Vote for local Tory candidate or spoil vote?

Sounds like a plan. I will be voting on a local level.

I understand the feeling of wanting to spoil vote. However, my concern is if women spoil their vote as they feel are unrepresented are they inadvertently fueling it. If you have a pot of both sexes by removing yourself, does that mean the male agenda prevails?

I assume this paragraph from my local conservative candidate's literature is a standard one inserted in the pamphlet for each Tory candidate and isn't therefore his personal opinion?

I'm in a key marginal. I'm a lifelong labour voter but I'll be spoiling my paper. I can't vote for a labour candidate who supports full self ID and criticises and demonises women who don't agree with him.

PS: Women fought hard for the right to vote. How you vote is your choice and your choice only, and no one is entitled to know who you voted for. I think this is one of these cases when lying is ok to preserve the family peace - nobody should be demanding to know.

This is precisely the issue. Any MP with sensible views on women’s rights is an asset in Parliament. Also, this issue crosses party lines. There are awful, woman-hating TRAs in all parties. Vote for your local MP, I would say.

A long-term Labour voter, I have been battling between spoiling my vote and voting for Miriam Cates.

I am now tipping towards voting for Miriam.

Family members will never let me forget this if I tell them. I may tell them I have spoiled my vote. This is a crazy way to be thinking.

@popsicles2342 if I were you I'd rather spoil my ballot than re-elect this bunch of women hating, UK hating, contemptuous, lying fuckwitted Tories.

I plan to spoil mine. Secure conservative seat where I live. They keep track of how many are spoiled don't they? So if enough of us do it then that in itself sends a message. Maybe in future they will think about what their constituents actually want and who their constituents actually are

Only if you are a unrepentant misogynist.

What's the current position with council/social housing? Is most or all of it provided by charities & housing associations?

It’s not good.
I’ve emailed my local candidate twice for his views on this policy but nada.

I haven't read it (except brief news articles about it) so think that's my weekend reading sorted @TrainedByDinosaurs

I suspect you're right, that there wasn't/isn't the extra funding for LAs to provide suitable housing, especially because of the lack of new social housing builds.

I can’t quite believe I’m online today defending a Tory 😬

The Act pushes responsibility for providing housing for DV victims to local authorities, which tbf is the right place. I don’t know for sure but I rather doubt any additional funding was provided to enable them to do that and that’s a different problem to fix.

The more additional provisions included in a proposed new Act the harder to get it through parliament without it being watered down or too difficult to implement effectively. I’m no politics or legal expert but my lay view is the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 is not bad. If you’re interested in reducing DV I would recommend reading it.

I just think of the billions spent on help to buy schemes that help only a few and inflate house prices so actually make things worse (and unfortunately Labour are apparently planning to do their own version of these schemes) that could and should instead have been spent on building more social housing.

It's not specifically a women's issue but the lack of social housing does very much affect many women.

I also find it hard to view RTB as solely a Thatcher policy, because Labour never ended it. I'd like the next Labour government to address this but will they?

May did do quite a bit on DV, it's true. It's why I can never figure out what she thought self-ID was, or would do to women's safety. But she was active on DV for sure.

It was Thatcher who sold off council houses - fair enough, if you're using the funds to rebuild better houses, but she then prevented councils from using the funds for that. Has this ever been reversed, & if not, why not?

What's the current position with council/social housing? Is most or all of it provided by charities & housing associations?

Thanks for replying @TrainedByDinosaurs I didn't realise it was May who introduced that Act. It's a good start, true.

I suppose perhaps the problem is, as you say, it doesn't go far enough. Maybe partly because of a failure to see the issue holistically? (I haven't reafcthf Act so I'm guessing here). Legal aid cuts, insufficient social housing, and funding cuts to other public services that are needed to help those affected by DV.

Thank you, I am very worried. It's a strange time for politics at the moment.

In national terms, the Labour landslide is very reliant on the 18-34 age voters actually turning out in number and voting. It was low voter turnout in this age range that tipped the final result of the referendum away from the predicted Remain victory.

Manifestos aside, Reform candidates are largely inexperienced and, by their own admission, their vetting process is not able to weed out all those with hidden extremist leanings. I'm sure there are many hardworking and moderate candidates amongst their numbers, but I think most people would agree that their overall quality control is poor.

The lack of investment in social housing is a failure of Labour and Conservative governments alike and is unforgivable.

May’s government introduced the Domestic Abuse Act and she continued to champion it through parliament. Yes the bill doesn’t go far enough, but getting it into law is a significant step forward. She did talk to and listen to a number of groups and campaigners and our democratic process means compromise is necessary.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-49910926

I don't agree with her politics but I do believe in giving credit where it is due and it is untrue to say she’s done nothing for women.

With DV. What did May do for that? I'll never forget the thread on MN about a month ago. A woman fleeing DV with her child. She was going to have to give up her job to go to a refuge because her housing association and local authority both told her there wasn't any social housing available for a managed transfer. Did May build lots more social housing? I don't remember her doing that. No government has since the 1980s.

Women's rights are low priority it seems. I was interested in the SDP (although there's not many candidates standing) but they say they want to focus on the family. How will that help women experiencing DV? Unless they mean they value families but also appreciate it's not always the best option because of DV?

On a related but also separate note, although I have DC, I care about single people and the childfree/childless. Seems their needs are largely ignored. That's not a SDP specific problem. Seems to be a problem with all the parties. And although it affects men too, single women are, I understand, one of the poorest groups in society. I'm sure I saw an article a while back that noted there's nowhere in the UK where single women can afford housing. Can't remember where I read it but perhaps someone else will know?

I’m voting tactically to try and reduce the influence Lib Dem’s will have since we do know they define women as a feeling and have no intention of listening to any women who express concerns.

But there is nothing quite so effective in ensuring I won’t consider Labour than that sort of sneery reductionist comment

This

I think the value of having a good constituency MP is underrated. My parents (who've never voted Conservative) have a similar situation to you @popsicles2342 . Their Tory candidate is standing for reelection and is well liked locally as a good local MP. I've suggested they vote for that candidate, although my parents are both very into the secret ballot so won't tell me what they plan to do but have said they've taken my suggestion on board.

The Conservatives aren't going to win this GE so in cases like yours, I'd go for the best constituency MP (whichever party).

Unfortunately for me not sure I have any decent local options. Not massively impressed with any of my local candidates so far. None seem that bothered with this constituency (despite it apparently being a marginal). A good constituency MP is important to me. So I'm still undecided on who to vote for and considering spoiling my ballot for the first time ever.

I think only Labour winning by a huge or smaller than expected margin are possibilities. And because Keir Starmer seems so slippery we just don't know what way he'll jump. There was a very good column by Matthew Syed (a Labour voter) in the Times that said he was very concerned by the way Labour seem to pay most attention to the activists that make the loudest noise, and what a danger that is.