If you're not voting Labour because of Palestine or gender nonsense ...

[CheesyJacketPotato]

Are you really ok with having another Tory government? Because in all honesty that is what you'll get.

OK, how about this one then. I’m a vulnerable woman in poor health. Victim of outright rape once (stranger) which I didn’t report partly because criminal justice is on its knees (thanks Tories) and sexual assault by acquaintances twice as well as ongoing domestic abuse. The resulting psychological damage is something I am waiting to deal with because the NHS is on its knees but I have received lifesaving care after self-harm/lifelong health problems in NHS hospitals. The way the tories are going I will not be able to have my life saved in future. Honestly? I’d rather receive medical treatment and live, with a man on the ward, than have to go without because I can’t pay for it and at this point, die. Some TW are sexual offenders. Some doctors are sexual offenders as well.

RE prisons, the Tories are the „law and order” party. Women are so much more likely to end up in prison under longer sentences, thus raising the likelihood that they will be exposed to the risk of assault from male or female prisoners. Even though most of them need rehabilitation and support more than punishment. If you vote for the Tories, it’s “lock them up and throw away the key”. For female offenders as well as male ones.

The Tory government challenged a decision by the Scottish Assembly on the grounds that it overstepped its lawful remit. Not because a rapist pretended he was a woman and women were at risk (see Karen White). They don't give a shit about women.

They especially don't give a shit about poor women, vulnerable women, women in prison, women patients, women carers, victims of VAWG, mothers. Or children All of whom have suffered under this Tory government.

Some TW are sex offenders. Some doctors are sexual offenders as well.

Loads of Tory MPs are sex offenders. Is it any wonder female victims of sex abuse and VAWG very, very rarely see justice in 2023 UK?

I found tge opening post quite nasty, condescending and simplistic.

I also have to take into account how to get the SNP out in my constituency. I was lifelong Labour, even a party member, till Corbyn and the loony left took hold. I feel I don't have a political home any more. It upsets me to think of not voting Labour, but I feel like they don't represent me any longer. None of the parties do.

And you think Labour do? Kier wants any man who wants to to be able to enter women's spaces. Both parties are a disgrace. The Tories might well not care but their actions worked to prevent a human rights travesty.

It doesn't really matter what I think. I know what the Tories have done to British women and the whole of the UK.

They've right, royally fucked the lot of us. And they haven't finished yet!

I am GC and am very worried about the possible impact of gender ideology on women's rights and our children and young people and the impact on free speech (which is hugely problematic) but will not be voting Tory for the following reasons:

• they have fucked the economy more than it needed to be because of Brexit.
• changing the work capability assessment and making it harder (when the bar was already pretty low) because apparently everyone can work from home now
• removing the work capability assessment
• now proposing to remove access to medical care on top of sanctions
• punishing poor people (see all of above) for health issues that have been caused by lockdown, long covid, NHS waiting lists and the cost of living crisis. And because we now have no cheap labour because of Brexit.
• Rwanda
• not doing anything to protect our children and young people from the dangers of social media.
• Not ensuring we had enough PPE to deal with a pandemic.
• Not doing anything about the dentist crisis.
• proposing to reduce workers rights including paid holidays, minimum wage and redundancy rights/payments
• Probably a few things I've forgotten but you get the gist.

So I am concerned about the impact of the continuing growth of gender ideology and its impact, but that doesn't outweigh all of the above (which is saying something as women's rights, child protection and free speech are pretty fucking important issues!). This growing attack on the poor and disabled and most vulnerable in society is more pressing imo.

Unfortunately, I live in a Tory safe seat so it probably doesn't matter which way I vote. Although for the first time ever I did have a Tory canvasser round the other day so maybe they are worried.....

@NoMoreFuckingAbout thanks for putting that into words.

One thing I’m always confused about - if everyone or at least a majority in one area changed their minds before a GE and got out of bed and just voted LD, Green or UKIP (or Labour), it wouldn’t be a safe seat any more surely. It becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy because everyone with the ability to make a difference doesn’t get out of bed. If we all thought things could change it could happen.

I don't think I'm blinkered.

I have a choice between a party that hates women and one that doesn't think we exist.

At the local elections I spoiled my ballot.

The general election - I'm not sure, my current tory MP has been better than the last Labour MP but I live somewhere thought to be a Labour 'safe seat' and I think safe seats tend not to get the best MPs.

Yes I agree. I always vote regardless but I imagine that many people are put off and don't bother, as you say reinforcing the safe seat.

Really it’s up to political parties to convince people to vote for them. If you are the Tories or Labour or Lib Dem and you lose an election the fault lies with you and your policies.

Trying to shame people into voting how you want doesn’t actually work. it also actually puts floating voters off “you can’t get my vote by convincing me so you resort to shaming me”. People can vote any way they want based on their own concerns. For some people womens rights are a red line, for some it will be Gaza for others it will be welfare for others it will be taxation and so on.

You would get further if you outline actual policies that will convince people that you will be effective in office. I’ve voted for each of the three political parties at different points and each time I actually read manifestos and had a think about the personal impact on me and the impact on the country as a whole.

@CeciledeVolangesdeNouveau

So sorry that you have had such a tough time;

you have summed very well why even though I have some disagreement with labour policies I would vote for them as the country cannot survive more years of Tory rule to our essential services, and the lack of compassion they show to anyone who isn't already loaded - and at the same time siphoning any extra cash that miraculously remains off to their mates

I also have a female daughter. Her education and access to safe and well funded schools are a priority. I couldn’t vote for a party that is purposefully under funding schools and making it more difficult for children to get the level of education they deserve.

Why shouldn’t she and other children get the education they deserve just because their parents don’t send them to private schools?

Too many passive people on this thread. My and my families success or failure will not depend on which government is in charge.

People are always looking for excuses. I’ve never been in a better financial and work position than I am now. That is due to my efforts and in spite of any macro economic conditions.

if people realised that external factors account for little they would in turn find more success.

Well, thats excellent news and we need more people to achieve, as you say it can be done regardless who is power BUT we aren't all equal, we don't all have the same opportunities or most importantly the same health, twist your knee at a Park Run and your career, should you not be able to afford the 10k for a knee op, could end.

We live in a country where the elderly or those involved in accidents, wait hours for an ambulance and when they get to Hospital have and still do die waiting for treatment.

Then there are the cuts to SEND funding, no one can be certain they will have a healthy child.

I don't know if Labour will improve anything but the Tories have been in for 13 years and everything is worse, time for change.

Yes to this. So much shaming other women over their priorities on mn. It’s continuous but also pointless and misplaced.

@lightinthebox
My dd is in well funded academy school rated outstanding.

She didn't get the education she deserved because no teachers learn sen at all so they couldn't make small changes to help her.
I've done several "free" courses on it myself to help her and become her teacher

@jasflowers

They did wait under Labour and maternity services became life threatening.
Blair and Brown should have simply made it mandatory to include basic understanding on sen in the pgce. Unfortunately they didn't.
You can throw funding at a child but if the teacher thinks the child who doesn't get phonics is thick or the boy who can't sit on his chair is naughty :finding won't help.

@DarkRainyNovember

What happened almost 14 years under Labour is rather irrelevant, because as i said Nothing has improved, whatever Blair Brown should have done, the Tories have had over 13 years to put right.
As i linked earlier, maternity services are getting worse under the Tories, year by year - 55% lats year, 65% this year - 29 out of 30 newly qualified midwives leave within a couple of years.

Correct about poor teachers but i'm sure you re not suggesting ALL teachers are rubbish? if funding makes no difference, lets remove it all, its currently taking 91 weeks to get a Autism assessment.
Why haven't the Tories made the changes to SEN you suggest? they had long enough!!!

Why do people keep saying 'Keir wants to fill women's prisons with men,' etc, They have dropped the policy of self-id with no medical element to it and did not share the stance the SNP took, though Scottish Labour did.

'I hate threads like this because they've force you to stand up for something even if you don't follow the party and then you get piled on. To be fair the tories never had a clean run ar what whey wanted to do. They came in on the tail end of the credit crisis. Then had to collation. Then blah and blah then brexit, covid and so on..'

@DarkRainyNovember That really is silly. They were more than happy to roll out their austerity policies to 'deal with' the credit crisis and Brexit didn't just happen to them - they caused the bloody thing. Labour wouldn't have had the referendum. The only one of those crises that they had no control over was Covid, and they made an unholy mess of that.

I understand all that. But if people don't vote tactically to get the Tories out we will have more of this current car crash.

I care deeply about the two issues in my OP.

But I also care about: Social care,
Education,The NHS,The homeless
Displaced people, income disparity, poverty .... etc

We need them out.

How on EARTH can you not care about the moral bankruptcy of the Tories, how much of our money they've wasted & how little they care about those they govern?

Me too. I am a single issue voter and this is my issue. My Tory MP (incumbent for many years) came round canvassing in the spring. He knew a lot about this topic. We don't even see Labour, Lib Dem or Green. The independent candidate who to be fair was only standing for one issue, but different issue, knew nothing about it and wasn't interested.

It's not ridiculous
Nor is it everything

Same here