Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

AIBU to not understand why "normal" people vote Tory?

999 replies

olddogsnewtricks · 18/04/2017 15:37

OK, so I'll probably get flamed for this but am genuinely interested! All the people I know who vote Tory are pretty well off so use private schools and healthcare. As a family we need the NHS and we need a good education system - and I can't see them getting any better under the Tories. Are these just not priorities for Tory voters or do they really believe they will improve even with a Conservative government?

OP posts:
pumpkinpilot · 19/04/2017 11:05

I also see the privatisation of certain state owned assets as borderline criminal.

I am shocked and horrified that in this day and age the Royal Mail could be undervalued to such an extent that shares rose by 36% the very first day the were floated.

To make things worse individual purchases of shares were capped at I believe just over £1k as opposed to institutions who could presumably bulk purchase.

I am no economist and have very little interest in stocks or shares but I new this would happen because I lives through the 80's and saw it happen before.

It is theft on a massive scale.

Believeitornot · 19/04/2017 11:06

Just because Teresa May isn't spouting slogans and indulging in internet tiffs about perceived slights on her womanhood (when she has a lot more important stuff on her plate) doesn't change the fact the Conservatives have a much better record on female leadership

I think the point was about feminism though not feminity.

And given that the Tories have presided over cuts which disproportionately affect women, I don't think they've done much.

If female leadership means fitting in with "the boys" (which is what politics is like for all parties) then the Tories are trail blazers.

GloriaGilbert · 19/04/2017 11:09

Pumpkin I think you have found emphasis in the throwaway part of my post. I don't think that everyone can be at the top (a truism) and don't seek to penalise anyone for being 'normal'.

Believeitornot · 19/04/2017 11:10

I would really recommend that people take a long look at what's happening around the country in terms of education, NHS and social care for example.

Have a look and think about which party would make things better or worse.

Read the manifestos. Read them all.

Forget what you feel - look at the facts.

lottieandmia · 19/04/2017 11:10

The truth is that not everyone can be wealthy and be in the top 10% of earners. While we all might have the innate ability to do so capitalist economics does simply not work this way. So if we take this as a given there will always be people who do not have the earning capacity of others as someone has to have "lesser jobs'

^^ I could not agree more with this. What people also fail to accept is that being a high earner is not necessarily linked to hard work. It is a consequence of what people are prepared to pay for a service. If all of the low paid workers quit tomorrow everything would grind to a halt.

needsahalo · 19/04/2017 11:16

They are Brexit through and through. EU is too large, undemocratic and corrupt

Evidence? Being 'too large' is a simple matter of opinion. What is it exactly that is undemocratic and what evidence is there of corruption within the EU? How does this corruption impact on is as citizens of the EU?

They believe that the Tories have an appropriate safety net for the more vulnerable and that claims that they haven't are exaggerated

So....homelessness figures through the roof coupled with huge increases in housing costs? More and more people using food banks? Disabled people losing their cars and this their means of getting out and about, independence, etc?

They think that only the tories respect what the armed forces do

Based on what fact?

It is madness, isn't it? I can deal with concerns over immigration and terrorism but beyond that, even the Daily Mail prints stories about individuals struggling under this Government.

Headofthehive55 · 19/04/2017 11:16

Do we want to live in a society that it's irrelevant what extra effort you put in a work, you only get paid the same?

I think the tories do appeal to those who want smaller state involvement and I don't think that's wrong it's just a difference of wanting to do things yourself.

Headofthehive55 · 19/04/2017 11:20

Being a high earner issometimes linked to luck I agree, not always hard work, but I am not keen even in my area of work being paid on a pay scale and although notionally doing the same job, just because some people are quicker or "well they just get the job done" have to do more for no more pay. That's also unfair.

Tomorrowillbeachicken · 19/04/2017 11:22

I don't understand how people can think that the labour party of today is the same as the one pre Tony Blair tbh. Or that they thought Tony Blair was in touch with the general public.

Tomorrowillbeachicken · 19/04/2017 11:23

Or that SNP is having a really positive effect on Scotland.

makeourfuture · 19/04/2017 11:30

However yet again it's the same old goady, 'You are stupid/thick/racist' type threads.

Well I think there is quite a bit of racism (well bigotry) out there. And misogyny. And I think it figures into some decision making.

Isn't it true that the Daily Mail is one of the best-selling/most popular newspapers/websites? I look at the Daily Mail sometimes and it seems very apparent to me that there is a theme....to the copy, and particularly, to the high-voted comments.

This theme is often racial and sexist and anti-immigrant.

bigkidsdidit · 19/04/2017 11:33

Voice your post about people relying on the government too much now is interesting. Instinctively I disagree, as a life long labour voter. I just read Hillbilly Elegy (OP and others you should too, it's interesting ) about the poor Appalachians who voted for trump. The author says exactly the same - more government intervention is not helping.

I don't know what the answer is - I have no idea who to vote for. My first time in this situation.

scaryclown · 19/04/2017 11:36

This reply has been deleted

Message deleted by MNHQ. Here's a link to our Talk Guidelines.

bigkidsdidit · 19/04/2017 11:46

You know a very wide selection of society, scary Confused

Bejazzled · 19/04/2017 11:50

Not so scary deffo a clown

makeourfuture · 19/04/2017 11:53

Well said scary.

Believeitornot · 19/04/2017 11:55

Did you get that from skim reading the daily mail scary 😂

chilipepper20 · 19/04/2017 11:58

I am not a Tory voter, but I can see why someone would given the main opposition is totally economically illiterate. Go read their current page.

Saggingninja · 19/04/2017 12:03

A friend of mine is a nurse. A nurse! And she told me that despite what the govt is doing to the NHS she voted Tory because 'they'll keep out the immigrants.'

Faffette · 19/04/2017 12:04

Personally, I think it is lack of empathy. The inability to understand that other people's experiences are so far removed from their own. So basically if you're poor, just work harder. Having no understanding of what some people have to overcome. A bit like, if you're depressed, snap out of it. If you're obese, just eat less. As if it was that simple. So they may be educated, intelligent, but emotionally, they are ignorant, yes.

Saggingninja · 19/04/2017 12:05

A friend of mine is a nurse. A nurse! And she told me that despite what the govt is doing to the NHS she voted Tory because 'they'll keep out the immigrants.'

Actually I think she falls under Category 7 of Scary's List

7. People who don't know shit, but think that tories will deal with immigrants

pumpkinpilot · 19/04/2017 12:12

I really think we need to get away from name calling and prejudicial categorisations of all Tory voters.

It is just like brexit. We can not call 51% of the vote racist, stupid or both.

We need to discuss the arguments for and against and try and understand why people hold the views they do.

You never know you might just change one persons opinion.

Headofthehive55 · 19/04/2017 12:15

Unfortunately faffette I think although some can't understand why you have barriers to overcome and therefore can't work harder, some people really want you to do the grunt work so they don't have to.

Watching programmes like the one that is on an island and they have to get food and make a society was interesting. It did show that some didn't want to fetch food (but wanted to eat) but some made more effort.
Often there is a mix - and I wish both parties would recognise there are people who are scrounges, and are people who need help.

Headofthehive55 · 19/04/2017 12:16

That's why I think a good opposition is vital, to bring the checks and balances.

pumpkinpilot · 19/04/2017 12:19

"I am not a Tory voter, but I can see why someone would given the main opposition is totally economically illiterate. Go read their current page."

High quality global journalism requires investment. Please share this article with others using the link below, do not cut & paste the article. See our T&Cs and Copyright Policy for more detail. Email [email protected] to buy additional rights.
<a class="break-all" href="https://www.ft.com/content/fe98b944-83ea-11e6-a29c-6e7d9515ad15" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.ft.com/content/fe98b944-83ea-11e6-a29c-6e7d9515ad15</a>

Mr McDonnell pledged £250bn of infrastructure spending, a new wealth tax, a £10 hourly minimum wage, an end to austerity, opposition to free-trade deals, a crackdown on corporate greed and the repeal of Tory trade union laws.

Which part of the above is economic illiteracy?