Election day in the UK.
I was tempted to spoil my ballot, because there were two candidates I could never vote for, two I could but didn't reply to my email, and one whose reply was perfunctory and didn't cover all the issues (though we did have a good chat at the hustings).
I was tempted to vote for Lorna Blackmore, just because I had had that chance to talk with her. But she was staunchly New Labour in her views, and although there was potential I felt for constructive work in terms of persuading her of sex workers' rights issues, in this constituency she doesn't stand a realistic chance of winning (actually, only the Conservative does, but the LibDems are second place and with "Cleggmania" might just narrow the gap to make this no longer a safe seat). And a vote for Labour is a vote for New Labour policies which have been dreadful for 13 years (just not quite as bad as the Tories would have been).
So the Liberal Democrat candidate got my vote after all, despite not having replied to my email. Plus, I think for the longer term, the Liberal Democrats are our best shot: if electoral and parliamentary reform is to stand a chance, the LibDems have to be strong this parliament; and without electoral reform, real change will not be possible. Basically, this is a strategic vote, with the hope of getting a proper choice in 2015.
And when democratic freedom comes down to that, you know there's something wrong with the system.
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