Tactical voting is wrong

I gather the LibDems are circulating “hand-written” letters from Tavish Scott asking Labour and Tory voters to vote LibDem to keep out the SNP.

I think tactical voting is all wrong. We should vote to make the change we want, not to prevent change we don’t want.

If you want SNP, Labour, or (dare I say it) Conservatives then that’s the way you should vote. Then the end result is a true representation of the will of the people.

I want to build up the Labour vote in Shetland again. I believe Labour are the party who can do most to address the problems Scotland faces after nine years of SNP rule – the attainment gap in our classrooms, the pressures on our NHS, the housing crisis.

They have a fair scheme of taxation to support their plans, which will raise £1.2 billion for investment in public services (about four times as much as the SNP will raise).

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I also believe that Labour is the party that can do most to thwart the Tories in Westminster, and I personally hope it will be under Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership.

Finally, I think that I have the energy, enthusiasm, and life experience to do a good job representing Shetland in the Scottish Parliament.

So vote for who you want on 5 May (but remember, responsibility doesn’t end at the ballot box…)

Robina Barton
Shetland Labour Candidate