Only a few weeks ago, the Lib Dems rejected a coalition to oust the Tories, fronted as it should be by the Leader of the Opposition. They put their faith in a fantasy overall victory for the Lib Dems which would ditch the last referendum. It’s not going to happen.

The Labour Party has promised a referendum to Remain or accept an improved deal and this is the very last chance for those wishing to stay in the EU. For those who want that outcome, only the Labour Party can deliver it.

Voters need to be big enough to vote for the government they believe in so that politicians know what that is and focus on big issues, not the short-term vote-swingers. Over 50 years of electioneering, I’ve never known the Liberals/Lib Dems not to call for tactical voting to make up their numbers. Don’t encourage them. Tactical voting sends the wrong messages to politicians and the wrong politicians to Westminster.

Playing games with democracy makes people cynical about it. Who knows the true state of public opinion when so many feel they have to vote tactically?  The cross you put on the ballot paper has not subtlety: it will simply support our competitors.

The truth is, every tactical vote keeps the gap between the main parties and the rest artificially high. Nowhere is this better illustrated than Guildford. Every election, people buy the routine pleas to vote tactically, to hijack sincere votes. Despite the doctored graphs in their literature, there were in 2017 only around 2,800 votes between Lib Dems and Labour.

I don’t believe that Independents can promise the budgets to deliver their policies (only the big parties can do that), but it’s refreshing to see honest, sincere campaigning on a small budget. It’s a pity the Greens dropped out here in Guildford in favour of a party with inferior green policies: please see our green policies before you place your cross.

Sue Hackman