The election of Emmanuel Macron was met with relief by liberals and progressives across Britain. Not that they were necessarily in love with all the ex-banker’s policies, but it meant that at least France, and Europe, was saved from a hard rightwinger whose election would have sowed division and inflamed tensions.

Given such a stark choice, the idea that some on the French left could have abstained or spoiled their ballot papers was, on this side of the channel, met with some bafflement.

So why do so many of these same “liberal” or “progressive” voters not use the same logic when considering their own vote in the forthcoming UK election?

With every passing day it’s clear we are facing a huge choice on 8 June. Theresa May has channelled her inner Dalek for the past three weeks; “strong and stable”; “strengthen my hand”; “coalition of chaos”. She’s maxed-out on the idea that this election is all about competence, and has virtually nothing to say on how she’d actually run the country, or deal with the contradictions brought about by Brexit: access to the single market, the damage to the economy, the Irish border.

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In these past few days, though, we’ve been starting to learn what she’d do. It’s a powerful reminder why a May election victory would be a disaster for Britain, even if she is obviously not as extreme as Marine Le Pen. She wants to reduce immigration to the tens of thousands, even though this would mean cutting off the supply of labour that has helped Britain recover from years of austerity. Where would the nurses, care workers, builders and high-skilled employees come from – or the overseas students who bring in so much revenue?

Amid all the crises Britain will face over the next few years, May thinks it’s time to promise a vote on foxhunting. She wants more grammar schools even though it’s clear to anyone who considers the evidence that this does nothing for social mobility. The only liberal policy May has – on energy pricing – is one she nicked from Labour and was trashing only two years ago.

The prime minister says only she can get a good deal from Europe, but she’s been making enemies across the Channel. Her scurrilous accusation that the EU is “interfering” in a British election will win her no friends, and no concessions, in Brussels. She may talk tough, and think it plays well in the UK to be a “bloody difficult woman”, but in Europe, where it really counts, she has set back Britain’s cause and could end up with no deal at all.

So why are so many “progressives” so keen to help her by instead of focusing on all the negatives of a future May government, directing their anger at Jeremy Corbyn?

Yes, he’s flawed too; he’s not a great performer, and so far the signs of him rescuing the party are patchy, to say the least. But on 8 June we have a simple choice. It’ll be either Labour or Conservative. And in terms of policy there’s only one of these two parties that any liberal or progressive could want running the country. The party of the rich, of the bankers, of austerity for the many and tax breaks for the few? Really? The party that leaves the NHS on its knees, cuts back on schools and access to universities, bashes the working poor and people with disabilities, demonises the jobless, and fuels fears about migrants?

And all of this in lockstep with its cheerleaders at the Daily Mail, which sees the party as a partner for its vile agenda of scapegoating minorities and taking Britain back to the 1950s.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Liberals may not have approved of all of Emmanuel Macron’s policies, but could see he was clearly preferable to the far-right Marine Le Pen Photograph: STRINGER/AFP/Getty Images

Forget Corbyn’s personality and his problems of “cut-through”. What is it about his policy proposals that progressives can dislike – especially now we have the leaked manifesto, with its pledges on rail nationalisation, workers’ rights and education? Many might prefer a Labour pledge to stay in Europe, but that would be electoral suicide given last year’s referendum result and where the party’s working-class base is right now.

The Liberal Democrats would reverse Brexit – which I would love too – but a vote for this party, which made no progress in last week’s local elections, would in effect be wasted. The party will have a maximum of 40 MPs after the election (and even that seems unlikely) and will in no way be able to keep a Conservative prime minister in check.

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On tax, Labour will not touch the 95% of the workforce earning below £80,000. But by taking money from those high earners, and corporations too, it will give a cash injection to schools and the NHS. It will also build a million new homes, introduce a real living wage, and protect pensioners (most of whom are living on the breadline rather than living in mansions, as the popular stereotype would have you believe). I could go on.

The next four weeks will determine who runs the country for the next five years. We all know it’s very likely to be Theresa May, but there’s still a lot to play for – no one can tell how big her majority might be. If it’s under 40 then an opposition can hold her to account and put pressure to get the worst aspects of her agenda off the statute books.

But if progressives sit on their hands, and spend the next month whingeing about why they want another Labour leader, May could end up with a landslide – and her nasty, divisive politics will be embedded into our way of life. No, she’s not Le Pen, but five years is a very long time; imagine spending that period having to listen to endless stories of public services being slashed, of the growing numbers on low wages and zero-hours work, of Britain’s isolation from our closest neighbours, seeing more of May cosying up to Donald Trump (that state visit is still planned for the autumn).

It boils down to what kind of future you want to see for your country. If you think it’ll be a tough choice on 8 June then just think of France. Really, in truth, it’s all very simple.