to be genuinely confused as to why anybody who isn't rich would vote tory?

[StuckinTheMiddlewithYou]

Seriously, I don't get it. Unless you're earning at least £40K, why would you?

Enlighten me!

I voted Tory because I am a thicko who likes SamCams hairdo

I voted Tory because Labour had had their day, because the Lib Dems are, well, the Lib Dems and are never going to amount to a hill of beans in this crazy world. So they represented the best choice.

Parents were Labour voters and Union officials, I must be a disappointment to them.

I always voted for labour, until this election.
Same as a previous poster said, they were spending money we didn't have.
And yes, we are probably those 'middle Englanders' the press like to talk about.
And I can't bear Harriet Harperson.

i voted conservative, because it is all very well saying 'oh those nasty Tories will cut my benefits' when you don't want to be on benefits, you want the economy to recover and provide the conditions in which you can generate your own wealth. And because i was fucked if i was ever going to be made to carry an Identity Card in my home country.

and in actual fact, as already said, it would be hard to shove a credit card between the policies of Labour and Conservatives -Labour also were going to have to be less generous and stop the 'throw money at it' solution to everything. People scaremonger about the cuts - ignoring that Labour were planning cuts too!

I voted Conservative because I want the largest peacetime debt settled swiftly before my childrens generation take over Brownfingers legacy.

I voted conservative because the Labour party were complacent and and economically inept.

actually it was the banks, the bonus-taking bankers and the american sub-prime market that was inept and if you think the tories are going to do anything to rein in their stable mates the bankers then you're very naive indeed!

I think there are only three main reasons anyone votes Tory:

1. They're rich.
2. They believe it means they are middle-class of they do so; it's aspirational.
3. They are exposed to too much Murdoch-based media.

All of the Conservative voters I know of fall into at least one of these categories.

We also have a huge benefit culture that needs reining in.

Yes Twirly those cuts to disability living allowance and the independent living fund are so long overdue.

I said reining in, not stopped completely.

I don't think anyone can honestly say there doesn't need to be some changes.

There do need to be some changes, but those are just evil.

sleepingsowell - it's not quite as simple as that. the Labour government revelled in the tax receipts that rolled in during the boom years, at least partly because of exactly that bubble. the bankers' ineptitude helped to fund the 40% increase in public spending that took place over Labour's tenure, and also to fuel the delusion that boom and bust had come to an end.

in other words, Labour rode high on the bankers' incompetence. blaming everything that happened after that somehow on the tories is simplistic and wrong-headed.

FWIW, I voted Tory this time, because

there was no point voting lib dem where I live
I would rather have eaten my own eyeballs than see Brown re-elected
I loathed the erosion of civil liberties and creep of the nanny state under labour
I was livid at the way they've cocked up higher education in the country
I want to live in a culture of aspiration, not one of moaning, health and safety litigation and entitlement
I used to believe in big-state government but having lived in Brown's market Stalinism I totally, utterly, never want that again

I don't earn more than 40K a year but these were all perfectly decent reasons for me to vote Tory. I weighed up the issues and looked at the election pledges, had a gander at the belief systems that seemed to lie behind them and came to the conclusion that my values and interests were best served by a Tory government. It's not always just about tribalism, narrow-mindedness, social status posing or pretension.

Riven, what do you mean they have reneged on the third runway promise?? I am (frantically) googling but not able to find anything about this. Do I need to start worrying all over again?

Xmascarol - I don't fall into any of those categories!

I voted Tory because, although the cuts are going to be hard, I believe they are working in the right direction to drag this country out of massive debt.
I also believe that, had labour got in again, in 5 or 10 years time, the country would be in a far worse state than it is now.

Riven - you are wrong. One of the Coalition Government's first actions was to stop the third runway. In fact, the action group went to Downing Street to thank Cameron and Clegg personally.

my life was going great until the tories got in! now it's in a right mess

I'm gobsmacked someone thinks earning £40k is "rich"

Just goes to show how deluded some people are.

People voted tory because they realised that the country cannot endlessly spending money that we don't have

Niceguy - dh and I manage on about £23000 a year between us.
An extra £17000 would feel like riches to us, but that is judging it on the bills we have now. The extra money with the restrained lifestyle we live would be lovely!
But I do understand that to those on that sort of money, generally the outgoings are a lot more.

Niceguy, my household income is just above a quarter of that. I'm not the deluded one!

i had the money and i didn't get the country into a mess!

I voted Tory because Labour had made a complete and utter mess of their time in power.

I earn less than £40,000, was educated in one of the worst schools in the country on a sink estate, my parents were Labour supporters (Dad now votes Green and mum refuses to vote).

proud it is so so rude and ignorant to denounce those who vote Tory as 'thickos' just because you don't agree with them. How would you like to be called a thick because of who you vote for? Do you really think you are contributing with what you are saying?

xmascarol how can you dismiss Tory voters into these categories? Why do people think that it is fair game to have a go at Tory voters? How ignorant an silly