Boldly vote tactically

Stop an astronomical May-jority

STEPHEN Hawking says we must colonise another planet within 100 years if the human race is to survive. That’s a tall order.

It’s been 45 years since we last put a man on the moon, so time is short to gain the expertise needed to pitch up elsewhere.

This means aiming for nothing more adventurous than a planet in our own solar system.

Whichever one is chosen, the colonists would either have to live in pods on its surface or deep in the bowels of its earth – which would make Uranus a contender if it wasn’t two billion miles away.

Earth, says Hawking, will become uninhabitable because of climate change, overpopulation and epidemics so we’re going to need a new home.

Tories would say Jeremy Corbyn has beaten him to it because the Labour leader is already living on another planet.

What the world’s greatest celebrity physicist has not considered is how our new place in space might be governed, though we can rule out any Parliament with a House of Time Lords. It will, however, have to hold general elections.

Our nearest planetary neighbours are Venus and Mars. And, given the choice, I’m sure Corbers would opt for the Red Planet. Theresa May could campaign for the Jamms – Just About Managing Martians.

What our home from home must not be is a one- party planet, which is the kind of alien landscape Britain will become if poll predictions are right.

Corbs has produced a great manifesto. But he’s passing the point of no returning officer announcing him as the next PM.

That’s why voter priority now must be to keep the number of Tory MPs down.

If Mrs May sails in with a three- figure majority it’s ordinary working people who’ll be left all at sea.

So it is time for tactical voting, especially by the 200,000 voters who live in marginal constituencies.

Look for the candidate with the best chance of beating the Tory, and forget about allegiance to a political party.

It’s the only way to stop an epidemic of Tories bringing about just the kind of political climate change Stephen Hawking is talking about.