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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To ask those who voted for the conservatives ....

507 replies

ginorwine · 19/10/2015 07:28

Reading the threads here there is much criticism about conservative policy .
A lot of people must have voted for them .
Where are they on mums net ?
And on threads such as those re the w t c cuts are they not representing their views as it was clear this would happen ?
I can tell that they may be slated but surley differing views can be expressed so long as it doesn't get nasty - a know that feeling run high but surley ppl can do so .
So to Tory voters -is it how you anticipated .what are your views ?

OP posts:
Donge13 · 20/10/2015 19:25

I have always voted Tory and I'm not sorry,I don't live in a big fancy house or have a well paid job but I could never vote labour

Grazia1984 · 20/10/2015 19:25

Well said.

IKnowIAmButWhatAreYou · 20/10/2015 19:27

longtimelurker101

Calm down!! What I was saying is that proportionally I'm paying enough of my wages into the system.

I'm not saying that I shouldn't be paying, but I'm also not saying that I want to pay more.

The system is broken - look at the NHS for example, it's a fucking money pit. It's a mismanaged and abused institution that needs to be brought up to date and managed competently.

I voted for the party that I felt was more likely to look at how these institutions are run and try to fix them. I wouldn't vote Labour because I feel that they'd just throw good money after bad.

Corbyn is good at saying what he'd do, less good at saying where the money would come from - my fear is that he'd tax people like me, who have clawed our way up to a tolerable lifestyle, even more - and I'm not willing for that to happen.

But hey, you just leap in, misread, make assumptions, get aggressive and abusive - I'd expect nothing less.

The only surprise is that it's taken over 300 posts to get here........

brokenhearted55a · 20/10/2015 19:44

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Marue · 20/10/2015 19:54

Agree with them being too high.

Tax credits stop people from taking overtime or reaching for promotions. They should be cut more IMO.

Marue · 20/10/2015 19:54

Agree with them being too high.

Tax credits stop people from taking overtime or reaching for promotions. They should be cut more IMO.

HeighHoghItsBacktoWorkIGo · 20/10/2015 19:56

thank Blair for expensive PFI contracts

Glad I am not the only one who wondered at the time what would happen when the loans had to be repaid.

tabulahrasa · 20/10/2015 21:02

"Lots of singles and childless couples for whom CB and tax credits weren't an issue as they were never entitled to them."

There is until the cuts come into effect a WTC entitlement for adults without children and a higher one for those who work and also have a disability.

jellybeans · 20/10/2015 21:04

I would never vote Tory, ever. Can't see how anyone who understand their ideology would. All the people I know that vote them, bar one or two, are very selfish people who want the people less well off than them to be punished. Eg I work full time so should they, why should they have nice things etc.

AnthonyBlanche · 20/10/2015 21:07

I'm a Tory voter who in the past has read the vitriol on such threads and stayed away. Makes a nice change to see (mostly) reasonable and rational posting.

My reasons for voting Tory were very similar to IKnow's. I'm not sorry I voted the way I did, and it's likely I will vote the same way at the next election

AnthonyBlanche · 20/10/2015 21:09

Looks as though I spoke too soon. Lovely post jelly. I'm surprised you didn't go the whole hog and call Tory voters selfish cunts.

Effic · 20/10/2015 21:11

Have lurked for a while but as (apart from the vitriolic long time lurker post) people are being reasonable, I'll try to explain my OPINION and answer the OP question...
I think it came down to 3 main issues - economy, immigration and my values and thus belief.
The last one is very importantly, as this so called baised media influence, stupid Tory voters being sold a lie etc .... I don't believe this because I think the majority of people (of any political persuasion) aren't idiots! The 'if you only knew the facts' argument is rubbish from either side of the political spectrum. For every study/research paper that someone can link on here telling me labour didn't "destroy" the economy, I'll find you another that "proves" they did. For every study that "proves" immigration is detrimental to the country, I'll find you one that says its beneficially etc etc on every issue and there are plenty of papers/TV channels on each side of the debate headlining which every study fits their bais.

So I think people go with what their basic values tell them must be correct. This is highly subjective!

So for me, it doesn't feel right to me that businesses should be subsidised by the government. I think (not saying it's a fact!) that there are two arguments here - Tories subsidise businesses with tax cuts/allowing(?) avoidance (not sure on that one - have never seen a government solve this in a free trade economy) and labour governments subsides businesses by benefits. I BELIEVE (again not saying it's a fact) that former method is more effective at job creation and thus ultimately better for the economy and as my values say that everyone should work to their maximum potential, I'm not going to support a policy that I feel (again not saying it's a fact!) encourages some people not to work, whilst subsidising businesses.

I don't understand economics but I don't think anyone else does either or all countries would be running perfect economies and the world would be a happy place so I revert to my values - spend less when you have less - save more when you have it and I BELIEVE that the Tory ideology and current policy is more in keeping with this.

I'm not an expert on immigration and I'm too terrified to express much of an opinion on here because I'll be called a racist but my values say no one should live in absolute poverty or war torn countries but I don't believe that any country can absorb limitless amounts of people so the Tory policy of increasing foreign aid but limiting immigration makes more sense to me.

And finally my overall leaning is that of individual not state responsibility and that fits more with the right than left.

I am not for one minute claiming any of this as fact! Please no one start start linking me to a study that "proves" me wrong. I've worked in education for 20 years so I can happily provide you with 1000 of studies of utterly opposing educational philosophy and practices that all have research based "proof" they work better than the other too.

Ultimately, very little is 'fact' - nearly all is opinion or fact researched under parameters that bais so a my long answer to the op question ...... I voted with what makes the most sense to me, what appears to fit my values and beliefs. I think most other people of whatever party do the same. I think this time round - Tory policies fit the values and belief of more people than labour so they won.

ginorwine · 20/10/2015 21:46

Effic , that was a good post .thanks.
Where I was brought up as a child it was the thing to vote labour .
As an adult I live in a green / labour split area .no one in my adult friendships have ever said that they vote Tory- yet there are traditional strongholds nearby - it seems that it's almost not acceptable and this therefore is a good platform to actually ask questions etc .
It's been very interesting and i have been pleasantly suprised that there have been non vitriolic posts .

OP posts:
Justanotherlurker · 20/10/2015 22:02

I think Heigh the line of thinking is to generally whitewash that decade because 'it's not true labour', all our current problems (NHS, house prices, low wages etc) only appeared in May 2010 or they are still thatchers fault# and nothing could apparently be done in 13 years to reverse or temper the effects.

I think longtimelurker101, and another poster has proven the point as to why conservative voters are reluctant to participate in discussion as it's automatically assumed they need educating, they have obviously no understanding of macro/micro economics and have been brainwashed by the media whilst the educators are spouting guardian101 arguments with no shades of grey in between.

If this is challenged it will then turn into a compassionate argument where personal anecdotes are allowed, but only if that anecdote confirms the left leaning bias, included in this is the fact that only certain publications can be used as source, try and include a telegraph article which links to sources (as an example) and it will be largely framed as having bias(which I don't dispute) yet link to any guardian/the left equivalent of the daily mail that is the mirror and then it's generally accepted as gospel and hard evidence.

This IMO is the reason why no reasoned political discussion is ever had and you don't hear from the right leaning vote, I admit I have made broad brush statements as well, but I've been here for years and seen it to many times.

#caveat I do understand that thatcher was an influential figure in our current fuck ups, but I don't lay all the blame on her and can see outside of the partisan bubble and see that globalisation and moving into the 21st century played a part and can see that the 'not true labour' has also fuelled the problems by kicking the can in the ope that future generations can solve it.

Grazia1984 · 20/10/2015 22:04

Yes it's been good. Both left and right on the whole want to do the right thing and both support a welfare state. It is how we do it that just differs. i don't think either side is ignorant or selfish.

Plenty of us are from groups where everyone votes Tory. It just depends on your family and colleagues and area.

Grazia1984 · 20/10/2015 22:05

Yes it's been good. Both left and right on the whole want to do the right thing and both support a welfare state. It is how we do it that just differs. i don't think either side is ignorant or selfish.

Plenty of us are from groups where everyone votes Tory. It just depends on your family and colleagues and area.

AndNowItsSeven · 20/10/2015 22:39

Justmyluck1 : you can't claim
WTC and free school meals so your post is either a lie or you are believing lies told by the media.

brokenhearted55a · 20/10/2015 22:56

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

longtimelurker101 · 20/10/2015 23:12

"Corbyn is good at saying what he'd do, less good at saying where the money would come from - my fear is that he'd tax people like me, who have clawed our way up to a tolerable lifestyle, even more - and I'm not willing for that to happen."

The money comes from the same place quantitative easing came from ex nihilo, out of nothing, good for the banks, good for everyone else. Why can it be created to buy bonds from financial institutions but not to invest in things that actually benefit the economy rather than just the city. BTW £375 billion of the country's debt of the £1.1 trillion is in bonds bought by quantitative easing, meaning that we own our own debt throught the BOE and we've spent money to boost the banks.

So if you understand economics, spending it on stuff that creates jobs, which stimulates aggeragate demand, and stuff that builds infrastructure, which extends the productive capacity of the economy means that short term and long term growth are going to be achieved. MUCH MUCH better than spending a third of our national debt stimulating the financial sector.

"I think longtimelurker101, and another poster has proven the point as to why conservative voters are reluctant to participate in discussion as it's automatically assumed they need educating."

No , this is not the case, when conservative voters have a viable argument it will stand up, make your case, I will ( and have) conceed points. Until then don't say its cause of "bullying".Oh, and I've included articles from the telegraph and the mail as evidence in my arguments.

"ThisIMO is the reason why no reasoned political discussion is ever had and you don't hear from the right leaning vote, I admit I have made broad brush statements as well, but I've been here for years and seen it to many times."

Rubbish, the right pontificate on here lots, the benefit blamers threads abound, don't start the poor persucuted me stuff, it won't wash.

Happfeet2911 · 20/10/2015 23:13

Tory through and through and proud of it! What a great choice there was anyway, no wonder they got elected - even the floating voters had no choice, milliband, come on. It gets even better with the wonderful corbyn in charge.

longtimelurker101 · 20/10/2015 23:30

Be proud, plenty of people were proud to invade Poland, didn't make it right...

HeighHoghItsBacktoWorkIGo · 20/10/2015 23:39

Comparing a Tory voter to the Nazi's is beyond hyperbole. It's just silly.

CatMilkMan · 20/10/2015 23:39

I'm completely shocked that you would have an opinion like that longtime.
We need a sarcasm smiley.

AnthonyBlanche · 20/10/2015 23:41

Are you trying to be provocative longtime? in the same vein, lots of politicians tell lies of one sort or another, but that doesn't make it right to invade Iraq on the basis of lies you've told the electorate.

longtimelurker101 · 20/10/2015 23:50

Oh and the "wonderful Corbyn" remarks really stick in the craw when we have tousled haired shagger Boris:

www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/he-s-fathered-a-love-child-and-had-three-affairs-but-the-british-public-still-loves-boris-johnson-8636709.html

As well as lady of the night, and cocaine user Gideon as propsective leaders:

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2036563/George-Osborne-took-cocaine-Former-prostitute-Natalie-Rowe-repeats-drug-allegation-TV-interview.html

Now, now, there's a fine set of bastions of morality . Not to mention the levels of corruption

www.politics.co.uk/blogs/2014/11/20/channel-four-allegations-reveal-a-darker-side-to-boris-johns

Or false accounting, so you can make a loss but up directors pay? Oh my..

www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/banksandfinance/9763971/George-Osbornes-family-firm-in-fourth-annual-loss.html

Oh and see, Telegraph and Mail sources there, no bias.