Which issues are the ones likely to swing a general election result ?

[Georgeduhamel]

Seems to be a big difference in real life outside MN and MN.
Most people I know are frustrated by the state of public services and the lack of money despite sky high taxes. Local schools are falling apart, NHS non functioning despite best efforts of the staff and our town centre is now reminiscent of an East European backwater in the 1970s with barely any shops and homeless folk on every corner. We also have a particularly inept Tory MP so I anticipate people will want to get rid of him.
Which things will affect your vote ? What’s most important ? In some respects I guess it depends on your personal situation and where you live. Leafy affluent home in Surrey life might not have changed, council estate in Rochdale you might be more eager to get rid of the current lot in government.
On MN, maybe understandably, gender ideology and labour’s uncertain stance seems to be a hot topic but does that trump the cost of living crisis or the lack of GP appointments or 24 hour delays in A/E ?
Fwiw I’m in agreement with most of the GC arguments but that won’t influence my vote for Labour.

My MP, MIA as he usually is, is standing down at the next election. We’ve also been subject to boundary changes, so I have no idea whether there will even be a Labour candidate. I know there’s a LibDem, because we’ve had plenty of fliers from her. I can’t see at all who I could vote for.

I read a great comment - can't remember it word for word but it went along the lines of:

The left believe in fairness and equity which the right criticise as the politics of envy.

The right believe in ambition and personal responsibility which the left criticises as the politics of greed and selfishness.

I find it utterly depressing - and worrying! - that people who would not ordinarily vote Conservative are planning to do so over Womens' rights issues. Especially after that disgusting 'joke' Rishi Sunak made the other day.

It definitely feels as if issues are not going to matter much. Some political journalists and academics have said it looks like the electorate have decided they want to give the Tories a massive kicking, and the only question is the severity of the kicking. That is English and Welsh voters, Tories in Scotland and NI are a minority group of course.
I believe the Lib dems have always said they would re join the EU. But as always our absurdly undemocratic first past the sodding post system means precious few voters actually live in constituencies which can change hands. Although to be fair our present incompetent, corrupt and unpleasant government are doing their best to change this.

I’m going to follow an ABC route to get the tories out. I don’t agree with spoiled ballots either. I understand that you are following your right to spoil it but it will, in turn, count as a positive vote to the tories and we want them out.
don’t make your vote a one vote issue.

My vote does not depend on my personal "micro" circumstances. I'm doing OK and will continue to do OK regardless of the election result. I will vote for whichever party offers a better chance of an improvement in society generally. The party that I feel will at least care about, and try to work for, the greater good. Which,despite the fact that I am uneasy about some of its current direction has to be the Labour Party.

So I’ve read most of the thread. Lots of talk about lack of imagination and aspiration. Just more of the same.
And the comment about last time the country had a sense of general consensus being under Blair resonated with me, maybe he did just strike lucky or perhaps something more profound. The difference then being people were happy to vote for Labour as an alternative, not sure there was the same cynicism and ‘they’re all the same’. What I do remember is that life for many back then did seem more hopeful and less grim. And Tony Blair did have a certain charisma which I don’t think Johnson got anywhere close to emulating, I think people did believe for once we were all in it together. If anything things are just as bad now as they were then but people are much less likely to be burned twice by leaders who promise everything.
Labour have the problem that they can’t think big because they’ll get accused of being profligate with tax payers money, ‘pie in the sky policies’, they think small and stress the financial shit the country is in, then they’re lacking imagination.
Don’t know what the answer is. Starmer isn’t really charismatic , struggles to sell his vision and Sunak has never experienced real life, insulated by his billions, tarnished by his association with Johnson. And to top it off a corrupt dishonest media. Such a bloody mess.

They're not. Single Issue voters on this issue only have SDP and Reform UK to choose from. Maybe that partially explains the rise of Reform.

Anyone who tells you they're ex-Labour but going to vote Tory because women's rights is probably spoofing.

Who needs focus groups with this level of insight

No worries. Agree entirely.

Maybe they’ll have a moment of clarity as they did for green stuff, non dom and bonus caps. Although about a year after it was entirely evident to anyone with a grasp on numbers.

It’s an idiotic policy but they could probably scrap it and no one would care and still vote for them.

If they did that, fine. I’m quite interested in the reality of Labour v the expectations on these threads.

@EasternStandard appreciate you don’t like Labour but what have the tories done well ? I’d take your digs at labour more seriously if you could explain why the Tories actually deserve to win.

T Blair was in power when the IT businesses were taking off,people were making so much investing in Apple,Google etc
The oil industry was booming more soaring share prices ,our pensions which were invested in them did v well. Loads of jobs due to finance and industry doing well (though I can’t see that the Labour gov actually caused or helped this) -so all was good -sadly they also opened the doors to east Europeans (businesses doing well with this cheap labour) - but it lead to Brexit.

Labour have the problem that they can’t think big because they’ll get accused of being profligate with tax payers money, ‘pie in the sky policies’, they think small and stress the financial shit the country is in, then they’re lacking imagination.

I disagree. They need to ‘think big’ and explain how they will make things better without just throwing money at it. People aren’t stupid, we know the world is in a shit place at the moment, don’t pretend it’s just Tory/Britain thing. Just level with us and tell us how you will do things better with the money you have or if you are going to tax us more, convince us that it won’t just be more of our money wasted. Tell us your plan to make things better!!

@EasternStandard you keep banging on about people’s expectations of Labour. You do realise that some areas of the UK have been massively let down by the tories already. They’ve had their go and haven’t delivered. Simple as.

Yeah that's a pathetic beggar your neighbour attitude to have. I started work at 16 and became a parent at 38. That's 22 years . But I never lost any sleep thinking about my taxes helping to fund child benefit or old age pensions in the interim. I was too busy having a life.

Wtf next ? Why should I pay for the police - save up and get yer own security! Selfish 🤡 s

Hospitals, doctors, dentists, the economy, schools, the Torys lied about Brexit.

@givenup123 I agree. That’s where a decent manifesto comes in but also articulate engaged representatives who can explain it, answer questions etc unlike Corbo who just got cross.

To be fair the tories at the time were against brexit, all the main parties were, thats why dangerous Dave thought he was onto a winner by holding the referendum

The extremists on the tory back benches and Farage were what won it for Brexit.

Then labour (which I will never forgive) started pushing for the will of the people to be enacted.

I don’t need to do that. Why would it make any difference?

People will not vote at this point for policies, it’s gone too far. Look at the same policy no bonus caps - one side announces it and they’re evil, the other and it’s great. Exactly the same policy.

Look at the sheer amount transferred into people’s bank accounts, only now stopping for some, or the massive support during Covid. So we’re spending huge amounts at the same time as people saying I want more from the state.

There isn’t more. So have a Labour gov and see if it improves as people expect. But don’t do crappy policies to paper over stuff. Nom Dom one already changed, green one too. Maybe they are listening and will change the last crappy VAT one.

As for what I want, I wouldn’t change much although unlike some I would look at trafficking as it is a problem. But the biggie for me was around SM / CU which nobody is looking at. If someone had that and showed me numbers I might get interested.

TLDR - have a Labour gov rather than imagine how different it will be but quit the bad policies, they’re not even needed. Two down, one to go.

In many ways it won’t matter about policies for me, I’ll have to vote tactically to ensure the Tories are kicked out. Probably LD.

What substantive changes do you expect in the country once Labour return to power?

A Prime Minister that was actually voted for in a democratic way.

I pay no attention to the controversial sound bites for stuff such as GC women’s spaces, mainly everything that’s happened has happened under a Tory gov so your IQ must be at room temp if you believe anything they say about it.

I will vote Labour to remove them from power.

@Lea3 less corruption and general dishonesty, more respect for the great institutions of this country, actual investment into areas that require it not just those who vote Tory, Levelling up/ Northern powerhouse actually meaning something. I’ll see what the manifesto is like..

This is a rational and sound conclusion. People do best when society is functioning well.

What is the point in homes and savings if the laws are weak to protect property? What chance of a pension fund paying out our retirements if younger generations are not skilled-up and incentivised for work? Etc....etc...

I have reached the same voting conclusion.