Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Flip

1 2

Original poster

To vote against my own interests?

30 replies

Babycham1979 · 16/10/2015 19:28

There's a thread on here about the very naive women on Question Time who voted Tory and was surprised to find that some of the £12bn promised cuts to welfare came from her benefits. It seems 99% of responses refer specifically to whether she should have foreseen this and subsequently not voted Tory.

It made me think. I'm a higher-rate tax payer, home-owner etc etc and I've only ever voted for left-wing parties (Green, Labour, socialist); all of whom would implement policies that don't directly benefit me, and would probably have a detrimental effect at least on my pocket. I do this with my eyes open and fully aware of the consequences, should they win.

Am I naive? Am I the unusual one? Whatever happened to principle and conviction over and above self-interest?

OP posts:

Leavingsosoon · 16/10/2015 19:29

I don't think anyone is unreasonable for voting for the party they want to see in power; that's really the crux of it.

AnnaMarlowe · 16/10/2015 19:31

My DH and I voted against self interest in the last election. I tend to think that a good government should benefit the majority.

DanaBarrett · 16/10/2015 20:12

I voted to the left (not labour) and have taken a lot of sh*t for it. It is against my best interests, but in my opinion, better for the country as a whole.

guajiraguantanamera · 16/10/2015 20:20

I vote for the party who benefits my family best. It always feels like I'm voting for the best out of a bad bunch though..

nickelbabe · 16/10/2015 20:23

I want to vote for the party that will do the best for everybody in the country.
And quite frankly, voting socialist is the only way that will work, because it benefits the poorer and disadvantaged people who don't have the facility to help themsrlves.

StealthPolarBear · 16/10/2015 20:24

Surely the point isn't that she voted against her own interests but that she then was shocked and complained.
I suspect many people vote against their own direct personal interests.

StealthPolarBear · 16/10/2015 20:25

I suppose it depends whether you see a fair society for all as in your own interests

SilentlyScreamingAgain · 16/10/2015 20:26

Although I'm in a similar position to the OP, with similar voting habits, I'm not convinced that I'm voting against my own interests. I don’t imagine I’ll ever be able to afford to vote against social cohesion.

Cheesypop · 16/10/2015 20:29

I remember reading on MN once something like 'of course you will vote for the party that benefits you the most, everyone does' and I was thoroughly depressed by that viewpoint. I would vote for the party that represented my values, not my interests.

Teaguzzler · 16/10/2015 20:29

I am also a high rate tax payer and voted to the left. I've always believed in voting for the party that is most likely to provide the type of society I want to live in. At the moment it wouldn't necessarily benefit me or my children but we are already privileged. Of course anything could happen to change this and I want to live in a society which supports everyone. Who knows when I may need it.

Original poster

Babycham1979 · 16/10/2015 20:30

Well, there's an obvious cleavage between posters on this thread, and those on the other one. There seems to be. Prevalent attitude that elections are all about what benefits you, and fuck everyone else.

I'm heartened that there are at least a few of us that don't think like that..!

OP posts:

Lurkedforever1 · 16/10/2015 20:38

I'm above tax credits cut off, have one dd and we're both nt and healthy, and from family history likely to stay so. On a personal level I stand to gain more from the Tories. But I voted labour. And would even if that meant by voting labour any future wage increase all got taken in tax, even though I'm a long way from being a high earner. Firstly because the Tories would have screwed me over if dd was preschool age now instead of 11. And more importantly because I don't live in a bubble and despise what they've done to more needy people. Absolute cunts.

fastdaytears · 16/10/2015 20:44

OP I'm just like you. Would be much better off screwing over lower earners but it's bad for the country and IMO morally wrong. I don't see an election as a chance to figure out what's best for me and vote for it.

Incidentally I'm not a high earner because I'm a genius who's worked my way up from nothing with no help. I had really amazing state education, the NHS saved my life a few times over, subsidised university place, safe place to live, parents with stable incomes etc etc. I want everyone else to have that too.

I have no problem with anyone anywhere on the political spectrum voting for an ideology I don't believe in if it's what they think is best for the country. I just find the naked self interest really depressing.

guajiraguantanamera · 16/10/2015 20:46

The Tories were always going to end up looking like cunts though, trying to fix the mess that labour left. Neither party benefits me or my family greatly, for some reason we are not deemed poor enough to get help with anything.. Yet we are worse off both of us working full time..

Canyouforgiveher · 16/10/2015 20:49

I have always voted against my own economic self-interest. Bizarrely several of my friends do the same but opposite if you know what I mean - vote republican when republican economic policies would make them worse off.

fastdaytears · 16/10/2015 20:49

There's a reason why they look like cunts! (In my opinion...)

I'm interested in why it's costing you to work though. Is that a recent change or were you in the same position under the coalition?

catgirl1976 · 16/10/2015 20:51

Im a Higher Rate tax payer and I've also always voted to the left.

I don't believe it's voting against my own interests though. Yes I will pay more tax but I think a stonger, fairer more compassionate society has far mare value, both to me and everyone else.

guajiraguantanamera · 16/10/2015 20:51

Sorry I maybe didn't explain myself very well (sleep deprived new mum!)
I meant that no matter who we vote it appears that we would have more money if I didn't go back to work, which in my opinion seems wrong.. I don't understand how two people working 40+ hours a week can make less than a couple than don't. Where is the party that benefits is?? I don't think there is one..

guajiraguantanamera · 16/10/2015 20:53

Us* sorry argh bed time!

MaidOfStars · 16/10/2015 20:53

40% tax payer (just). Voted Labour.

wasonthelist · 16/10/2015 20:55

I voted Green - the Greens would make me much much poorer financially, but if we had their policies a lot of good things could happen. In particular the Citizens Income would be a great thing. Studies I read about in New Scientist seem to show that far from encouraging laziness and fecklessness, a baseline income meant that people were more inclined to do voluntary tasks that benefited the whole community.

Of course, I may look like a daft idealist and I suppose you could argue there's not much point in voting Green in Nicky Morgan's constituency, but I've decided to vote for stuff I believe in from now on - instead of voting for a Labour party that just looked like Tories Lite (pre Corbyn).

fastdaytears · 16/10/2015 20:56

No nothing wrong with your explanation just me being nosy and wanting to know more! You're doing fine on no sleep.

Do you mean that you would be better off between you if you stayed at home or neither of you worked? If you're both full time and have 1DC you should be significantly better off than having no employed member of the household.

But this is a thread full of people who don't base their voting decisions on being better off so probably not the people to help you. Did you do that calculator after the election? That was interesting I think. Lots of discussion about it on here at the time.

guajiraguantanamera · 16/10/2015 20:57

What is the citizens income if you don't mind me asking?

Susiesoop · 16/10/2015 20:57

I am green really but voted labour in the last election as I wanted to back a potential contender in this particular election - it felt pivotal. High tax paying household.2.4 kids. Work, pay taxes. 'Should' be a conservative shoo in. Far from it. Logically it dosent make sense to me to live in a society where the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. It makes sense that those in need are supported and social mobility is a possibility and encouraged. The rhetoric of 'hard working families' and 'benefit scroungers' has been born out of focus groups and consultants who know what buttons to press with the electorate they want to reach. Nothing more than a well executed marketing campaign with extreme access to media channels. Depressing how widely it has been accepted as truth. Now we see exactly who the Tories see as 'benefits scroungers' - and its hitting home now that it isn't 'them' now, its 'us'.

wasonthelist · 16/10/2015 21:00

".....trying to fix the mess that labour left" For a minute, I thought you were serious.

There is bags of serious analysis around about what tosh this is. It's a great deal for the Tories - (and Labour to a point) but it doesn't bear serious examination. Still as long as people keep on parroting it, we'll get the same merry-go-round of Tory "sort outs" and Labour reversing the most savage effects - rinse and repeat while nothing really changes.

Flip

1 2