MNHQ Group 2

Many thanks for agreeing to take part in this closed discussion thread. As you'll know, you all have an individual user name, separate to your on-site profile. So please feel free to be as open and frank as you like, without your views being read-across to your site profile.

The aim of these discussions is to discover if, how and why women's voting intentions are shifting and what you think about each of the party leaders.

We'll ask a few questions, allow you to think them over, respond, engage in a bit of discussion with other participants, and then we will pop back on the thread. We might want to tease out the reasons behind particular views or opinions and then will crack on with the next set of questions (on Thursday) and one more set over the weekend. Do feel free to re visit the thread at any point over the next week or so. We'll email you when we add a new set of questions.

Here are the questions to get you started

Thinking about when you decide which party to vote for, how important is the leader of the party in that decision?

Why?

What do you look for in a party leader? What makes a good party leader and what makes a bad one? What makes a good prime minister and what makes a bad one?

Thinking about the party you voted for at the 2010 General Election and the party you would vote for now, has it changed?

I voted Labour and I would again. I don't always agree with everything they do but they are 100 times better than the Tories and the only ones likely to get rid

I find the leader important, although as other posts have said, this is perhaps more in an I can't bear to vote for this person way than in a positive way.For example, I believe that the Libdems most strongly match my political beliefs, but have no respect for Nick Clegg as I feel he dropped his beliefs to pursue power.

I want a leader who is charismatic, empathetic, can make a tough decision without gloating and enjoying other's difficulties, who has gained experience in the real world (successfully within their own right) and who represents the country in a way that we can be proud of.

I voted libdem at the last election, but won't if Nick Clegg remains leader. If Vince Cable was Libdem leader I'd vote for them. Otherwise it'll be labour, although I think Ed Milliband lacks the charisma and real world experience that he needs.

I wouldn't vote Tory, they have screwed me and my children over with their decisions on public spending and welfare.

Thinking about when you decide which party to vote for, how important is the leader of the party in that decision?

Extremely important.

Why?

They are the face and reprsent the whole party, a lot of my feeling for a party depends on the leader.

What do you look for in a party leader? What makes a good party leader and what makes a bad one? What makes a good prime minister and what makes a bad one?

I look for someone who isn't a complete git (relatively hard) A good party leader is someone who is fair and can be taken seriously, but isn't too flippant. He should appeal to all and not be too upper class. A bad party leader would be somebody who only seemed to look out for one class or type of person and someone who you couldn't relate to.

Thinking about the party you voted for at the 2010 General Election and the party you would vote for now, has it changed?

I voted Labour. And will vote Labour next time.

Why?

I usually do. Why not?

I am a miner's daughter, so couldn't bring myself to vote Tory. the Liberals are in bed with the Tories and are beyond weak. UKIP are a joke (BNP lite) and the other parties are too small to succeed.

The leader of the party is important as I would expect that person to personify that party's values. For most people, who don't have a specific political interest, the leader is what they'll make their judgement on. The popularity of the Lib Dem's at the last General Election was partly to do with how Nick Clegg came accross.

A good party leader will firstly be doing it for the right reasons and for the good of the party, there are too many men vying for position and power rather than because they genuinely feel they can do a good job. I can't help thinking that if the Millibands worked together to decide which one of them stood and the other supported and worked with him, the Labour Party would be in a much better position.

A good prime minister would work to support this country and our society in the best way, not just use their position to promote their own political ideals. They would listen and reflect and be open to change when things go wrong. I'm also a great believer in evidence based practice. At times, there is no other option but to take a punt but this Government seems particularly fond of looking at evidence of what works, and then doing something entirely different.

I voted Labour at the last general election and I will do again. The Tory's seem to have replaced the word society with economy. We used to do things that were best for society, now everything we do is for the economy. Who is this economy for? It's very difficult to get behind saving an economy designed to make the rich richer and the poor poorer. There is no incentive for me there.

Nick Clegg made a terrible mistake jumping into bed with Cameron and Co. With Labours apathetic challenge lacking in policy and vigour, there would be a real chance of Lib Dem's taking my vote from Labour. Not now though, not ever.

I live in the North East and still see the evidence of the damage the last Tory government made. I'm working class and believe in a fair society for all so my allegiance is with Labour. I wish they'd get their finger out though and start making a legitimate challenge to the Coalition.

I voted labour in 2010 but might find it harder to do so now, almost entirely because of their leader. I find it utterly frustrating that since the 2010 election huge changes have gone through such as cuts to the NHS, tuition fees, housing benefit cuts, universal credit etc that nobody voted for. And Ed Miliband just stands by and says nothing. It seems Labour's strategy is just to sit this period of opposition out and not even to bother fighting until we're in an election period. I find it utterly irresponsible and complacent. They have a responsibility as Her Majesty's Opposition to put the other side of the argument but too often don't bother, meaning the Coalition are often defining the terms of the debate and therefore winning the argument.
I have thought of joining Labour and would like to but specifically don't want to while EM is in charge as I don't want to become a membership statistic that appears to endorse his leadership! Silly really, but I dislike him that much. He comes from an out of touch elite. Every sound bite is so incrediy over thought by a team of policy wonks, everything he says feels like it's been hashed over by a committee and coming up with bollocks terms like 'predistribution' is frankly a waste of everyone's time and will make no sense to the average voter. Instead he should be getting out there doing all the running on issues like the NHS. And I don't understand why he's been so quiet about corporate tax avoidance. That's a huge issue that Amazon, Starbucks etc arent doing their bit and he should be right behind Margaret Hodge talking about it at every available opportunity, organising boycotts etc. Instead he gives the impression of sitting in a room all day with ten Ollie Reeders agonising over a full stop.
In truth, I would probably vote Labour next time because I believe in the core value of redistribution of wealth and the welfare stare but deeply, deeply grudgingly. I might actually vote Green, I need to look into it. But I find EM utterly passionless, condescending and out of touch.

Thinking about when you decide which party to vote for, how important is the leader of the party in that decision?

Rather than positively influencing me, an unappealing/incompetent leader could put me off voting at all. I generally have a feeling about which party I support and as long as the leader is capable, i will vote for them. If I want to vote for a party but the leader is an embarrassment, I will vote tactically for a different party.

Why?

Because a leader is not the decision maker, but the figurehead. The party's politics are the most important thing. The party will have more success in driving them forward if the leader is effective.

What do you look for in a party leader? What makes a good party leader and what makes a bad one? What makes a good prime minister and what makes a bad one?

I look for (and rarely find) charisma, humanity, intelligence, evidence of grass-roots-experience. A good leader is like a good manager - genuine, convincing, carries team with him, enthusiastic, generally upbeat.
A bad party leader is boorish, bigoted, old-fashioned, old-school, invisible.
A good prime minister has to have gravitas when engaging with other countries' heads of state, as well as the qualities of a good leader.

Thinking about the party you voted for at the 2010 General Election and the party you would vote for now, has it changed?

No

Why?

because I'll always vote labour, or at least, i'll always find it impossible to vote tory, and pointless to vote libdem.

Why not?

Thinking about when you decide which party to vote for, how important is the leader of the party in that decision?

The party leader is crucial. I had no faith in Tony Blair and moved over from being a life long Labour supporter during his time in office, to being a LibDem voter. This was because he seemed to me to be a Tory in Labour clothing, and I felt that a lot of people were being misdirected as a result of this shift to the Right by the Labour Party. Now I look at the Millibands and although I don't think they are particularly personable or media friendly, I do think they both have a solid grounding in socialist values. Shame about the family infighting, but I'd rather have ed Milliband leading the country that Cameron.

Why?
Because the leader shapes the party. How the leader is perceived and how she or he approaches the job directs how others respond.

What do you look for in a party leader? What makes a good party leader and what makes a bad one? What makes a good prime minister and what makes a bad one?

I'd love a leader who closed their ears to spin doctoring and saw through policies designed to improve the state of the country long term instead of endlessly fiddling and mucking about with minor details aimed at spiking their popularity in opinion polls.

A good leader is not swayed by meeja hysteria and polls and short term sticking plasters. A good/great leader doesn't shuffle the cabinet according to cronyism, but gathers the most experienced people together, sorts out long and short term objectives and systematically sees them through. Businesses do it. I wonder if the government realises how very much the people think The Thick of It is an accurate portrayal of how their days in office are spent.

Thinking about the party you voted for at the 2010 General Election and the party you would vote for now, has it changed?

Perhaps. Last time I voted LibDem, partly because local LibDems are brilliant, partly because I live in a Tory area which occasionally gets ousted by Lib Dems whereas Labour had no chance, and partly because I was deeply disaffected by the Labour Party. But next time round, I think I'd vote Labour.

Why?

Because I am getting more radicalised as this country gets greedier and the gap between rich and poor gets bigger. No one would know this to look at me. Big house in smart area, kids in private schools but I loathe the Tories. I loathe above all else the idolisation of profit over service. Serco, G4S - hoodlum companies running our services into the ground for a quick buck. And I'm increasingly shocked by how passive we Brits have become about it. How accepting we are. Everyone i know who is employed is doing the job of two or three people. Everyone I know who is unemployed is educated, able and willing to work, yet there is nothing around.

Not long ago my husband went for drinks with a dozen friends. Around the table at this pub in an extremely well heeled corner of SE England only one man was now employed full time. The rest were mainly between contracts, on short term contracts or using redundancy to try to set up new businesses in a very competitive market. There was no job security, no job satisfaction, no hope of career progress or ability to plan for or save for the future. For eleven out of twelve well-educated men.

I'm not baying for a revolution, but I do think we need some really forthright, fair genuinely socialist leaders at the helm. They'd win respect.

And, of course, because there's been no sign of Lib Dem showing their colours during this coalition. They've hardly tempered the way the Tories behave.

Why not?

Feel free to include any thoughts you might have - they don't have to be the conventional, just true to how you feel!

I think the party leader is an essential part of the 'party package' as I expect his values and ambitions to influence the party manifesto and promises and also whether they will be delivered.
A good party leader makes his background invisible and irrelevant: being wealthy and priveledged shouldn't be a barrier but , for example, David Cameron appears not to have any understanding of life beyond this. George Osborne appears not to have ever set foot outside of his estate and this comes across in how he seems to make assumptions about income that jar with the Marion's experiences.
I voted lib dem as I had no faith in the others; I feel betrayed by the tuition fees debacle and I can't see a viable alternative at the moment.

I think it's critical to have a leader who can 'gel' his/her party behind them. I do look at who the leader is of the party I vote for, I'm very much a Labour supporter but not too left wing, I would struggle to support a leader who didn't share my core beliefs.
A good party leader should listen to his party and the people at large. They need to be able to take tough decisions for the long term good of the country, but need to be able to properally account for their actions and give solid facts to back policy up.
All too often party leaders (especially those who become prime minister) start off with good intentions but fail the people who elected them. To me a bad leader is someone who doesn't follow through on their promises, or at least try! Although I'm not a Margaret Thatcher supporter! She was an amazing PM during the Falklands War, I lived near an army town at the time. She unified the country at a time when soldiers were going half way around the world to fight for a piece of land we'd never heard of, but it was the right thing to do. Sadly, she got carried away with the power and stopped listening to her party and the country.
My allegiance hasn't changed since the election, I don't feel any empathy with David Cameron, or my local MP. I live in an area that is very Tory and will never be anything else,