orange one - is for London-wide candidates. They are elected from a list via proportional representation, so every vote counts.
The climate vote here is for the Green Party
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The climate vote here is for the Green Party
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Assembly Members are there to scrutinise the Mayorâs work. The London Assembly has had two Green Members for years and they do a very good job of providing constructive opposition to Sadiq Khan and raising Mayoral ambition on climate. https://www.electoral-reform.org.uk/local-one-party-states-are-a-gift-for-cronies-and-lobbyists/
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An added bonus here is that your London-wide vote should also elect Zack Polanski - an excellent climate candidate who remember, you should NOT vote for in the West Central London constituency vote
21/ https://london.greenparty.org.uk/election-candidates/
21/ https://london.greenparty.org.uk/election-candidates/
As promised at the top of this thread, nobody with strong party affiliations of any hue will like my advice. But it is objectively good advice for anyone wanting to prioritise action on climate change in the London Mayoral election. Happy voting, West London climate twitter!
ENDS
ENDS
