How do YOU vote?

After seeing Simone's post the other day about the "Christian Values Checklist", it got me thinking about how people vote generally (not just Christians). The media often seem to think that people vote very selfishly - that whichever party promises to give the biggest tax cut, or the best schools in their area, or whatever directly affects them, will win their vote.

But is that really how people vote?

If a party was promising someone in your particular situation a 30% tax cut, but said tax cut would probably cause the economy to fall apart, would you vote for it? I would think probably not.

If you'd finished having kids, would the parties' policies on the baby bonus affect the way you vote, even if it had no direct bearing on your life?

Of course, if people don't vote perfectly selfishly, it's a lot harder for the media to proclaim what effect policies might have on voters, which would make it harder for them to sell their product. Poor media companies - life's a little too complicated for them to put it in a headline.

Nathan Campbell also has a good post on similar issues.