To have zero sympathy for this woman

[wasonthelist]

The tearful woman on BBC Question Time claims to have been a Tory voter. She's reaping what she sows.
www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/hame-you-hardworking-mums-tearful-6643284

Oh sorry Pyjama. I do have a habit of jumping in, especially if I think the poor are getting berated. No hard feelings.
and seeing as it's Friday x 2

It is ok I don't do tongue in cheek very well

I don't think the Tories have lied about being the party for hard working families. You will just have to work harder for your income than before. (Tongue in cheek emotion).

I'd never vote Tory even though I am out of the system. I was very grateful for tax credits when I was a single mum but did work 30 plus hours a week to maximise the income coming into the home, it was a struggle, especially in the pre school year but do-able. I think the lose to most families equates to 4 hours a week a minimum wage so not too bad to make up but I expect it's a shock to people who thought their benefits wouldn't be cut.

I feel sorry for her children, but I do struggle to feel sorry for her. She says she's politically minded - if this is the case then she should have seen this coming. The Tories were very clear about making £12bn cuts to welfare, it was obvious to anyone with half a brain that the bulk of this would have to come from tax credits.

Having said that, I respect her for going on QT and admitting that she got it wrong. A lot more Tory voters need to come forward and admit the same if there is to be any back-tracking on this policy.

Sadly, I think a lot of people still haven't got a clue what's going to hit them from next April. I have a (Tory voting) family member who is heavily reliant on tax credits who happily brushes me away any time I mention cuts as she "won't be affected by the benefits cap" because she has a disabled child. Failing to realise that the benefits cap has nothing to do with the tax credit cuts, which she absolutely will be affected by.

I have sympathy for this woman and he'd children because unlike dc I'm not a narcissistic, heartless twat!

However, I have MORE sympathy for those who are struggling with disability, mental illness, unemployment/lack of jobs, poor education, poor service from a crumbling NHS, with disabled and/or ill children, lone parents getting little to no support from the father of their children, who are carers, working bloody hard in low paid jobs etc.

Cookie

Circumstances change
Just because the father is paying maintenance doesn't mean he's contributing fairly to the costs of raising their children.

"she could get a job for an employer like millions of other parents do." Or maybe she couldn't because millions of other parents can't either because there aren't jobs! Certainly many are zero hours contracts (insecure income) part time (don't pay enough and she'd still be receiving tax credits) plus even if she could find a full time 'normal' job her childcare costs if all 4 kids are under secondary age would be astronomical.

"the cuts are obviously being aimed in the right direction." I wonder if that's what she thought before it affected her?

As for her costs, rent in Folkestone is very expensive and the cost of living in the south east generally is too. Someone said about if it was a regional political consciousness, I grew up in Kent and yes many of the parents of my friends voted conservative unfortunately and a few of my friends ( in some cases formed friends).

I agree until the Tories announced the tax credit cuts a lot of people I knew who were tory voters didn't think of tax credits as 'benefits' or part of the 'welfare bill' and therefore didn't think of reducing the 'welfare bill' as affecting them.

As for voters only voting according to what benefits them? Certainly not true in Scotland. We have a small number of tory voters but nowhere near as many as are business owners, not on benefits etc

"Out of curiosity, why not raise the living wage and cut these tax credits gradually sort of at the same time? Or is it too much to ask business and corporate to do their part just like everyone else?" Because this would lose the tory party their key voters. Business and corporate people!

"unless and until there is a move to a living wage - a real one - tax credits should not be cut. Cameron blathering on about a package that will not be in place for another four and a half years isn't going to help people who are losing £1800 next spring" very much agree with this.

"I've always maintained that this bunch of sociopaths would like to turn NHS hospitals into workhouses. Win win." I wouldn't put anything past them!!

As someone who is mentally ill I'm genuinely worried people like me are going to start getting put in institutions again too.

Have never will NEVER vote tory!

The mind baffles. The govt is in enormous debt but people don't seem to care, really.

Cash handouts = good! And then when the cash handouts don't continue in perpetuity, people get cross.

Govts should provide services and support especially for the disadvantaged but what a wierd idea that they should give people £- and we're not talking tax rebates here we are talking about just providing people with cash. Like they did at Kids club.

Tax credits helped subsidise the childcare costs I incurred by going to work. I see them as tax credits not benefits.
It now costs me more to work than I take home.
Seriously considering stopping work altogether and all that will mean is the govt stops getting all my taxes. Insane.
Never had a day's unemployment in my life.
If childcare was free and commuting subsidised and the cost of living reasonable there would be no need for tax credits.

I'm on the fence about this particular woman, but I do rather take issue with this prevailing idea on MN that every single person that voted Tory went into the polling booth rubbing their hands with glee about the idea of poor people suffering.

If people can't think of any other reason why someone would vote conservative other than 'they are a selfish twat', then I would say they are rather narrow minded.

I voted Labour BTW.

Did David Cameron on say he wouldn't cut tax credits? Did he really? Can anyone provide a link?

Cameron tells porkies.

The majority of people vote in their perceived personal interests - not just financial of course; some of us vote a particular way because we want the benefits of living in a particular type of society. There is no shame in this, and in a democracy we should not be turning our backs on people because of how they voted. A functioning democracy needs a range of political opinions to keep it healthy.

Of course, in order to vote in your perceived interests, it's important that political parties are truthful with the electorate. I don't expect miracles but outright lies should be beyond the pale.

That's what is so shocking about this whole thing - that the Tories already knew perfectly well where the £12 billion savings were coming from and they deliberately denied the electorate the right to have their say on it.

Oh come on they have cut benefits for years,
Are we to believe people like this woman didn't know this when she voted for them
Then they cut her benefits and she cries on tv

Really
Imo you reap what you sow

'That's what is so shocking about this whole thing - that the Tories already knew perfectly well where the £12 billion savings were coming from and they deliberately denied the electorate the right to have their say on it.'

Now we know why the Tories refused to disclose where the cuts would be. I'm sure there are more cuts to benefits to come. Ed Miliband has been proved correct in that.

Lying Tory bastards.

There are plenty of Tory voters who are not "lying bastards", and even some Tory politicians are quietly concerned about this - but I will give you "lying bastard" when it comes to Cameron. The man is very difficult to like or respect.

I don't even think it's ideological in his case - he just does whatever it takes to gain political advantage (unlike Osborne who for all his faults seems at least to have the courage of his convictions).

There's an increasing risk that this will be their poll tax moment.

I'm on the fence with this one too as tax credits just seem to be a way, in many cases, of allowing employers to pay less and have taxpayers subsidise their profits. Having said that, the people who receive them should not be left to suffer if they are to go.

I was told by someone before the last election that they could not understand anyone voting anything but Tory as people have nice houses, cars, etc and I honestly think too many people voted for them out of fear and greed, thinking they were middle class and so would be protecting what they had

Well Cameron is the Prime minster and the leader of the Tory party. And he is a lying bastard.

I'm on the fence about this particular women but I do take issue with this prevailing idea on MN that every single person who Tory went into the polling booth rubbing their hands with glee about the idea of the poor suffering.

Well it looks like we'll have to agree to disagree then Gloria.
Not so gleeful now they are they seeing as the cuts are also going to affect them

Actually, they were pretty gleeful on threads on this site the day after the election.

I remember it being very distasteful when posters were saying that they were scared about what might be in store for them and their fears were completely dismissed or rubbished.

Yes needmore I remember those horrible threads. I was in tears the day after the election in fear of how this government will treat myself and others struggling.

Well perhaps it's a case of what goes around comes around.

Good point needmorespace I remember those threads too.

I support in general some cuts to tax credits because it gave employers an excuse to pay less. And also the cost of living rose but had less impact on those receiving tax credits because their money was being made up. And then the situation arises when people can't manage without the extra money. And a while ago when child benefit was cut for higher rate tax payers there was a bit of an outcry. People hadn't budgeted for this and some families with more children lost quite a lot. But in general it was seen as fair.

Before tax credits i remember seeing jobs in the Job Centre for £1.50 an hour and £50 a week and these were full time jobs in the late 90s.

As a 40 year old, I'm old enough to remember Thatcher and the Tories during the 1980s & hell will freeze over before I vote conservative. Anyone much younger than me won't have the same memories of houses being repossessed, the minor's strike, privatisation etc.

I think the Tories are doing an 'excellent' job of alienating another generation of Brits.

dontrunwithscissors oh yes, they told people to buy their own homes......then upped the interest rate so high. people got re possed