[Margaret Pilkington]

And thinking about, and denoting the 'also rans' would be quite time consuming.....well that is, if you did it properly.
I think many people give very little thought to where they put their cross.......they(in the main) just look at the colour of the political banner and that's it.

The fact that the Labour party has changed beyond all recognition since the days of true Socialist policy escapes many people.
The other political parties have also changed,but I would think, to a much lesser degree.
When I vote(and I don't always vote in National elections....if I don't find a party that has my core values at its heart then I cannot, in conscience, vote for any of them) I do consider seriously what my vote means.
My daughter tells me off,(isn't that a scary concept) and says that someone has to govern the country and, that by wasting my vote I am allowing others to dictate the way governing should go.
In local elections I operate in a different way......my vote goes to the person who can do the best job for the area. Party politics has no place in local government.

In local elections voting against the party that is governing nationally seems to me to be a stupid idea......OK it might send a message to the MP's in Westminster, but do they really listen, or for that matter care? Their tenure is secure until the next General election,they think we are all dummies anyway and will have forgotten it all by then.