To all of you toryphobic but lovely mumsnetters...

[catus]

I found the tory-dating thread quite interesting. Clearly some people have very strong and deep-seated political views. I couldn't help but wonder: what would you do if your offsprings became conservatives? Would you be disappointed? Would you try to change their opinions at every opportunity? Would you buy them the complete Ken Loach collection? Would you dare admit it to your friends?
And what about their future partners, wouldn't you at least try to love them a little even if they were tories?
For me, I have right wing tendencies but it would probably be fun if DS ended up politically minded and on the left. At least it wouldn't be dull!

what a load of bollocks sticky

I have no political allegiance to anybody so it wouldn't bother me and I do wonder why it appears to bother some many. Its not as if the Labour Party are the great bastions of decency and goodwill, I seem to remember that it wasn't so long ago they invaded a country without a UN mandate in a war that killed thousands yet they are not considered evil or heartless.

wtf says hard work is a Tory thing? Quite the opposite - historically it's the working classes who slug their guts out while the Tory bosses walk off with the money. Much harder work being a bin man or a cleaner than a fat cat.

Most of the traditional decent ,hard working class are Tories, edam.

It's the feckless, shirking underclass who all vote Labour, providing they can be arsed to get out of bed in the first place.

What nonsense, superstickybeak! My very left-wing parents parents have never relied on the state for anything. They taught us all about the importance of hard work and family, and about taking responsibility for our lives. They encouraged us to succeed at school and in the workplace, so that we would be able to stand on our own too feet and contribute to society.

However, they also taught us about compassion, and the duty to look after those who were less fortunate than ourselves. They explained to us that not everyone is able to work, and that not everyone has a family to rely on. That not everyone is capable of doing well at school or getting a fantastic job. And that living in a civilised society means that those who have such advantages should support and assist those who do not have such advantages. That life is not all about me, me, me and to hell with everyone else. That life is about contributing whatever one can, without always expecting something in return.

And yes, these are the values that I want to pass on to my dd. So shoot me.

Two not too

Catus, you are right, it is fun.

None of my children agrees with my (leftish) politics, and we have some lovely conversations. Some are more, some less radical. They think for themselves, and often change my opinions - though seldom the other way round.

Super I think you'll find that on the whole the feckless shirking underclass don't vote at all way with voter apathy being so high and all amongst certain sectors of the community. BTW it doesn't surprise me that you don't know any left wingers, can't think of one that would give you the time of day.

well said jinsei

Shoot you, Jinsei? Elect you!

jinsei, remind me, who was it that took away the 10% income tax rate for the very poorest?

And who has intigated the pupil premium for the very poorest?
And who has taken away CB for those that don't need it?
Who is tightening up tax avoidance?

God, those tories really are cunts, aren't they

jinsei, you said :

That life is about contributing whatever one can, without always expecting something in return

That made me Lol! Have you told these rules to the many thousands of feckless shirkers labour feted ?

There's no signs yet of my DCs becoming Tories.
I wouldn't go so far as disowning them but I'd be very disappointed.

The pupil premium is a Lib Dem initiative.

God, those tories really are cunts, aren't they

Yes, superstickybeak, indeed they are. And a few publicity stunts in which they give to the poor with one hand then take away with the other are not going to persuade me otherwise.

Of course Labour gets it wrong sometimes too. I was deeply disappointed with the failure of the last government to address the ever-widening gap between rich and poor, but the fact that they didn't go far enough is hardly likely to persuade me to vote Tory. We know what the Tories stand for and what they are about, and they have done a great job of demonstrating it so far in this government. Witness the cuts to the top rate of tax, for example, while simultaneously cutting benefits for the disabled.

As for the so-called "feckless scroungers" that you talk about, I wonder how much you really know about them. Perhaps some of them really want to work but can't find a job. Perhaps they are disabled. Perhaps they are caring for sick family members. Perhaps they have mental health problems. Perhaps they have grown up in families which have not taught them the value of a a work ethic. Perhaps they have grown up believing that there is no point for the likes of them to aspire to anything better. Perhaps there are a whole host of things going on for them which are beyond the realms of your imagination. A few of them may well be feckless scroungers, but I wouldn't want to judge.

@ solopower

'there have been a few posters on here citing the work they do 'for chari'y mate' as evidence that they are Tory but compassionate....

do you know how much funding for charity has been cut by this 'Government'?

I know alot of people that work in that sector; and can think off the top of my head of 9 people who have been made redundant, who work for charities supporting families of disabled children and cahrities who offer support and services to Asylum Seekers'

Yes, actually I do because my husband is one who was made redundant (13 months ago) and is still trying to get back into the charity sector. He votes Tory and continues to do volunteering in the meantime.

hmmmm....My ILs and dh are tories. I am not. They love me as you can imagine

I am raising my 2 boys to be rabid left wingers, obv. Just to piss the ILs off really.

I think any view is valid as long as it is not based on malice or resentment, really. For example, I can understand (even share) some high Tory viewpoints, but hate the party line of benefit scroungers, anit-immigration, etc.

It would be an interesting one in this house. Especially if it was DC2, as he is named after a rather interesting socialist from the past which provoked raised eyebrows from the ILs

Why hate the Tories for being anti-immigration, when immigration has widened the gap between rich and poor?

And a few publicity stunts in which they give to the poor with one hand then take away with the other are not going to persuade me otherwise.
What do you call Labour's tax credits, then abolishing the 10p lower rate of income tax?

I find it unlikely at the moment that the Inferiorettes will become Tories. Especially DD2, who spends much of her time lecturing me on the virtues of Fair Trade, solar panels* and Ken Livingstone. I feel like a lefty version of Dr Frankenstein.

*I do realise environmental issues are not the sole preserve of the left, and indeed there is one strain of very nasty far-right greenness, but there is also a widely accepted lefty context in which these issues are also discussed, and most climate change liars deniars tend to be right wing stooges.

Josphine, if anti-immigration attitudes are based on facts rather than prejudice, compassion and generosity rather than selfishness, I might be able to take them seriously.

I'm not sure I understand how immigration has widened the social divide - can you explain?

I don't think the Tories are the only ones who are anti-immigration, btw.

(Or maybe this would be for another thread?)

Downward pressure on wages and working conditions due to flooding the labour supply and upward pressure on the housing market and public services.