Why do people say ‘all the parties are as bad as each other’ ?

Having worked in the NHS under New Labour and then through the Tory austerity years I know what I prefer. Having been a patient of the NHS more recently I know what I prefer.

Absolutely!

And likewise, as someone who has worked in education through both Labour and Tory austerity, I know which was (considerably) better!

Could you give me some examples of where Labour siphoned off hundreds of thousands for their young mistresses or billions in contracts to their friends?

I've only heard it from people looking to justify voting Tory.

Having worked in the NHS under New Labour and then through the Tory austerity years I know what I prefer. Having been a patient of the NHS more recently I know what I prefer.

No way do I agree with everything on the Labour manifesto (gender recognition as an example) but I can't vote Tory, they have made such a mess of everything they claim to be good at.

It always amuses me when you see people (usually younger ones) declaring we need to get rid of the lying, corrupt, money grabbing tories. They need to have a look back and realise that Labour are exactly the same 😁

Many of us voted for Brexit because we were afraid of what the EU had in mind to impose next. Actually they didn't do much that was extreme as there were economic problems in Germany and a resumption of the France v Germany rivalries especially after Merkel.
Others of us voted for Brexit because we thought that the leaders were not listening to us when we explained or worries. We were worried about cheap labour and the money the immigrants earned going offshore. The money exchange shops like Western Union opened to cater for that market.
They are ignoring us again, Eco warriors closing motorways and cannot be stopped. Illegal migrants being shipped in by lifeboats. Elected MPs being shouted down and threatened. Anti-Jewish rants and threats everywhere.

Political Leaders and Judiciary can't be arsed to do anything to stop the chaos.

It may not be true that 'they' are all as bad as each other but it can look that way at times.

Keir Starmer sensible and honest are two words that do not apply to him at all

Why don’t you start having a look at the demographics of the Lib Dem seats. Mostly the nicest places to live in the country now.

You are completely wrong @Blackcats7 - these are all people educated to at least Master level. And privileged.

In my experience this is parroted by either tory voters who know they can no longer defend the indefensible or people who don’t follow politics or current affairs so have no accurate information on which to base their opinion.

And besides all the racist can vote Reform now and Tories won’t win anyway so now is precisely the time to vote Lib Dem or Green if you don’t like the two party yo-yo boom bust.
Which is exactly what all my friends have concluded as well.

We’ll see I’m old enough to remember further back than 2009/2010. I agree the Tories are scum, but I don’t have good memories of Labour either. Some of their failings left big scars and it’s difficult to trust again. I will vote to get the Tories out for sure, but I don’t have any confidence in Labour running to the rescue.

This is exactly my position as well.

I'm just waiting for my daughter to finish her GCSEs before I emigrate abroad.

“There are two main parties. Voting for anybody else will not result in toppling those two”.

No it won’t, but we are perfectly entitled to vote Lib Dem or Green if they reflect our values more. And we believe their values in Parliament will potentially moderate.

I’m not enthused to vote this year, because I fall in a demographic that neither of the main parties address. As a lone parent with a decent income, I’m of no interest to the Labour Party who lump me in with economically affluent and the Conservatives whilst approving of contribution to GDP ethically disapprove of me as an affront to family values. On the whole, I feel that life will be worse in the coming years due to tax requirements of debt spending (whichever party gets in) and if I didn’t believe strongly in voting, wouldn’t vote at all.

IMO two main reasons for saying this:

1. Saves having to strain their brain actually reading, listening and understanding the (very clear and considerable) differences between the parties or
2. The party they support has done something (or perhaps many things!) pretty badly and they wish to paint the others as equally bad to justify still voting for them

I'm wondering if the blowhards on this thread will actually make some suggestions for voting rather than just condemning everyone who isn't them, as illiterate/stupid/whatever?

There are two main parties. Voting for anybody else will not result in toppling those two. I will vote Labour because there is no choice, the Conservatives must go. What a way to vote.

Always the same here with the same old posters who will be at the ready to froth themselves into a stupor, after the election when they and the rest of us, are irrelevant.

Starmer conned the Labour members with the ten pledges to get ghe leadership which he dropped. He's not honest at all.

At least neither Starmer nor Sunak are personality types about to take us into WW3. I take some comfort in that fact and I think it is quite important given what is currently going on.

but it's mostly true, each party promises lots of things before elections, then these things don't happen, and each party spends a lot of time and effort undoing things the previous party did, etc etc

Because they are literally as bad as each other. Tories and Labour are two cheeks of the same arse. The number of defections from each party to the other demonstrated that Tories and Labour really are a uniparty. As for the rest of them, altogether they are all facets of the same pile of freshly excreted poop. I suppose at least poop has a valid use.

Apathy will win this time around. Everyone is fed up and nobody gives a rat's arse anymore.

@CurrentHun “Yes. Cameron only self servingly included an EU referendum at all in the manifesto to save his own skin because the leavers on the fringes on the party were pressuring him about that. He thought it would help him avoid challenges to his own leadership. he could see Farage getting attention.

Johnson wasn’t ever a leaver he just saw an opportunity to challenge Cameron for the top job and glommed on to it. They both should be absolutely ashamed of themselves for the destruction they’ve brought on normal people’s lives just to advantage their own careers and egos. It’s unforgivable the lying and incompetence.”

You can blame Cameron all you like and yes, it was wrong to call a Referendum and they totally messed up the delivery of Brexit itself.

However, it is really really important that the great British public takes responsibility in voting collectively to leave the EU. If we do not admit that, then we are utterly and truly stuffed. We do all have some responsibility too you know.

Yep this 👆(exhibit No. 1 my MIL)

Interestingly in my local town I haven't seen any Conservative boards or posters in peoples windows or gardens at all whereas people are displaying for Lib Dems and the Greens. This counters the claim 'they are all the same' as people are happy to be associated with other parties but no-one seems to want to publicise they are a Tory now!

Which is all well and good, but in reality you are voting for the party more than a local MP, given how infrequently an MP will deviate from the party. The system in the uk under FPTP is fundamentally broken.

If you vote for an MP who is a member of one of the big political parties, that MP will do nothing - with a very few exceptions in recent years - but prop up the government no matter how shambolic they may be.

Happily I have a tory MP who is a total cunt so I can vote against him as both a shit MP and against the shitshow tories as a whole.

I also remember the New Labour years fondly. I was young and there was hope and loads of cash in the economy. But I also remember graduating into the dot.com bust and lots of fellow students losing their graduate recruitment places last minute due to cancellations. I then also remember the craziness of securitisation in the City of London and it was so obvious it was going to fail. House of cards toppled down. Yes we were richer but Brown and Blair sold out to the City of London and convinced every young person with some talent to become a banker when clearly that is not sustainable either.
And then there was the Iraq war. We marched on the streets, 1 million of us students, and the BBC barely covered it. It was so obvious then what politicians and the media do.

A lot of this stuff is driven by macro worldwide stuff beyond our control as well. And all politicians make mistakes.

I do blame the Tories for Brexit but I also blame the stupid British public. And I also blame the young for not showing up to vote. I do understand how it happens, you are off, forgot to get on the electoral roll etc.

My hope for this election is simply that more people actually show up to vote and take some interest in who is standing as their local MP.

I hate the current government, but I won't be voting Labour mainly because:

(1) They intend to bring in VAT on private schools and my daughter is at a private school.
(2) I don't like Starmer and think he is absolutely useless and incompetent (and has been in his previous roles).
(3) It's a party riddled with antisemitism and I'm Jewish.

Point (1) is the most decisive issue for me personally and why I will be voting conservative.