FAQ

East Wight is a brand new constituency, and after the next election the Isle of Wight will have twice the representation in Parliament than before. However, our first-past-the-post system means that the majority (those who vote for progressive parties and who do not vote at all) risk not being represented. We have the opportunity to do something other than returning two Conservative MPs to Westminster, but only if we work together.

Absolutely! We expect losing candidates to remain on the ballot paper, but with clarity on who everyone is getting behind. It’s actually more democratic - because for the first time in generations, there will be an in-depth look at the candidates and a real opportunity for change. There is nothing wrong with groups of voters getting together to decide collectively how they will vote.

Our First-Past-The-Post voting system discourages co-operation, breeding tribalism, short-termism and complacency. The only other country in Europe that fully uses our system is Belarus, Russia's ally in Ukraine. If our vote is split, the Conservatives win.

We are totally independent from all the political parties. Our costs are almost entirely time, and we all work as unpaid volunteers. This is a community-led, grassroots effort. We have been inspired by the South Devon Primary who have come up with this idea. We have had a crowd-funder and are registered with the Electoral Commission as a Non-Party Campaign with reporting as required by them.

Absolutely not!
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Our plan is to get behind whichever of the progressive candidates wins the online vote. Voters in our secure online poll have to be registered to vote in the constituency of Isle of Wight East. We believe local people with local knowledge of the candidates are better placed to decide the tactical choice rather than statistics and algorithms. The statistical forecasts are mostly based on the 2019 election - different candidates, different constituency, and not all parties stood.

Definitely not. It takes a lot to overturn a large Conservative majority, and the parties are starting work now. So please go out and help your favourite party. Once the People's Champion is chosen, you can pivot towards helping them.

Absolutely not!
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We are not asking the parties to stand down if unsuccessful. Once we have an East Wight Primary People's Champion, the other candidates will remain on the ballot paper. Supporters of the East Wight Primary will support the People's Champion's team with their time, effort and energy.

We live in East Wight, and as a brand new constituency without an incumbent we think we can make most impact in East Wight.  We feel there is a clear tactical choice in West Wight.

We hear this from all sides every election time, yet the Conservatives are still expecting to win. Einstein defined insanity as ‘doing the same thing over & over and expecting a different result’. We sincerely hope that this is the last election under the current FPTP system, but for now, the only way to avoid an unfair result is to choose a single progressive candidate in order to avoid the vote being split and handing victory to the Conservatives.

We are in touch with these organisations via https://themovementforward.com and will be keeping them updated on our progress. The East Wight Primary is, in a way, like a highly informed tactical voting exercise. People will be voting tactically for the People;s Champion, but based on more local issues than used by these national sites. https://StopTheTories.Vote is holding its tactical voting advice until our result is announced.

The tactical voting websites' tactical recommendations are mostly based on the 2019 election with national swings superimposed upon the data. In East Wight we have different candidates, a different constituency, and not all parties stood last time. Island voters have a strong history of backing good candidates over party loyalty.

No. The winning party will stand for their own Party as normal. Think of the Primary as taking the guesswork out of tactical voting.

Secure and secret online voting took place between 16th & 19th June 2024. The winner will be announced at 10am on Thursday 20th June.

Yes! We are using the OpaVote independent voting platform (www.opavote.com). OpaVote have been running elections and ballots for well over a decade and are a respected provider of these services.

Each voter is sent a secret code that is required in order to cast a vote. Encryption (SSL) is used for casting votes in elections. There is no connection between the voter and the vote they cast, so not even OpaVote know how each person cast their vote.

The Primary process is designed to platform candidates from the Greens, Labour and the Lib Dems. In the rare case that a progressive independent candidate were to be a serious contender in a constituency, with a proven electoral track record, then we would consider platforming them. We would have to be confident that any inclusion of an independent would not lead to further fragmentation of the progressive vote.

We are conducting the East Wight Primary because our voting system is deeply unfair. We have seen Conservative MPs elected in the Isle of Wight seat for 22 years. With such a foregone conclusion, it's not surprising that as many as a third of registered voters here didn't bother voting at the last election.

By giving people the opportunity to unite behind a single opposition candidate whom they themselves have chosen, the East Wight Primary will in fact enhance democracy, offering a genuine chance for change.

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