Do the left hate the right more than the right hate the left?

So when did Blair ever win a majority of the vote, by the way? A majority of seats is not the same thing

seth - I think that's exactly what it's like in the Labour party now.

Obviously the divisions of yesteryear were holding us back and in fighting was counter productive. I'm glad that Kinock began the unifying process. He was right to do it.

But over the Blair years, no doubt much due to Campbell, things went too far. And Brown has been very totalitarian. Very tribal. Desent has been stamped on in every form.

I'm glad the party can now regroup and decide what it actually wants. Allow some discussion. But it will take a while for the fixed mind sets to change.

I think on MN, the left are often outright rude to the right, and indeed to anyone they suspect of being on the right.

During this election whenever I raised the issue that I was really worried about GB's views vis a vis borrowing I was slapped down as if I werew a Daily Mail reading, rasist slimeball who personally wants to see children out on the street.

Actually I have been a life long Labour supporter but have recently had serious misgiving over party centralisation and the economy.

But I do think these things filter down from the top. Any desent is met with vociferous condemnation. Anyone raising immigration in the aprty is branded a rasist. Anyone concerned about employment lawas is a fascist. Anyone questioning the moves to ban home education is anti-social services. Anyone questioning the borrowing hates the poor.

It has to stop. We have to allow debate.

interesting - do you mean the left were taking a 'if you're not for us you must be against us' line more than the right?

No, I don't feel I am getting more criticism from the left - just a different kind. What I find interesting is that a politically impartial book and blog - one which my publishers had to monitor very carefully to ensure non-bias, especially during the campaign - can be accused by one side of bias when it's setting out the case for both sides. Or all sides.

yes, the left hate the right more.

the right feel superficially patronisingly superior and actually secretly and deeply afraid

"the Left will criticise you for a display of even-handedness"

Everyone thinks they are even-handed don't they? If you feel you're getting more criticism from the left it suggests you might be a bit further to the right than you think, no?

My own personal experience of running a political blog and publishing a political book in the past year is this.

Both the Left and the Right will criticise you.

The Right will criticise you if you are ever partisan - but the Left will criticise you for a display of even-handedness.

sorry, heathen!

smallwhitecat - the thing is, you aren't as likely to encounter the people who agree with you going nuts as you are the ones who disagree - so everyones viewpoint is skewed by this.

I think we need to get together and fund some empirical research. We could lock a bunch of Guardian readers in one room to read Littlejohns's column and in another a bunch of Telegraph readers to read - I dunno - Johann Harri? (Does he annoy right wingers? He irritates me.) and then measure the decibel level from each room.

oojimaflip - to be fair, the formation of UKIP pulled a few of the 'turbonutters' out of there...

smallwhitecat - you don't know all Tory voters or all Labour voters. There are plenty of frothing at the mouth Tory turbonutters out there.

...and in fact, I posted early on saying abuse goes both ways. So according to StraitsofWTF, I am either incredibly stupid or dead.

Bugger.

smallwhitecat - I think you are right, but would be just as right if you swapped left and right in you 16:43:08 post

But I didn't say anything about conservatives, skihorse!
I just asked you to clarify what you were talking about. You must have had some example in mind? As I say, I didn't expect it to be that controversial a question, so if you want to ignore it, go ahead...

Not true, swc - just as sweeping a statement as you're ascribing to the left.

This is so pointlesss. And where does it get us, really?

I think it's very "odd" to say that everyone voting Conservative hates x, y & z - without any evidence. One rule for one...

It just seemed a very odd thing to say, so I wondered what you were talking about

I'm curious as to why I've been asked to provide a comprehensive list of proof that "the left" feel they way they do - and yet "the left" are not required to prove each and every Tory-voting mumsnetter is not an evil b'stard. Talk about sweeping statements.

lemonmuffin, you've just proved my point above. I may just copy and paste it at intervals through the thread. If you're left-leaning, you see rww hatred, and vv. You'd have to be utterly impartial to answer the OP correctly, and to be that impartial you'd have to be incredibly stupid or dead.