Hold your nose and vote tactically on 4 July

I had a letter in the Guardian the day before polling day in 1997. In it, I reminded readers that Michael Portillo might be vulnerable to tactical voting for Labour, and so could John Gummer in Suffolk Coastal. Only one of these came to pass, but it was one of the defining moments of election night.

This time, in Suffolk Coastal, Thérèse Coffey, former environment secretary during much of the raw sewage saga, and deputy prime minister under the disastrous Liz Truss, could also be vulnerable if voters back the Labour candidate.

I’m not a natural Labour supporter, but I agree with Polly Toynbee that we need to use the unpleasant necessity of tactical voting to flush out this awful government (Labour may win big under first past the post, but it is morally obliged to bring in a fairer system, 2 July). Hold our noses, use the plunger of this undemocratic tool to unclog the pipes of power, then campaign for a more representative system where we can back whoever represents our true interests. I hope this is the last time I have to vote tactically to get rid of bad governance.
Joe Cassels
Saxmundham, Suffolk

• You may be tempted not to vote tactically because Labour is forecast to win a “supermajority”. This would be a huge mistake. In 1992, I lived in Bolton North East, the Tory/Labour marginal that was always won by the party that won the election. Labour was forecast to win the seat, so I was one of the 4,971 that voted Lib Dem. The Tories won by 185 votes, and John Major won the election. Where I live now, in the Harrogate and Knaresborough constituency, Labour and Green voters should vote tactically for the Lib Dems if they don’t want the Tory to win. You have been warned.
Michael Goodliffe
Harrogate, North Yorkshire

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