Activists behind a controversial tactical voting website claim they may be just days away from meeting the 280,000 votes necessary to push the Tories in to third place.

Jason Buckley, director of tacticalvoter.net, told ePolitix that nearly 180,000 voters have visited the website to find out how best to unseat their local Tory.

The tactical web-surfers have used the sites search facility to find out which way they should vote to bring about a meltdown for William Hague.

As a Sunday ICM poll for the Observer showed that two thirds of Labour supporters would consider switching to a Lib Dem vote in a marginal constituency, Buckley claims that:

"It only needs 280,000 voters in 84 constituencies to reduce the Tories to a rump party and propel the Lib Dems into second place, and with tactical voting this is now on the cards. In all these seats the combined strength of Labour and Lib Dem voters can easily overwhelm the Tories."

So far the website has over 5,000 pledged vote swaps "clustered in marginal seats".

Buckley argues that tactical voting is a kind of DIY electoral reform.

"With our electoral system, a small number of voters working outside the official party structures can create a huge upset. Tactical voting will build and build until either the Tories or the electoral system breaks," he said.

Buckley says that he became interested in tactical voting because of his disgust at the Conservatives policies on asylum seekers. He claims that Conservative "small minded extremism finally confirm. the Tories now represent the dark side of our national character".

How the site works

www.tacticalvoter.net allows voters to pair up and swap votes rather than "wasting" their ballots "out of misplaced party loyalty for candidates with no hope of winning".

The site calls on Lib Dem and Labour supporters to pair up and cast "useful votes" for winnable candidates - Lib Dem voters in Wimbledon should swap with Lab in Kingston and so on

"Using www.tacticalvoter.net, you can register that you intend to vote tactically. We can then pair you up by email with someone who is returning the favour by voting tactically for the party you support."

"Both parties benefit - only the Tories lose out," claims the site.