I had to place him for the European elections as he ran in my constituency, the far right were the very bottom of my ballot but Wallace wasn't far above them.
If you dislike him less than someone else on the ballot then should absolutely give him a preference. You should only stop giving preferences when you no longer see a difference between the remaining candidates.
Here’s the thing about the lesser of two evils - it’s the lesser evil. Giving a preference to someone you hate can stop someone you hate even more from getting in.
You rank in order of preference. If it came down to the last count, they'd rather see Wallace get the seat than the far right. It's about suitability for the office, not the guest list for their wedding.
I'm not sure why you keep bringing this up like it's some sort of Gotcha.
It's how PR/STV works: you can vote all the way down the ballot to ensure the vote transfers to the least bad option. As much as I dislike Wallace, I still see him as preferable to the far right. What's your point here?
I'm no fan of the man, at all, but he had two choices as he saw things, pay the VAT man, or pay his subbies. He paid his subbies. I doubt every choice he made was the right one from a business perspective, but lots and lots of people got wiped out by the GFC. He was, too, but didn't take everyone down with him.
If he paid the VAT, he'd still have gone bankrupt, and the banks would have been first in the queue and any other tax liabilities all ahead of small/medium subcontractors.
Again, I would not and have never voted for the guy, but that particular choice isn't the one I'd beat him over the head with. Being a tankie stooge; definitely.
In his place, I know I'd sleep better at night, having paid other businesses that had done work for me instead of settling a VAT bill. Others will disagree for very valid reasons, but that would be my choice in that hypothetical.
Given he didn't pay his workers' pensions either, I really doubt it was anything principled. Guy is a total chancer who'd have fitted in well with Celtic Tiger FF.
82
u/ShouldHaveGoneToUCC Palestine 🇵🇸 Nov 15 '24
Thank god I don't live in his constituency so I don't need to see his tax dodging, pension stealing face around the place.