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Left-wing voters, what is your most right wing belief, and right wing voters what is your most left wing belief?

290 replies

ffsnewusername · 12/01/2026 22:21

I’m on nights and fancy something to read.

Thanks

OP posts:
Thread gallery
5
blankcanvas3 · 13/01/2026 14:53

Very very very left wing and my ‘right wing view’ is that I have concerns about the increase in ADHD/Autism diagnoses. And I think a lot of the time parents use very mild autism/ADHD as an excuse for not great parenting

Piglet89 · 13/01/2026 14:56

blankcanvas3 · 13/01/2026 14:53

Very very very left wing and my ‘right wing view’ is that I have concerns about the increase in ADHD/Autism diagnoses. And I think a lot of the time parents use very mild autism/ADHD as an excuse for not great parenting

Edited

As someone with a child who has been diagnosed with ADHD who might have said something similar before I actually lived with a child with ADHD, I find this woefully ignorant.

Because you’re OBVIOUSLY going to sit on a waiting list (if NHS) for potentially years because your child doesn’t have a neurodiversity.

I suspect you have very little real-world experience of neurodivergence.

Lovelyview · 13/01/2026 14:57

Livingonbananabread · 13/01/2026 14:26

I’ve always thought of myself as left-wing, but that went hand in hand with considering myself progressive. Then the goalposts shifted, and I found myself actively opposed to most supposedly progressive causes.

I don’t believe TWAW.
I don’t think surrogacy should be legal.
I don’t believe sex work is work.
I believe in Israel’s right to exist and defend itself.
I’m horrified by the prospect of assisted dying.

But whenever I think maybe I’m actually right wing these days I’ll talk to my Tory father-in-law and discover he doesn’t believe in taxation, welfare or the NHS, still backs Brexit and would reinstate the death penalty…and I find myself clinging to the Guardian.

Edited

We're on the same page I think!

Interested in this thread?

Then you might like threads about this subject:

Tresd · 13/01/2026 15:02

Maraudingmarauders · 13/01/2026 05:12

I’m very LW but I think (out of work) people on benefits who can work (ie not PIP) should be employed by local councils to do the jobs which over the years have been cut - keeping parks tidy and clean, manning public restrooms, cleaning road signs etc. this would give them the opportunity to learn skills, they should have the ability to take on additional responsibilities in supervision etc to help re-engage in the workplace.

I know that’s unpopular and right wing, but to me it’s a sensible way of ensuring people can earn a reasonable living, improve the conditions of our country which have been lost to cuts and impact the general wellbeing of society and i believe going to work (having a routine, having a purpose, interacting with other people, getting out of the house) is essential to most people’s general mental health.

Edited

I have long wondered why this hasn't been instigated. It seems moronic that we have local areas in disarray and disrepair and yet we pay benefits to people who can't find a job. There are so many things that are short staffed - ranging from council depts, to hospitals, to everything really.

My politics are centre anyway.

I don't like the way that each issue has a left side and a right side. I think that each issue ought to be considered independently and that left/right is mostly poisonously divisive.

blankcanvas3 · 13/01/2026 15:02

Piglet89 · 13/01/2026 14:56

As someone with a child who has been diagnosed with ADHD who might have said something similar before I actually lived with a child with ADHD, I find this woefully ignorant.

Because you’re OBVIOUSLY going to sit on a waiting list (if NHS) for potentially years because your child doesn’t have a neurodiversity.

I suspect you have very little real-world experience of neurodivergence.

I have lots of experience of neurodiversity. I’m not saying EVERYONE who gets diagnosed is diagnosed incorrectly - I’m saying that the increase in diagnoses is concerning and I don’t think that they’re always correct.

E.g. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-65534448.amp

Hand holding a bottle of pills

ADHD: Private clinics exposed by BBC undercover investigation - BBC News

An undercover journalist for Panorama is diagnosed and given drugs without proper checks.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-65534448.amp

Livingonbananabread · 13/01/2026 15:02

Oooh, @Lovelyview, that’s nice to know! It feels like quite a lonely page - my sister thinks I’m virtually Genghis Khan.

peacefulpeach · 13/01/2026 15:05

Cattenberg · 13/01/2026 14:43

This infographic attempts to answer that question:

Left vs Right (World) — Information is Beautiful

That’s a bloody awful graphic. Inaccurate rhubarb. No nuance at all.

thestudio · 13/01/2026 15:08

sprigatito · 12/01/2026 22:25

I am pretty much a Communist 😂 but my most conservative opinion is that mass childcare in its current form - babies and young children doing long hours in institutional settings of very variable quality - is a ticking time bomb.

Me too, on both counts.

Industrialised childcare damages babies and small children - we know this objectively and instinctively, but have been so successfully groomed to believe that consumption is the foundation of happiness and a human right that it now feels impossible for one parent to be at home with small children for even three or four short years.

Also, that industrialised childcare is as bad for women as it is for children.

Firstly, they have an instinctive, developmental drive to be close to their young (even when it's boring/tough/otherwise shit) which they have been forced to suppress by the liberal fetishisation of 'progress'.
Secondly, this drive has been so denigrated in culture that they now experience it as a personal, intellectual and/or political failure.
Thirdly, they have been conned into shouldering half the family's economic output while being relieved of only a fraction of the parental and domestic labour, both physical and emotional.
Fourthly, that these apparently progressive and organic social shifts are in fact neither, but are underpinned by an ideology which, like all successful ideologies, is now almost invisible; that these strategies have been so fully internalised by women that they cannot allow themselves to see, let alone challenge, their own subjection - have become, in effect, its most convincing advocates.
Fifthly, that they experience the resulting cognitive dissonance as an alienation from themselves - a low but constant buzz of unease or pervading sense of inauthenticity.

I believe that (3) has been the overarching goal of (1) and (2) and (4), and that it has primarily been achieved through the careful co-option of feminism into liberalism, whose promise of reform has been the most consistent and succesful beard for capitalism (which must continuously expand to survive, and therefore continually finds new ways to convince us that it is not intrinsically anti-human).

Also very unpalatable to those on the broad Left:

My view that immigration is not a Universal Good absent a significant degree of enforced cultural integration, which must be cheerfully pursued in schools and the wider community. And that the liberal Left's cowardice in confronting the conflict(s) of values intrinsic to multiculturalism has led to the shitshow in which democracy now finds itself.

Perhaps more predictably (though as unpalatably to the liberal Left) I attribute this failure almost entirely to the misogyny inherent in Western society, which naturally prioritises a generic 'cultural respect' for its fellow patriarchy over the rights of women within that patriarchy to be perceived as fully human.

I believe that, if it was still rational, the right of women to full humanity would be the Left's first principle - sex is the final and fundamental distinction between humans, incapable of further division, and must logically be considered the primary axis of oppression in any conflict of rights; that the Left's failure to lay out this (or in fact, any) hierarchy of rights is philosophically and politically unforgivable.

Also unforgivable, the Left's failure to apply to multiculturalism the same structural analysis of power that has historically defined it; in particular, the principle that no oppressed group can be 'consulted on' the extent of their consent to oppression, precisely because the goal of any totalising ideology is to produce the conviction that their subjection is the natural way of things - is pleasing to God, for example, or protects them from a more terrifying predator or other existential threat.

I believe that religion is fundamentally perverse and irrational, and should be given no more weight in how society arranges itself than, say, our kinks, hobbies or dietary preferences.

I believe that sex is immutable, and that any internal sense to the contrary, however sincerely-held, can be explained with reference to existing (and in all other forms, unchallenged) psychiatric models of dysphoria.

I believe that many of those internal senses are not, in fact, sincerely held at all, but can be explained with reference to existing psychiatric models of atypical sexuality in tandem with the male, and very much not atypical, capacity to objectify and dehumanise women, for example through the idea that the mannerisms and appearances of 'gender' are innate rather than a self-protective mechanism through which women attempt to please and pacify men.

I believe that the Left has enthusiastically driven so much of the above because it contains as many, if not more, vicious misogynists as the Right, and that Left-wing men are more dangerous and despicable (and thus, despite themselves, more sexually repulsive Grin) because they are the knowing exploiters and cynical co-opters of fundamentally humane ideas in the pursuit of their own political and personal comforts. I believe that the Right has simply and axiomatically monetised what the Left has engineered.

Finally, that women on the Liberal Left (which almost all progressive-Leftists are, whatever the pablums of radicalism with which they soothe themselves) are largely pathetic handmaidens who have perversely suppressed their own powers of critical reasoning in order not to see, in relations between men and women, what they could and would not ignore on any other axis of oppression (eg race/class), or within any similar paradigm of imperialism and/or colonisation, for eg cultural appropriation)

And that those women are marginally - and in this I am certainly guilty of victim-blaming, by far the most frequently thrown accusation of the broad Left, and therefore the one least frequently subject to careful political analysis - more loathsome and more culpable than their male counterparts, because their complicity is equally damaging in its impact on others, but lacks any rational basis.

I realise that this last is slightly at odds with my position on the internalisation of oppression, but fuck it - their bovine smugness is intolerable.

Thanks for holding space, OP 🙏 Grin

Friendlygingercat · 13/01/2026 15:13

Im very much to the right. I take the view that people who choose lifestyles outside the family (for example single/childfree/gay/lesbian) get a pretty shitty deal. Their taxes support the family lifestyle but they get little or nothing in return. 25% off council tax for a single person does not cut it. We need more help for people with one income to pay lower taxes and obtain mortgages and better deals on rents and utilities.

peacefulpeach · 13/01/2026 15:13

Anyone declaring themselves ‘communist’ or ‘practically communist’ (LOL 😶), should spend time talking to people who have lived under communist regimes. And see if they still think it’s a good idea.

Babyboomtastic · 13/01/2026 15:16

RingoJuice · 13/01/2026 13:07

I see abortion as an infringement of the right to life and want to protect those who do not have the ability to defend themselves. I see that as a natural left wing position

It always seemed sort of left-wing to me! The way pro-lifers talk about abortion really is very left-coded. They’ll talk about how ‘ableist’ and ‘racist’ (in the US context) it is, sometimes I don’t know if it’s just to be persuasive to the left or if they really think this way …

I have actually thought about this a lot LOL and I guess the right-wing interpretation is that you should take personal responsibility for your actions (by either using protection/abstinence or accepting the responsibility of parenthood), but isn’t having an abortion exercising personal responsibility?

Realistically, we all think we are right 😜, so the views we have will somehow shift to where we see ourselves politically.

I think the fundamental when it comes to abortion (excluding those that approach it from a misogynistic angle) is the value/humanity of a fetus, not the political spectrum. I see a fetus as increasingly having personhood through pregnancy, hence want to protect it's life. If I didn't believe in it's personhood then that is irrelevant.

I hope one day contraceptives become watertight and easy enough that it's largely an issue confined to history books. It's better for women to not have to go through it, and better for every pregnancy to be wanted.

Maraudingmarauders · 13/01/2026 15:17

Tresd · 13/01/2026 15:02

I have long wondered why this hasn't been instigated. It seems moronic that we have local areas in disarray and disrepair and yet we pay benefits to people who can't find a job. There are so many things that are short staffed - ranging from council depts, to hospitals, to everything really.

My politics are centre anyway.

I don't like the way that each issue has a left side and a right side. I think that each issue ought to be considered independently and that left/right is mostly poisonously divisive.

I’m surprised - I debated posting as I thought I was going to get an absolute bashing and yet everyone who has quoted me has been in favour. That’s not to say the majority would be but I’m surprised by the responses. I totally take on board the comment about left v right, and in fact that it may be socialism more than right wing though I think it now perhaps falls in line more with policies from right wing groups who favour national service etc (to which I’m actually not opposed IF handled properly and suitably, which I don’t trust current parties to do)
To the poster who commented it was a policy under Roosevelt, it was also a policy (or similar) under Hitler pre ww2 in an attempt to get the economy moving again though his was slightly more self supporting- they’d hire people to dig holes and then others to fill them. Obviously not recommending we look to Hitler for good societal design!!! But I simply say to give a balanced view that it’s not a new thought of mine and has been tried in various places in various ways before. It would need careful management and the cynic in me believes in current government style it would be sold to the highest bidder, run ineffectually and inefficiently and no doubt line the pockets of whomever strokes the government’s ego, but I still think the concept is good.

blankcanvas3 · 13/01/2026 15:18

peacefulpeach · 13/01/2026 15:13

Anyone declaring themselves ‘communist’ or ‘practically communist’ (LOL 😶), should spend time talking to people who have lived under communist regimes. And see if they still think it’s a good idea.

No true communist regime has ever existed, so people can declare themselves ‘practically communist’ on the basis that they agree with all the principles of communism. The SSR, North Korea etc - not true communist regimes.

peacefulpeach · 13/01/2026 15:20

blankcanvas3 · 13/01/2026 15:18

No true communist regime has ever existed, so people can declare themselves ‘practically communist’ on the basis that they agree with all the principles of communism. The SSR, North Korea etc - not true communist regimes.

My friends from Romania would not so respectfully disagree with you. And yes of course people can say what they like (well that human right has slipped somewhat in even the uk these last few years.

researchers3 · 13/01/2026 15:21

LuckyNumberFive · 12/01/2026 22:27

Also slightly right of centre. I agree with lifting the two child cap on benefits, I don't care if it's not a magic wand, I'm for anything at all that will lift even a single child from poverty. Same goes for free school meals etc. Tax me to the hilt, don't care, the thought of a single child going hungry, being cold, not provided for.. sickens me.

Totally agree with you on children and poverty.

AlexandraPeppernose · 13/01/2026 15:22

LW. Charity worker. Strong belief on taking care of the most vulnerable in society.

I don't think the middle should be punished by the tax system for career attainment and I think the minimum wage is out of control.

Vinvertebrate · 13/01/2026 15:22

Socially liberal centrist here, married to a Muslim immigrant with a mixed-race disabled child.

My rw views are that unskilled immigration and failure to tackle bogus asylum claims has exacerbated the UK’s existing problems of welfarism, extremism, misogyny and lack of infrastructure/adequate public services, and will likely (and tragically) give Farage the keys to No.10 in a few years as well as cause social unrest.

The Labour Party serves a vacuous metropolitan elite and wouldn’t know a working class family if they tripped over one on the streets of Islington. They are also useful idiots for so-called political Islam.

Biological sex is immutable. Bridget Philippson needs to give her (empty) head a massive wobble and stop pandering to rabble-rousers who throw piss at public buildings in the name of their “cause”.

blankcanvas3 · 13/01/2026 15:24

peacefulpeach · 13/01/2026 15:20

My friends from Romania would not so respectfully disagree with you. And yes of course people can say what they like (well that human right has slipped somewhat in even the uk these last few years.

But Romania still wasn’t a true communist regime. So yes, people who have lived in ‘communist’ countries may think it’s bad - but actually they just think the brand of communism they experienced was bad. True communism isn’t inherently a bad thing (and I say this as somebody - like most people - who has benefited massively from capitalism).

IceBrownie · 13/01/2026 15:24

FlorenceAndTheVagine · 12/01/2026 22:25

LW. That sex is real and immutable, and that there is more nuance to the situation in the Middle East than simply unilaterally being pro-Palestine.

I'm a Republican Socialist (probably defined as a communist in the UK) and I firmly agree with the above

Cattenberg · 13/01/2026 15:24

peacefulpeach · 13/01/2026 15:05

That’s a bloody awful graphic. Inaccurate rhubarb. No nuance at all.

I'm not saying I agree with all of it! But how could you explain the differences between the two main poles of the political spectrum if you started bringing nuance into it?

UrsulaBelle · 13/01/2026 15:25

Lefty. Uncomfortable with the trans issue, while perfectly tolerant of any trans people I know. I hate that I feel this way. My kids think I'm a bigot!

IceBrownie · 13/01/2026 15:26

peacefulpeach · 13/01/2026 15:20

My friends from Romania would not so respectfully disagree with you. And yes of course people can say what they like (well that human right has slipped somewhat in even the uk these last few years.

That wasn't Communism, it was a corrupt, self-serving government with misleading "branding"

Thoseslippers · 13/01/2026 15:26

Im quite left wing but I dont want to see the house of Lords abolished.
I also dont want private schooling abolished UNLESS we have a wide variety of different state schools available that adopt different approaches to education instead of a standard model.

thestudio · 13/01/2026 15:27

peacefulpeach · 13/01/2026 15:20

My friends from Romania would not so respectfully disagree with you. And yes of course people can say what they like (well that human right has slipped somewhat in even the uk these last few years.

Are your friends political philosophers/scientists or similar? If not, they have no greater capacity to define ‘true’ communism for having lived under Ceausescu. They have my sincere sympathy though.

whymadam · 13/01/2026 15:28

Left winger, me.
I'd love UK to be a safe haven for all and sundry who migrate here for a better life.
But, UK already has a grand workforce of people ranging between the ages of 18 and 80. So many of these people can't find jobs!
How will jobs for the incomers materialize?