Lifelong Labour voters: how are you feeling?

I feel the same as you. I'll vote green

Heartbroken and scared for the future.

I couldn’t agree more.

Reading this post gave me flashbacks to conversations in which I was trying to persuade leftie Labour members who hated Blair to set aside their particular ideological hobby horses (Palestine was a big one, even then) & see the bigger picture, ie beating the Tories. Also trying to get people to understand that, under FPTP, if the constituency battle is between Labour & the Tories, a vote for ANY candidate other than Labour was a vote for the Tories.

Lifelong Labour voter here. I don't think Labour will change anything. They'll be a superficially nicer version of the Tory party but with added misogyny, self-ID and hate crime laws. They are not increasing welfare spending, keeping the two child cap and the Labour Welsh Assembly doesn't do any better at managing the NHS than England and in some ways it's worse.

Same with local authorities - Birmingham went bankrupt under Labour partly because of their legal fees to fight equal pay claims from women. I live under a London local authority that went from Tory to Labour in 2022 - nothing has changed except we now have a Pride and some very badly executed parking restrictions. The GLA under Labour has seen rising crime and violence, increaseD homelessness, bad housing development and poorly thought through environmental policies.

I'm not voting. If you want change you have to volunteer and lobby and campaign on an individual level. Voting isn't going to change anything much.

I really feel for you. I'm lucky that I'm in a strong Labour area and no risk of the Tories getting in. Which means I don't have your dilemma and I'll be voting Green. I don't know what I would do in your position.

Real Politik. Do you want more of the Conservatives? Choices. Yes, Vote Conservative. No, vote another party or don't vote.

If you don't vote then you risk a party getting in/ encouraging, you don't like eg Reform.

If you don't vote you are abdicating responsibility.

It's similar to the conundrum faced by the French in the Presidential election - a choice between the fascist Marine Le Pen and the right-winger Macron. Do you refuse to vote because you don't like either or do you vote for the lesser evil ie Macron to ensure that Le Pen is defeated?

The left in France in the main put a peg on their nose and voted Macron therefore. The risk of getting Le Pen was just too awful.

Here the risk of getting the Tories (or encouraging Reform) is just too awful. Put the peg on your nose if you must but vote Labour. Then campaign for them to improve the policies you dislike. Governments can change policies when they are proved to be unpopular.

There's no point in voting LibDem as when push comes to shove they will side with the Tories and abandon any/all their 'policies'. They have form.

not at all thrilled with the Labour party but haven't the words to describe the depth of my loathing and contempt for the Tories
Labour have failed women and children big time but I'm hopeful the Cass report will give them the reason they need to row back on this- I don't need to see public confessions of shame and wrongdoing on this, I just need to see them make policies that will give us back our single sex spaces and protect our young people.
On Gaza, I don't see the use of posturing, neither Israel or Hamas give a damn about an opposition party in a small country off the coast of Northern Europe. Iraq was different, Blair was in power and took us into a war, but then I set that against Surestart....
So, will probably vote Labour. But only probably.

Muggedbyreality , I voted for Michael Foot, devastated to discover most people saw him as too left wing. Left over Iraq. Returned to vote for Yvette Cooper. Left twelve months into Corbyn’s leadership. He couldn’t lead, couldn’t manage media without being grumpy grandad plus anti semitism. Joined voted Starmer. I’m with you in believing he’s managing to hold it all together.

I’ll vote Labour it’s the country’s only hope. Public services including bus in a real mess. Only a strong Labour govt can begin rebuilding

I want the tories gone, my area is a swing seat we've had a mix of both tories and labour over the years, I'll be holding my nose a little but definitely voting labour, its the only option to get rid of our current bloody useless Tory MP.

Like others, I'm unhappy about their lack of full on support for protecting women's rights.

But I cannot see the LibDems (or anyone else) as a viable alternative to the Tories and will therefore vote Labour as usual.

Somebody said to me today that their hope was that Labour would have a tiny majority and have to ask Lib Dems to form a govt. LDs would then insist on PR as a condition and then we'd (eventually) have a completely different set up.
It doesn't fill me with joy, but it's one idea!

Who will you vote for then?
Who is doing better?

I'll be voting the tories out first and foremost and hoping at some point to have someone I can get behind, maybe in another 20 years.

But I don't think anyone will dislodge the Tories where I live.

I will vote to get the tories out

Me too.

I feel that they are poor communicators overall. I don't love the constant hedging and climbdowns, particularly on the green stimulus package. The Gaza response was typical of this.

However there are policies and people I like. Angela Rayner is super cool and I like the emphasis on skills and workers.

I will be still voting Labour . We need a change .

I feel very much the same @VerlynWebbe

I was a LP member for nearly all my adult life, until about 2 years ago.
It was the attitude towards trade unions and picket lines which really did it for me. I couldn't believe that the leader of the Labour party was banning / criticising MPs for supporting striking workers and joining picket lines in solidarity.
Since then, the Gaza situation has cemented my feelings (as have various other things).

I don't know what I will do though. I can't stand the thought of not voting. Where I live the Tories are almost certain to get in again.

I will be voting tactically for the first time as Lib Dem have a chance where I live and Labour really don't. I hope to God Labour get in though.

I know what you mean. I'm not convinced with the labour party as it is. however I want the Tories out. ultimately labour can't be worse than them. I realise I'm setting the bar low.

I was a Labour activist in the 90s, and I campaigned successfully in a very important marginal seat in the East Midlands in 97. I quit the party over Iraq, then re-joined to vote for Yvette Cooper in the 2015 leadership election. I left again when Corbyn was leader and it became obvious that the party wasn’t serious about winning.

I’m obviously delighted about the current polls which point to a solid Labour victory. The Tories have failed even on their own terms & deserve to be kicked out.

I completely understand the current leadership’s strategy which is demonstrably working. Starmer is a credible candidate for PM and he has done remarkably well to get the party into this position, albeit with a massive amount of help from Johnson, Truss etc. Obviously I would like them to be much bolder, to acknowledge that Brexit has been a disaster and set out what they are going to do to fix it, and to offer some hope that things might actually improve for ordinary people. As a former activist, however, I understand why they have to be so cautious. They are trying to hold together a very disparate coalition of younger, socially liberal graduates, older socially conservative white working class voters & BAME voters. There are massive dividing lines between these groups on issues like immigration, the environment, ‘wokery’ & Israel / Palestine. The party has to constantly walk a tightrope to avoid alienating big groups of voters.

I can't vote Tory, they are all so useless and self serving. I don't agree with Starmer on everything but I do feel he is serious about the job.

Mostly I just miss having principled politicians in depth in all parties.

I would vote virtually anyone right now to get the Tories out. I feel physically sick when I see any of these buffoons on TV