Yes it is supposed to be a vote for the MP but people generally vote for the party or how else would some of these MP's get in!
It's impossible to know unless you know the reason for people voting the way they do. Someone might, for example, vote Green because of environmental issues but wouldn't vote Labour because of economic concerns or Tory because of NHS concerns. I don't vote left or right, that does not concern me, I vote for who makes the most sense which usually is someone in the middle. The more extreme a party gets the more I won't vote for them. I don't like it when when people get so they can't see any good outside their limited view.
For me this is a serious problem. I mean, governments really do need to know what people are voting for! One of the reasons i would have liked AV as you could see how the votes transfer from small single issues parties in earlier rounds.



