Got the Tories out! and lost our £500 deposit :(

As in the previous three General Elections in Lewes, Labour and Green supporters came under strong pressure to 'lend' their votes to the LibDems, as the party with the best chance of beating the Tories. 

And the local Green Party came under strong pressure, from campaign groups and individual voters, not to campaign at all - so as not to 'split the vote'.

In Lewes District Green Party, we were committed to standing, so that voters always had a Green option. But we acknowledged the pressure to vote tactically, and kept a very low profile during the election campaign - you may have noticed (or rather, not noticed). 

However this strategy came at a price: £500, to be exact.

Every candidate who stands at a General Election has to pay a deposit of £500. If they secure more than 5% of the total vote, this is refunded.

At this election, we polled 3.5%. 

But we know - because voters tell us - that if it weren't for tactical voting, we'd have done much better than 5%!

So we're appealing to tactical voters, campaigners who encourage tactical voting, and anyone who believes in voters being offered the broadest democratic choice, even though our broken electoral system forces us to narrow it down to the top two - please chip in to help us recoup that £500.

We're pleased that the Tories lost, of course. We'd be even more pleased if you could share the cost of achieving this result, by donating to the local Green Party. It will stand us in good stead for running future election campaigns, like the County Council elections in 2025, where we plan to be the ones to beat the Tories this time!

Many thanks :)