To feel like I'm not sure where I sit politically anymore, and to worry about it.

I don’t think the conservatives failed because of austerity I think they failed post brexit because they were lazy and disunited.

You really wouldn’t!

Congratulations, you have started to think for yourself!
I have become a single issue voter now and will only vote for a party that can differentiate between men and women.
The British Communist Party is one of them (or was in the last election anyway)

I find as I get older I instinctively prioritise the rights and safety of women particularly young women. Men have been put first forever. I put their interests above respecting religious beliefs or how a minority of men feel. This makes some people terribly angry interestingly.

I agree with the majority on this thread. Good to find my tribe. It gives me a bit of hope for the future.

It is all worrying. I saw that there could be in the next parliament possibly 30+ Muslim-issue MPs (note I said Muslim issue ) with views that most traditionally left-leaning people would not support.

I remember the resentment I felt at school when the “bad boys” got away with absolute murder and teachers did nothing yet if us meek “good girls” put the slightest foot wrong we got told off with both barrels 🙄.

I think there is an increasing trend of the police managing law abiding people and not the violent. You see it on womens rights events, the transrights activists are often aggressive and violent yet it is the women who will be policed. The grooming gangs thing, little girls ended up with convictions whilst the men abusing them walked free.

This is another major problem.

Police openly admitting it’s not worth reporting thefts and burglaries, yet finding time to harass people who make rude remarks on social media.
Failing to enforce laws allows criminals to make ordinary people’s lives a misery. It’s good to be tolerant, but we are tolerating abusive behaviour.

This is the general problem. People are okay with mass immigration until they're actually forced to live near it. Those who make these decisions don't live near it.

I live in a quiet, predominantly white MC village.
I admit that I saw no issue with immigration as I just wanted all people to be safe.

However, our nearest town (3 miles) is a bit of a no go area now. Lots of young male refugees/immigrants hanging around in gangs and actually being quite threatening. My son and his boyfriend no longer feel safe to hold hands there (after being roughed up by immigrants), whilst previously there was a general acceptance of everyone.

One refugee recently told me he would cut my head off at work (NHS) because I couldn't give him a same day appointment.

I don't know what the answer is.
Seeing young children washed up on beaches, or blown to pieces in Palestine and Isreal is also appalling.
How did it come to this?

@Lookuptotheskiesi could have written this, word for word. Especially the bit about feeling a tad embarrassed by my own views now. I want to defend Labour and still do on some things but they seem to have missed their mark and are alienating their core supporters.

The mayor of Los Angeles is furious. The result of ICE patrolling the city has brought construction to a halt. Immigrants legal are staying home. Illegals hiding out. There's no-one to clean pools, water gardens in the case of the wealthy.

It's very painful for many just now.

They will.

And the left will act all shocked and appalled 🙄

Mass immigration is a con of the rich to suppress wages and make cheap labor easier and to increase demand on housing, thus increasing the price of property. Lower paid people cheering it on are turkeys voting for Christmas.

People will show it in votes.

Simple but true. Best to keep my head down mouth shut on social media to avoid being cast as an agitator. That feeling strengthened with the lady who got 31 months for a hate crime.

When yesterday a nearby neighbour man got two years suspended for having 800 images of children.

I've given up. Too old waiting for surgery I don't want to miss if I'm banged up.

It's been a long, long time since the left stood for the interests of the working classes.

And guess what? The working classes have noticed.

That’s my view of what left wing is too Anony. Economic fairness and workers rights. Agree with your post so much.

But I’m repulsed by the lefts identity politics the “everyone’s a victim” mentality the mindset of sub sections of society constant taking from the state (us workers) and giving little back. We pay shed loads of tax and of course that is right for a decent society but when you pay and pay and get so little in return because the systems you pay for are unavailable or substandard it’s hard not to be resentful. Thinking about it if we’ve needed something in the last few years we’ve had to go private so where are all these taxes going?

It's a bit of a stretch to focus on the idea that right-wing criticism of immigration divides the workers, whilst glossing over what you've just written about paying as little as possible to the workers. You've completely missed the glaring issue of migration - a never ending supply of people willing to work for lower wages and in worse living conditions - meaning the workers wages are undercut, living conditions worsen due to basic overcrowding, and they hold little power as they can just be replaced.

In short, it's in the interests of those wanting to pay as little as possible to the real wealth creators to welcome immigration, and the only reason they say anything against it is to appease voters and give reasons against it that detract from the actual problems it causes.

For so long, we haven't had a political party that actually represents the workers. The left has lost it's way and forgotton them, preferring to brand them as thicko racists if they object.

There's a lot of depressing truths on this thread.
I am a very long term member of the Labour Party but I don't think I will be renewing my membership.
I thought of myself as traditionally left wing mainly in terms of wanting economic fairness, legal protections for working conditions, good schools and hospitals.
I never wanted to see people being bullied for being different in any way but some aspects of social liberalism and identity politics have me very confused. If I even say I feel confused people jump down my throat and say that I'm a bigot.
I think I take individual people as I find them and don't make assumptions based on age, social class, race etc.
I cant buy into the parcel of views that are now presented as left wing but I certainly don't espouse traditionally right wing views.
In my 70+ years I have never seen such a mess.
High numbers of children and adolescents with severe mental health issues. Underfunded schools, the NHS deteriorating rapidly in the last few years.
No politician is allowed to complete anything because they are brought down by their own party (both conservative and labour).
Social media tearing politicians apart and demanding instant results so that people who are motivated by ideals and public service are put off and we are left with egomaniacs.
The public demanding no cuts to anything but no rising taxation either.
I too feel a lack of agency to do anything about it. I live quietly in the countryside and could disengage completely but I worry what sort of world it's going to be for today's young people.

Exactly flit. I thought of myself as essentially left wing always voted Lib Dem or Labour but am on the wrong side of all those diktats. Have concerns about immigration and benefit culture / horrified by October 7 / gender critical. So I am definitely excluded from the current version of “left wing” but am certainly not right wing.

I can relate a bit OP. Labour isn’t left wing anymore, and being a feminist suddenly means you’re a right wing TERF instead of a left wing progressive!

But though there isn’t a UK party where I feel I belong, my values haven’t changed. I support fair taxation to provide good quality public services; I think the hoarding of wealth and decimation of resources that’s possible under capitalism could result in environmental and social collapse.

It’s all exhausting, and hard to care enough that you do what you reasonably can to improve things, but not so much you feel hopeless!

I think there is a big issue with the left wing dictating what left wing policies are. To be left wing you have to think there is a genocide in Palestine, ‘the greedy rich’ will pay for everything through tax, twaw and immigrants should be welcomed. These are mandatory views. If you don’t follow them you are a traitor.

Thus there are lots of people who no longer feel they can associate with the left wing and reform are in the ascendency.

This is also why the current right wing campaign to criticise immigrants works against the interests of the working poor as it divides the workers when , as the song goes 'one is workers Unity and evermore will be so.

Aren't the ‘working poor’ allowed to form their own opinions rather than being told what to think by the left?

Not true at all. Experience teaches you how corrupt are the right wing. Prepared to pay as little as possible to the real wealth creators ,( the workers not the share holders ) ie just enough to keep them alive and working. This is why it is so important for workers to join a Union to fight for higher wages and better working conditions. This is also why the current right wing campaign to criticise immigrants works against the interests of the working poor as it divides the workers when , as the song goes 'one is workers Unity and evermore will be so'. When you're young you haven't the life experience to realise this.