GUEST BLOG: Te Reo Putake – How to Waste Your Electorate Vote and Help National Win

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Pubs are great places for a chat. Last night, in between games of darts, I talked with a mate about the coming election.  He told me he was going to party vote Labour but electorate vote the Greens because he liked their local candidate.

I told him he was an idiot.

Well, ok, I lied a bit there. I didn’t directly tell him he was an idiot. I softened my words … he’s a mate, after all. But I certainly thought it. To be clear, voting anything other than Labour in your electorate this election is idiotic.

I told him was not only wasting his electorate vote, he was actively helping the Nat’s win a seat.

His answer was that electorate seats don’t matter, it’s the party vote that decides the election.

He’s right … and he’s very, very wrong.

Electorate seats do matter.

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Imagine you are beneficiary, with a desperate need for help. Imagine you’re a working person with a landlord who has refused to fix a blocked toilet for ten days. Imagine you’re in any number of situations where your local MP can help, guide and support you.

Then imagine a parliamentary office staffer saying “Ms Bennett will be with you shortly” or “Dr Smith will be right out”.

In those scenarios, you are going to get a pat on the head, a pep talk about pulling yourself up by the bootstraps and then a gentle shove toward the street. Bennett will probably ask for a tip and Smith will mistake you for a river and piss on your leg.

You’re not going to get practical help from a Tory and one more avenue of assistance will have been shut to you.

Labour Party electorate MP’s, on the other hand, have an excellent record of working tirelessly for local constituents. I’ve seen some of the best of them at work and they, and their staff, are a marvel. They get things done, they know how to work the system and they have excellent networks with support agencies, councils and housing providers.

They make a huge difference in a world of indifference, even in opposition.

They care. They act. They help.

This election, please don’t waste your electorate vote. Tick Labour because only Labour can win electorate seats for the left.

If you do give that tick to Labour, whether we change the Government or not, you’ve voted for decency and humanity in your community. And if you are in Ohariu, you’ll get extra karma points for helping kick Peter Dunne to the curb, which helps us all.

If you are any kind of progressive, it’s a no brainer. Don’t help the Tories, help your neighbours.

Electorate vote Labour. Don’t help National win anything this election.

 

Te Reo Putake – Socialist, vegetarian, contrarian and footballer, Te Reo Putake was until recently the wittiest, most engaging and most infuriating writer at The Standard Blog where he was banned during their latest identity politics purge. TRP intends to continue battling for the battlers and kicking against the pricks in real life and here at the Daily Blog.

Blog:   tereoputake.wordpress.com

Email:  tereoputake@gmail.com
Twitter: twitter.com/tereoputake

19 COMMENTS

  1. There are many electorates with good Labour candidates, with a good chance of winning. But if people don’t party-vote Labour (as happened in too many places in 2014) those will still be good local MPs trying to cope with the results of a National government.

  2. hello trp..

    didya know that gareth morgan is being opportunist to the max..?

    as you probably know the greens have agreed not to run an electorate candidate in ohariu-belmont..

    so as to try and give dunne the boot..

    morgan sees some votes going begging there – so he is standing an electorate-candidate in ohariu-belmont..

    which of course will split the left vote – and help dunne retain his seat..

    (is he just being an opportunistic-bastard..?..or was that a nod and a wink and a skirt-lift to the tories..?..that one..?..)

      • he can have his debate with a list candidate camaigning in that seat – as he is doing in other seats…with other candidates for his party..

        so..?

        so you would be happy with that candidate successfully splitting the vote – so that dunne will get back in..?

        and so help the right..?

        are you serious..?

        • You will that I do not write party lists. Nor should I. If I was to write party lists I would give em all to Mana Movement because you and I are such good mates. And then next time you could fill your boots with what ever political utopia you like. Get it?

          No amount of fucking bitching and whining will convence any one to change there party lists. Its up to them. We are just watching power

          • you seem to be missing/ignoring the point..that is by standing an electorate candidate they are helping dunne…end of story..
            i would like to hear their reasons/justifications for this helping of ‘the longterm enemy’ of pot-legalisation..

            • Ok lets get real. I get asked this all the time here. This is the second time you’ve asked me to clarify TOPs Ohariru selection and the answer is because Jessica really likes TOPs policies and she doesn’t want to move. To answer the rest I’ll have to take the initiative and clarify why you shouldn’t believe your own water tank theory.

              How does your water tank theory work?

              There are two people who like the water tank theory. In one part you don’t mention policy, polling and suppression in the media and its like we don’t fuck policy because dunne will win.

              The other person thinks that I need an excuse to believe that my side will lose and here you are again.

              I don’t suppose you thought it would be this way. ‘Me actually agreeing with you,’ this is why its stupid to believe TOPs can out perform Green party electoral stats when TOP has shown 6 policies and 4 candidates to the Green party list that they’ve grown over many many years and thats with out mentioning the Labour Party. So this is why we call people who believe in water tank theories “head-cannon.” Rip

      • even dunnes supposed conversion needs unpacking…
        he seems to be advocating big-pharma control everything..
        and is emphatic that people will not be allowed to grow a couple of plants..that would still be illegal under dunnes’ plan..
        fuck him…!

  3. Hi Te Reo,

    Pubs were a great place to discuss politics but since nactional have been in power Pubs are disappearing at an alarming rate.

    They are now being demolished or being taken for Multiple new build developments for offices and apartments, so the fabric of our pub life discussing politics is being now resigned to punching a keyboard like i am now sadly.

    This is probably another Nactional “deep state” plan to isolate us all so they can control what we discuss about politics and fail to organise.

    I like your references to the pub life I used to love and frequent many times in the past.

    Our entire family used to vote Greens but now they are turning blue we will all during this election will vote for a true “Left party”.

    • Yep, it’s sad to see the demise of good locals. The cost of Sky and the permanent Police terror on the roads has killed a lot of country pubs. Urban and suburban pubs and clubs can’t really make it without some combination of Sky, pokies and the TAB.

      I’m lucky where I am at present, spoilt for choice, really. But for how long?

  4. Just to continue a theme, if someone needing help fronted up to Brownlee’s electoral office, they’d more than likely get verbally abused (a la Kaikoura) or shoved out the door by the bully!

    Party vote Labour – and where it counts, electorate vote Labour as well!

  5. In the Hawkes Bay that would mean voting for a neoliberal opportunist, like Nash or Lorcke.
    They may be ‘nice’, they may say the right things very generally on their ‘safe’ vote winning issues, but the end result is, and will always be, a slow moving train wreck for the average struggler.
    Things are hard, things are getting harder, but why should we settle for a continuation of this cr*p, maybe Labour need to get sidelined, yet again, and come back to the voter with policies of real change, and equally, to a bunch of voters who will, one day, give them a clear mandate for real change.

    • @ Siobhan – have a look around. Things are not getting better around the world, look at Trump and May for example. All that is happening with the liberals withholding their votes for their ‘perfect’ scenario of left policy is that the far right is storming through and trampling down the poor while at the same time, having huge control over mostly offshore owned media and message and keeping the Corbyn’s out.

      Things are getting worse for the left, not better with all the left voters abstaining or being too beaten down to get to a booth or register to vote.

      Labour fielded a very good candidate last time with Cunliffe with a lot of left policy, but it did not work and people did not vote Labour. National got 47%, Labour 25% and Greens 11%.

      Not voting is the same as ticking National, ACT and The Maori party for another 3 years of worsening social conditions in this country.

      Even in worse case scenario, if National does win again (please no), at least if everybody who does not agree with the National party position voted against them they are less likely to have their way with a majority and push through all their privatisation and environmental “reforms” which is probably through to a Trump/May scenario in NZ of getting rid of food banks, pushing through dementia taxes and privatising health and education further as well as pushing up rents so that 100,000’s more people are homeless or coming out with student loan type debt with dodgy private hotels at $200 per night.

  6. Firstly, why, when we can all now plainly see what a actual Labour party really looks like…you remember the strong Labour that isn’t afraid to run on a platform of socialist fairness and equality for ALL citizens, regardless of what the MSM, the (perceived) middle class and polls suggest they do…yes, Labour UK, would I want to keep supporting our steadfastly centrist Labour Party?
    They have proved time and again (since 1984) that they have no intention of abandoning their Roger Douglas neo liberal economic ideology to any real serious degree.

    Secondly, even if I could be persuaded to vote Labour, you can’t really be serious that any critical thinking progressive voter would actually vote for Anna Lorck, or Stuart Nash here in the Hawkes Bay?
    These two personify almost exactly the reason why Labour NZ is a joke…one that isn’t funny anymore.

    I mean come on, these fucking centrist sellouts can’t even bring themselves to say no to the TPP, no they can’t do that, but are happy to support the importation of labour into the horticultural regions, that have suppressed wages for 20 years, and are now suggesting we do the same to build houses, the half a million dollar + affordable homes (another bad labour joke)…that doesn’t sound like a Labour Party I can nor would want to support.

    Turn Labour Left!

    • It’s your call, Adrian. Vote labour or support national, it’s up to you. I believe the phrase ‘swallowing a dead rat’ may assist you in your choice.

  7. I see your point. In this election it doesn’t matter whether your party vote goes to Labour or Green – take your pick, it all counts towards the left bloc vote share. But your electorate vote might be the difference between having a National or Labour MP representing your electorate, especially if you’re in a marginal seat. I’m usually of the “only the party vote counts” mindset, but who represents your electorate in Parliament really does matter.

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