A vote for the Greens is a wasted vote, says Clegg

I find it ironic that Nick Clegg, writing in today’s Independent on Sunday (20 September), claims that a vote for the Green Party is a wasted vote. While it’s true that the Greens are on the relative fringes of the political spectrum, the wasted vote argument is one that’s often leveled at Clegg’s own party by both the Tories and Labour quite convincingly to the LibDems’s detriment. Perhaps if potential LibDem voters heeded the calls of their main opponents then the Liberals would be as small as the Greens?

No vote is a wasted vote as long as it’s cast with conviction, in clear conscience. Every political movement must start from somewhere and the Greens, by nature of their single issue politics, will never be as significant as the three main rivals. But I would contend that Green supporters aren’t merely registering a protest vote when they register a ballot for the party but are voting wholly in line with their beliefs and unique interests. The same couldn’t be said of sometime LibDem voters whose sole purpose is to give the government or the main opposition a bloody nose.

If Clegg wants to form an alliance with the Greens then he should take that up with his party. Otherwise, voters will vote for whatever party they believe will put their primary interests first.