I’m supporting Workers Party candidates in Derby South, Blackburn and Birmingham Yardley, independents in Islington North, Holborn & St Pancras, Leicester East, Ilford North, Kensington and Chilford & Wood Green. In Selby there is no independent or Workers Party candidates are standing which means the Greens candidate, Angela Oldershaw, is the only one I can vote for. In last year’s by-election there were 13 candidates (although I only knew about 6 of them prior to receiving my ballot sheet), this year there are only 5. I’ld spoil my ballot rather than vote Labour, Conservatives, Liberal Democrat or Reform!

I recently spent a pleasant hour chatting with Angela over coffee and she seemed genuinely interested in getting to know me rather than persuading me to vote for her, she was already assured of my vote and I can’t do much to campaign for her.

I’d been posting emails to each candidate on behalf of various NGOs but after the third one I decided it was pointless – Angela was the only one who responded and I already knew what she would say, all good 👍 Not that it would have made any difference with no viable alternative.

A survey by Palestine Solidarity Campaign found a similar pattern nationwide Green Party candidates were found to be the most responsive to a set of concrete commitments to Palestine.

Thousands wrote to their local candidates, prompting a mere 750 responses.

• Green Party – 247
• Independents – 86
• Liberal Democrats – 47
• Workers Party of Britain – 44

Only 21 Labour candidates replied. Those who committed to all six actions included Apsana Begum, John McDonnell, Zarah Sultana and Bell Ribeiro-Addy. It’s worth supporting these candidates to speak up within the Labour Party on the subject of Palestine but otherwise, if you’re in a Labour held constituency, tell them #NoCeasefireNoVote

It’s difficult to predict the outcome in a single constituency, we don’t have poll data on which we can base our predictions, and I can’t even use my own analysis of last year’s by-election as a basis I have other factors to consider. Not only are there fewer candidates and a larger expected but I’ve just learned that boundary changes mean that the former Selby & Ainstey constituency has acquired part of Elmet & Rothwell (it’s not quite that simple but close enough) so I would need to compare the performance of two constituencies in 2019 and I don’t think that would be a good use of my time.

Both constituencies were Conservative in 2019 so Keir Mathers, currently the youngest MP, can’t be assured of retaining the seat he won in last year’s by-election It’s no doubt the reason he’s campaigning more around the western part of the constituency. Baby Keir was better than Nigel Adams but not much!

If I vote at all here I must vote Green! I don’t generally support strategic voting but encourage comrades in England to vote Greens, WPB or independent depending on where you live. Scotland and Wales have their own candidates who I hope will be able to work with other socialist MPs after the election (I’m not suggesting they should form an alliance prior to an election, that would be a pipe dream). We must all vote as our conscience tells us and accept that, win or lose, the fight goes on.

With all the lead they have in the polls, some Labour MPs don‘t have much confidence in their ability to win an election, we continue to hear that shibboleth “Vote Labour or give Tories another 5 years”. Really, where are these people coming from? It’s not a good look to insult the people you’re begging to vote for you 🙄

We’ve heard how the Labour bureaucracy in 2019 poured money into safe seats instead of marginal seats to throw an election! The same party are now up to the same dirty tricks. It seems Labour are pouring more money into campaigning on Holborn and St Pancras, where Starmer is in danger of losing his seat to Andrew Feinstein, than anywhere else!

Jeremy Corbyn has had volunteers coming from all over the country to get the message he’s standing as an independent this time, not as the Labour candidate

It’s being widely accepted that Labour are encouraging faux independents to split the pro-Palestinian vote to favour a Labour incumbent. Craig Murray has not personally said that that’s what happening in Blackburn but there are many who will say it and it has been given credence by one of the two independent Muslims withdrawing his candidacy and throwing his support behind Craig.

In latest news it’s reported that Starmer has refused support for the Labour candidate in Clacton because he doesn’t think Labour can win there. He’s giving Farage a clear run to finally be elected as an MP, which will give him more media influence than he already has! Starmer could split the xenophobic anti-immigrant vote but he’s more interested in splitting the anti-Zionist vote.

This election is one almighty mess and it will take a wiser head than mine to make sense of it all. I’ve said before that Sunak seems to be trying to lose the election and Starmer is trying not to win – some of their actions are otherwise incomprehensible. It’s widely accepted that Labour will win but we can hope it will be without Starmer and we can deny them the anticipated landslide.