In your opinion, is Mumsnet predominantly left wing, right wing, or finely balanced in the middle?

[Dumbledoresgirl]

You don't have to say whether you think it is a good thing or not, just where do you think the predominant view lies?

[BecauseImWorthIt]

I think there are a myriad of different views, which is what makes it such an interesting place to be!

[TheDMshouldbeRivened]

both I'd say. I've not 'met' any right wing types before so it makes it interesting having a mix.

[UnquietDad]

I find there are a good few more "out" Tories on here than in real life. That could be because it's still seen as a dirty admission in some quarters.

Also vastly more private school users (it;s about 50-50 compared to 93-7 in the real world.)

On balance I'd say there is a fairly even split.

[Heathcliffscathy]

majority right wing. very vocal left wing.

lots of apathetics too.

[Dumbledoresgirl]

Sophable - that could describe society in general I think. Maybe that means MN is representative?

[UnquietDad]

It's hard to tell, of course, because we don't know who the "silent majority" are.

I love silent majorities, me. They're so talkative.

[BitOfFun]

A mixture. Overall it comes across as liberal middle class to me.

[pickyvic]

seems quite surprisingly liberal actually - and all the boden threads made me think its quite middle class...
im scummy working class but am a guardian reader....no idea what that makes me, i think i probably lean to the left...

[choosyfloosy]

I would say majority leftish/liberal with a strong right wing representation.

[BerylCole]

Fairly centre-left-ish, with a few 'burn the benefit scroungers!' mentalists.

[policywonk]

I think it's mixed. Basically, it reflects the concerns of ABC1 middle-aged women with young children. So some of its biases might be regarded as left-ish (eg very strong anti-racism), some are right-ish (pro-private schooling), and some are neither left nor right but just reflect current middle-class parenting norms (pro-breastfeeding, anti-smacking, pro-paid childcare).

[Spidermama]

I don't do the wing thing. It's over simplistic and dated.

[kittywise]

left for sure and very vocal with it.

[Dumbledoresgirl]

Sorry Spidermama

But I am finding the answers interesting. They say so much about the poster.

[Wonderstuff]

Policywonk I trust that you are completely spot on. I used to consider myself left wing, but now not so sure, I think middle class liberal sums me up.

[BerylCole]

Sort of@Spidermama. But people do usually have leanings, don't they? Ok, it's not all black and white 'Up Thatcher' or 'Support the miner's strike'....but when people bang on about benefits, asylum seekers and their taxes going up, I do usually think 'Right'.

[UnquietDad]

Funny, such differing responses. Maybe people's perception of how vocal each "wing" is will depend on their own leanings and what they have encountered in real life.

I suppose what one person might see as "centrist" or normal or an everyday preoccupation someone else might label with a political affiliation.

[Spidermama]

No worries DG. I worked for the Green party this year and they get fed up with being pigeon holed in a wing. I think the perception of the old/current political landscape hinders real progress and stops people from believing there can be new ideas.

IMO there simply MUST be new ideas.

[BerylCole]

Good point@UQD. A woman at work once called me 'an awful lefty' (behind my back, to another colleague who grassed her up ). I had always thought of myself as a bit of a centre-left type (in those days I was a Blair supporter). Woman in question was your stereotypical Horse & Hounds Sloane, though, and probably thought Thatcher was soft Right.

[Hassled]

Mostly centre left/woolly liberal, I think. Those with more right wing views tend to stand out more than those with leftie leanings.

[UnquietDad]

A perfect example is the private schools thing. People who have no "choice", or no meaningful one, will think the endless debates about which one to "choose" are a little spurious, and may have to stop themselves answering threads which start "How do I choose a prep school?" with the line "Start by having a shitload of money." (Whistles innocently...)

Also there will always be people who think you are dangerously left-wing if you don't work in the City or holiday in Klosters, and people who think you are dangerously right-wing if you own a house bigger than a box and go on holiday at all.

Some US Republicans would be quite happy to call you Communist for supporting the NHS.

I assume this is part of Dumbledoresgirl's point in asking the question.

[Prunerz]

I've always thought of MN as generally left-of-centre with some very clued-up posters who are left-er but well able to hold their own (rather than rabid lefties like my grandfather, for whom there was no other option). And a few strong right-wing voices who seem to have gorn.

Over the past couple of years, the sheer number of articles being linked to from the Mail has made me think, ah well, it's not as broadly left as all that. But I haven't noticed any more shrill right-wing posting (mind you I haven't been around much).

[Dumbledoresgirl]

I was trying to work out if I felt comfortable here anymore UQD, but of course I should have known, the leftwingers would feel it was right of centre and the rightwingers would feel it was left of centre.

I guess we all tend to fixate on that with which we disagree.

[TheDMshouldbeRivened]

dontchoo dare leave. Did I remember to eamil you? Brain like a seive.