To consider ending a friendship over differing political beliefs?

I wouldn't do well with racism, anti-semitism or conspiracy theories.

But I think getting rid of the Brexit millstone from around our necks is absolutely essential to getting this country back on it's feet again and I have friends and family that voted for it.

No I wouldn’t. I once had a friend who said she would never be friends with anyone who voted Tory as they would be evil people. I’ve not ever voted Tory and our political beliefs aligned, but I thought she was terrible immature and short-sighted to say that.

Doubt it, not unless very extremist.

It's difficult when people's views affect your own way of life. So for me I struggle not to be angry with Brexit voters because I feel that they have taken something away from me and my children (particularly my children).

But I would always try to reach for the common ground if I had a relationship with someone. Connection is mostly always better than conflict. That seems really important at the moment.

I have a friend who reads the Daily Mail, is a Brexiteer and might as well be president of the Boris Johnson fan club. She literally thinks he can do, and has done, no wrong. We've had one row about it and it was horrible. I've decided that I'm never ever talking politics with her ever again. That's fine, we have plenty of other stuff to talk about. Honestly though, I've lost some respect for her, especially over the Johnson stuff

Now if they were constantly trying to change my political beliefs I'd have an issue, but I would with anyone that does that because it is insufferable and a bit arrogant to think you are superior and everyone else should do/believe what you do

Not unless they suddenly became a different person. I like my friends for who they are as a person, not because we agree on everything

Conspiracy theory either left or right is a bit different to politics. Believing in conspiracies is where you are led about by the nose and don't have your own mind. That is rather sad, and not much basis for a friendship because that person is cultish. They become isolated that way.

Different politics where someone has their own view, okay. You can put that aside and find something else. A conspiracy theorist has a sad, semi religious or cultish hive mind. Not friendship material.

It would depend . If they had extreme views eg were members of the BNP, Britain First or any conspiracy type groups then no I couldn't be friends with them. If they just backed a different political party than me then I could stay friends but to be honest all my close friends do have similar views to me.

I love a good political discussion

With family and some obliging friends

I’m much better now than when I was younger and easily reactive. Now I want to hear views. All good

There used to be a rule in pubs: no religion, football or politics.

That works for me - I just don't have these discussions with friends. They have their views, I have mine.

No worries.🙂

You should be to disagree and not personalize politics; but probably everyone has a point where something is said that casts that person very differently in your mind.

Even then, I would try not to let it affect a friendship, but both people should agree not to revisit the issue and mean it.

I cut my parents off for supporting farage so yes I would ditch a friend

It really depends what you mean by "voiced political beliefs that you strongly disagree with".

On the one hand, there are beliefs that I disagree strongly with that're still within the spectrum of (what I'd consider to be) acceptable views. I could be friends with someone holding those kinds of beliefs.

On the other hand, there are people who have strongly racist or homophobic views, which I wouldn't think of as merely a political disagreement, but they'd probably frame it as such. I couldn't be friends with someone like that.

My first bf and I had polar political views. It wasn't what split us up but it did cause hot debate and is likely to have affected our relationship at some point.

Funny thing is, he was right. Over the years I've moved into his political camp. Possibly not as far left as he was, but im definitely on the left of centre.

I wonder if he's mellowed a bit too and we would probably now agree?

Depends. Are they basing their opinions on things they've actually experienced, or what they've read in the tabloids?

I don’t discuss politics if it’s going to be contentious. I do downgrade people in my mind if they have extreme right wing views/believe in conspiracy theories etc. There are several people I don’t see anymore due to this, though luckily there have been no rows just us no longer meeting up.

I agree with this, I have a friend from school who I really really don’t agree with about so many things, our lives are very different and I’m fairly sure we wouldn’t be friends if we met now. But we went through our teenage years together, have seen each other behave incredibly badly on occasion, supported each other through milestones and when we get together we revert to a bickering teenage type friendship and the years just roll away. It would have to be a major thing before I’d end it. I also think that as our lives change again over the next few years we might find we have more in common and less that we disagree on.

Everyone’s red line is different I suppose and, as I say to my children, if someone is making you feel bad a lot of the time then they’re not a friend and it’s ok not to spend time with them. Converse of that is what I see as an increasing tendency of people to require purity of thought on certain issues not tolerate any form of disagreement and surround themselves with an echo chamber (and I don’t particularly mean the trans debate). This is easier to do in an age of social media, pre internet it wasn’t possible to find people who thought just like you. It occurred to me the other day that lots of my actual real life friends have views that if expressed by a stranger on Twitter would have me clicking unfollow.

I agree with previous posters on the values point. I also think it depends to a degree on the friend. I have a very old and close friend who in recent years has revealed values I really struggle with (or perhaps we’ve just gone very different ways in life) and I think it has threatened our friendship at times certainly. But our history runs extremely deep, more like family really, so because of that I now just try and swerve those discussions and focus on the good, of which there is also a great deal. If I just met someone now with those same values we wouldn’t be friends tbh, and there are questions I just wouldn’t ask them about their views as I don’t want to know! Whether that will work forever remains to be seen…

It depends. If they were racist or bigoted then it’s a no our values are two far apart - to be fair there no one in my life that would ever be in that circle. I discovered recently that until the last few years my sister didn’t believe climate change was a thing - we’d never discussed it - we wouldn’t have fallen out if I had known but I’d have disagreed quite profoundly.

The values thing is important. I can imagine maintaining a close friendship with an old fashioned One Nation Tory. But not at all with any of the current lot or their supporters.

I live in Scotland and I lost a very close friendship over political beliefs.

Friend (very opinionated) put on Facebook that she was disgusted over election results and she would unfriend anyone who she found out had voted for the winning party. I informed her that we live in a democracy and I had voted for the winning party, as was my democratic right and she could unfriend me if she wished. She didn’t.

In 2020, as Covid was spreading, she again got on her high horse (again via Facebook) and disagreed about how it was being dealt with. She followed this up with an unforgivable post, saying she hoped it would be those who had put the Government in power that got Covid, as it would serve them right!

I lost my husband in 2020, at the height of Covid. She completely ignored his passing, no message, no card, no flowers, nothing. We have never spoken since.

OP, we are so lucky, to live in a democracy and not somewhere like North Korea, China etc., where not supporting or demonstrating against the ruling party means prison, execution or just never being heard of again. I don’t know the ins and outs of your friendship, but I really hope it is a strong enough friendship for you to find some neutral ground and get over your differences.

Human beings aren't robots that follow a set program of beliefs. We borrow from different political viewpoints, have varying religious views and embrace aspects of varying cultures. I think people have forgotten this and embraced black and white thinking where it's 'Us' and 'Them'.
I don't know how many labels we're supposed to have now. Everything that's happened recently has put a label on us.

It depends on what you mean by political as a PP has said but generally if it's a mainstream political belief that passes the 'worthy of respect in a democratic society' test then no of course not. How ridiculous. Many of my friends are Tories, TWAW and Sturgeon fans.

Friendship IMO is a deep, interpersonal relationship that should be beyond political and personal trivia. Also surrounding yourself with an echo chamber is very bad for you emotionally, intellectually and for society.

I stand with EM Forster on this: "If I had to choose between betraying my country and betraying my friend, I hope I should have the guts to betray my country."

Never discuss politics.
I'm not interested in anyone elses view. Whatever they say won't change my mind regarding my views.
There are more interestings subjects to talk about than the state of politics