Is anyone else completely unsure as to what way they lean politically?

[reploe]

I honestly flit from feeling one thing to feeling another thing. I've voted for a mix of parties in my life and to me the idea of only voting blue or only voting red is alien.

If someone asked me what political party I support, I genuinely don't know

I’m politically homeless too. No idea what I’ll do in the general election as I can’t stand any of them.

starmer is not appealing
but the tories have mucked up the nhs

No.

Tory MPs are odious and don't care about not about working people, families, disabled people, disabled working people with families, children, or whether you have enough fucking food this week.

In 2024.

So no.

There's a difference as to how you lean politically vs what party you support. I'm probably centre left and was a Labour Party member but left under Jeremy Corbyn because I felt they no longer represented me. I stayed centre left but just not aligned to the Labour Party.

I know which way I don't lean and which way if H leant I would divorce him.

Which is a start

Yes. I find the tribal nature of some people really hard to understand. I know a lot of people who are hardline Labour supporters and love to say how awful the Tories are and yet when you talk to them about policies they are actually very right-leaning in what they politically believe. But it seems ingrained in them that they are "the red team" and anything the red team says is right and anything the blue team says is wrong.

I don't think I've ever come across a politician that I like or trust and am not supportive of any party in particular. I prefer to look at actual policies and vote on that rather than get into all the tribal and combative stuff eg I think people who say all Tories are nasty and hate disabled people are a bit dim really. Same as saying all Labour supporters are benefit scroungers. It's way too divisive when in reality there usually isn't that dramatic a difference in policies.

I don't think I've ever voted for the same party in two consecutive elections. I've flitted between Tory, Labour, LibDem and independents over the past 40 years I've had a vote. No party actually aligns with my own political views so I have to choose what I think is the best of a bad bunch every time. I'm basically politically homeless.

Several things influence me, including the party leader going into the election, the manifesto, the local candidates, etc., and I have to weigh up the pros and cons of each.

I'd have voted Labour the last time but Corbyn scared the crap out of me!

Not convinced at all about Starmer, but I'd never vote for the odious little cretin Sunak and have no idea what Ed Davey stands for, so I'm hoping for a credible independent at the forthcoming GE - let's hope there's someone local standing as an indie rather than being parachuted in from out of the area like Tory and Labour always are!!

There are various websites that can help give you an idea, eg https://uk.isidewith.com/political-quiz

Once manifestos are published in the run up to an election, there are websites which help you see which policy views you align with.
https://voteforpolicies.org.uk/

It's tricky for me as I'm socially liberal but economically conservative. I don't identify with any party at the moment.

i would probably vote green where i live

i dont think labour are in the running in my constituency and green have done very well

Me too. I'm not sure I trust Labour with the economy (or my pension). But I don't trust the Conservatives with public services. I'm very concerned about environmental and animal issues so lean towards Green, but they don't appear to understand what a woman is which is alarming.

So I never know who to vote for.

Yes. I find the tribal nature of some people really hard to understand. I know a lot of people who are hardline Labour supporters and love to say how awful the Tories are and yet when you talk to them about policies they are actually very right-leaning in what they politically believe. But it seems ingrained in them that they are "the red team

This is the problem.
People just don’t consider the candidates properly or think about their track record, experience, qualifications, competence or abilities in order to make a truly informed decision.

Another politically homeless person here.

I live Buckinghamshire - It's very Tory, and in parts, impossible to imagine Labour MP's being elected.

It's difficult because I want to see change, but in terms of current political leaders, I dislike Starmer, and I have no respect for Sunak.

My DSIS would disown me if I voted Conservative, so that is always an option!

I want to vote for a candidate that will take local concerns seriously. I always voted Conservative until the Labour MP Jim Knight became our MP. He and his staff always replied to constituents' concerns and tried to act for them, he was excellent - I voted for him when he stood again and he won with an increased majority, IIRC the only Labour politician to do so in the least gasp of the Labour government.
The next election we got Drax. I have absolutely no respect for him, I can only hope that since we'll almost certainly get a Conservative MP he'll be abducted by aliens before the next General election.

Surely that's most people. I'm slightly left.of centre idealisotically, which party fits that best (none of them really) will depend on their policies of the day.

I'd ideally like to see political parties abolished and so you vote for the individuals. The MPs then have to vote as their constituents want, or as their conscience takes them, rather than "have to leave their brains outside and vote just as the leaders tell 'em to".

But the party I normally vote for, I couldn't bring myself to because the local head of it is a manipulative bully who delights in lying about others to boost himself up, and to protect himself when his lies are found out.

Yes it would all be so much better if there were no parties or tribes and we just voted on the strength of the person's character and their policies. Can't see how it would work in practice but would be so much better than tribal politics.

Yes, I can't see it working in practice, but I'd like to give it a try for a couple of sessions. Maybe then they could form different ones and we'd have a different set of MPs in because people could vote for policies rather than parties.

At the door of the polling stations, they could have a flier where each candidate has a certain space to write down what they want to stand for, and on the paper they can put a tag line to sum that up. No parties allowed.

@lavenderlou thanks for the links. It was amazingly accurate!