It looks like the turnout for today's General Election is going to be up on the last one. We suspect that interest has been piqued by the erratic polls that suggest this might be a close one where votes matter more. Of course we're not allowed to publish the results of our own opinion poll until the voting closes at 10pm tonight but if the national patterns follow our results, expect a huge surprise. We'll be blogging the election results live, so make sure you come back to Londonist at 10pm. Comments are more than welcome.
A Financial Times poll on Monday reckoned 36% of voters hadn't made up their minds yet. It's no great secret that on Londonist we're generally a bit averse to the colour blue but we urge you to use your vote, whatever political hue you are. In the absence of a 'none of the above' option (political dynamite, it would never happen) a spoilt ballot paper is your only option to register active abstention.
If you're yet to vote because you don't like any of the parties but don't like the spoilt paper option, why not be a negative old soul and base your vote on who you don't want in? If you're anti-Tory, take a look at TacticalVoter.net which will tell you how you need to vote to keep Hard-man Howard out. If you're anti-Labour - well, it sort of works if you type in your constituency because it will give you an indication of how to keep Labour from winning the seat, but you'll have to analyse the stats yourself. Make no mistake though, this is very much an anti-Tory site.
If you want to be a bit more objective about this, then you could use The Guardian's policy comparison guide. Yes, it's The Guardian but the guide seems neutral enough.
Another interesting guide is the Political Survey which aims to take a more scientific approach. It gives you some indication of where you lie on its own version of the political axes (what, you mean you still think in terms of left and right?) but more interestingly, it will tell you how your opinions compare to other people who intend to vote the same way as you. Of all the surveys we've tried on the net, this is the one that's held our attention the most during its lengthy analysis, and it'll mail you a handy link to stick onto your own blogs.
Tear yourself away from Londonist for a few minutes, go down to your local polling station and use your vote. See you all later tonight for the live updates.
