There is a certain logic to striking collaborative deals with other parties in first past the post elections where competing simply lets another party win. Indeed I have in the past organised such arrangements and both sides have benefitted from them. On this occasion I am really not convinced. My reasons are as follows:
1. These are not first past the post elections. They allocate seats in proportion according to the number of votes cast for each party. It is far from certain that tactical voting will increase the number of Remain candidates who win. Indeed it is entirely possible that it will actually cut the number of MEPs from Remain. 150,000 people voting for one party and 50,000 for another might deliver one MEP. 100,000 people voting for two different parties might deliver two MEPs.
2. The Green Party is not just a Remain party or even mainly a Remain Party. It is an organisation that came into existence because people felt that it was necessary for a separate political organisation to put concerns about the environment at the centre stage of its policy making not at the periphery. That need has increased with every passing year not reduced. If the Green Party did not exist now would be the time to invent it.
3. Elections are an opportunity to articulate a message. They also deliver a message from voters. If the Green Party wins a seat in every region of the country it will utterly transform the priority given to environmental policies by all the other parties and increase the urgency of action. If the Green Party is marginalised by tactical voting then the message policy makers will get is that voters aren't that bothered about environmental policies so why should they be.
4. If the Green Party gracefully stands aside in the MEP elections or its voters tactically switch away from it and endorse middle of the road parties how determined will those parties really be to tackle the environmental crisis we now face? Labour and the LibDem Councillors recently unanimously voted alongside Conservatives to open a new coal mine in Cumbria. All Remain parties are not the same.
5. Voters rarely like political parties striking deals. Backroom deals tend to increase cynicism. Behind the scenes political manoeuvring isn't a great way to deal with a deep concern amongst voters that politicians aren't being straight with them.
6. Telling people that the only thing that really matters right now is whether they vote remain or leave is a deeply flawed argument. We don't want to just get back to business as usual. Fundamental change is necessary in local, national and international decision making. Bland centre ground politics are not the best way to fight off a rise of the far right. We need a message of hope and of change and the Green Party offers exactly that. Why would we tell voters that we are much the same as lots of other parties when our core belief is that we need to do something very different and many voters are desperate to find a breath of fresh air?
7. It is of vital importance that the problems and concerns that led to Brexit such as austerity and regional neglect are tackled. The LibDems were part of the government that inflicted austerity on the poor in response to an economic meltdown caused by very wealthy bankers gambling with other people's money in de-regulated financial markets. Can they really be trusted to fix problems they helped to create? Anna Soubry from Change UK speaks wonderfully on Brexit but she believes austerity was a sound policy.
8. If you vote for what your second or third best choice then the best you can hope for is second best government. In 2010 I voted for the Liberal Democrats to keep the Conservatives out. The result was the coalition government which eventually paved the way for Cameron to win the 2015 election and to set up a referendum in order to deal with splits in his own party. Once bitten - twice shy!
9. The websites that are telling people which way to vote in each region are not unbiased. Nor are they scientific. One is recommending people in the South West to vote LibDem not Green. The South West has been represented by an excellent Green MEP Molly Scott Cato who has a strong personal loyalty. The Greens have 3 MEPs currently nationally and the Lib Dems only one.
10. Many Remain voters have given their loyalty previously to the Labour party. Often because they mistakenly trusted Corbyn to keep us in the EU. Asking a previously Labour voter to ensure they vote for a party that is committed to Remain will only work if they can trust that party on other issues. Asking previously loyal Labour voters to vote instead for the Green Party is a lot more likely to produce a positive result than asking them to vote for the party of tuition fee rises and partnering Cameron on austerity. The Green Party is therefore the most likely Remain Party to win new votes and new seats.
11. The UK, Europe and the world now needs a strong Green Party like never before. Climate chaos and environmental breakdown are only going to get worse. The Green Party are currently polling at around 20% in Germany and could easily lead the next coalition government there. MEP elections are the only chance most voters in the UK get to express a political choice in a proportional representation election. A strong block of UK Green MEPs can work together with colleagues from across Europe to transform the EU. What exactly are the changes that LibDems or Change UK MEPs will champion? Simply returning to the past isn't exactly a great way to respond to the genuine dis-satisfaction of many voters and even more non voters.
12. The Green Party candidates are very different to those put forward by other parties. In Yorkshire and the Humber the lead candidate is Magid Magid a 28 year old who came to this country as a child refugee and working with the Green Party became Lord Mayor of Sheffield. The second person on the list is Alison Teal who faced jail for leading a campaign against a Private Finance Initiative deal signed by the Labour council to cut down trees. Third on the list is Andrew Cooper. He actually came second in the party ballot and stood aside from a serious chance to become an MEP to make sure there was a better gender balance on the ticket. What other politician in what other party would do that? You don't stand for election for the Green Party because you think it is the most likely way to promote your career. You stand because you honestly want to achieve change.
If you also wish to create a more sustainable economy, society and environment locally, nationally and internationally then I suggest you vote Green and celebrate richly when we have a strong Green voice in every region of the country speaking out for on everyone's best long term interests.