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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Do you have different political views to your family members?

78 replies

RangeTesKopeks · 07/06/2017 10:16

Hi everyone.

This is really nosey of me, and it's absolutely none of my business, but I'm just curious.

Do any of you have different political views to your family members (e.g. your partner, parents, siblings or children)? And how do you both deal with this if it's a problem?

Again, just me being very nosey. I support the Lib Dems, but my family are mostly Labour.

OP posts:
VocalCat · 07/06/2017 10:17

Yes and we mainly avoid politics as a result in our conversations.

PickleSarnie · 07/06/2017 10:21

My Dad is incredibly apathetic which is infuriating. I don't think he's ever voted. My mum always votes Lib Dem. I've always voted Lib Dems and my husband votes LIB Dems.

Lj8893 · 07/06/2017 10:21

Myself, dh, dm, ddad, and dsdad are all labour supporters. Dbro is voting Tory. We all tease him and nag him a little but generally we don't discuss it, he completely gets our reasons for voting labour, I don't entirely get his reasons for voting Tory (and he can't really give me a proper reason either) but hey, that's life!

Lj8893 · 07/06/2017 10:23

Although I wasent labour before this election, Tony Blair was the anti christ and Ed miliband was a wetty. But the Labour Party we have now is a true socialist party and that's what I stand for. I've voted Green the last 2 elections.

DeleteOrDecay · 07/06/2017 10:24

Yes, a lot of my family don't even vote yet they're more than happy to complain when things happen that they don't like. I avoid discussing it with them to keep the peace.

SaorAlbaGuBrath · 07/06/2017 10:24

Yes, Mum is a Tory, Dad a Lib Dem, most of my wider family is Tory. DP and I are SNP. We all manage to talk politics without falling out.

Anatidae · 07/06/2017 10:25

Some yes. We have some quite vigorous debates.

That's normal though right? I mean it is really really foolish to assume you're right on everything and surround yourself only with people with exactly the same beliefs as you?

Unless you're in a cult.

BeyondDespairandRepair · 07/06/2017 10:26

Yes and I think thats really healthy. Dh and I have differing views but neither of us are entrenched or tribal brainwashed supporters of anyone. So we drift apart - we come back together and I am v happy with that. Also parents had different views but again sometimes met in the middle sometimes not.

Waltermittythesequel · 07/06/2017 10:26

I have different views in pretty much everything.

I feel like an alien in my family sometimes.

Original poster
RangeTesKopeks · 07/06/2017 10:32

Pickle I would find that so frustrating too - the political apathy, I mean.

OP posts:
Enb76 · 07/06/2017 10:37

Yes, I'm normally a Lib Dem but cannot vote for Farron even though local Lib Dem guy is fantastic. My mother is also Lib Dem, father was Tory, one brother is a Labour supporter, one is Tory. My aunt is rabidly right wing, my cousins are rabidly left Cobynistas.

We do discuss politics, and religion and all those things you aren't meant to talk about - no-one gets cross or thinks each other are idiots for not having the same opinions.

I like it.

PickleSarnie · 07/06/2017 10:38

He voted once actually range. And that was in the Scottish Indepence reference. He made a totally unresearched decision (probably based entirely on watching Braveheart one too many times ) and voted for independence. Which riled my mum who voted against it and all her vote did was cancel put my dad's!

PickleSarnie · 07/06/2017 10:38

^^referendum not reference obvs

Ohb0llocks · 07/06/2017 10:40

Yes, I am labour, and DP is... ukip 🙄

Lshe · 07/06/2017 10:42

yes. I'm voting labour, usually vote lib Dems, but this year I feel labour have done enough to win my vote. my partner who is usually labour is voting tory Confused many debates over the parties this year.....I have tried to avoid the subject as much as possible! not worth the argument!

sobeyondthehills · 07/06/2017 10:42

Most are more to the right, Dsis is very left wing, I am more in the middle, DP varies.

Having said that I couldn't tell you which party any of them vote after the argument of 2015 we try to avoid politics

heartofsteel · 07/06/2017 10:42

Yes, but we don't discuss party politics in our family. We don't even ask (or tell) each other who we vote for. But you can obviously tell by offhand comments. I'm not interested in broadcasting my own views or trying to persuade others, so I don't bother getting into a discussion about party politics (while silently tutting in my head) - although we discuss broader political ideas. We all live in extremely safe Labour seats so there's no real impact on the results, or anything to gain by trying to convince anyone to change their vote.

troodiedoo · 07/06/2017 10:44

Yes my family are mostly on the same page. The left hand side. My dhs family however are xenophobic bigots or apathetic. Don't tend to talk politics with them, it's not worth it.

Whathaveilost · 07/06/2017 10:45

Nearly all of us Labour
21 DS is voting Tory

Ummbopdoowap · 07/06/2017 10:45

Dh is much more to the right than me and is planning to vote Tory this time round but has voted Lib dem and Labour in the past. I can't imagine myself ever voting Tory.

I'm much more thorough than him when it comes to voting (and most things in life). I mean I will do lots of reading from different sources etc before making a decision. But I'd say our core beliefs are very similar in many ways.

Moomoomango · 07/06/2017 10:48

Me and dh are very strongly labour, personal circs - children in education system, dh disabled, me working part time.

My brother and sil very strongly conservatives - millionaires, private school and private medicine so no worries about services being stripped.

Mum and dad worked hard all their lives and very wealthy - dad labour, mum greens.

We don't really talk politics - brother says he would retire in finance job if labour got in. We would likely suffer to the breadline should conservatives strip much more. We all come from different places.

Herschellmum · 07/06/2017 10:50

Husband and I are voting completely different, so are my family and his family. Don't really see an issue with it. That they joy of democracy, I really hate the things some people post though, calling names and criticism to others they disagree with. We talk politics ... we just don't argue about it.

NeedsAsockamnesty · 07/06/2017 10:51

Yes my mother has very different political views to me.

I try to avoid the subject compleatly she likes to have lots of loud rants about it she is especially anti corbyn.

What makes it even funnier to me is she doesn't actually know who I'm intending on voting for she thinks she knows but she's not correct in her assumption. I wouldn't ever vote the same way as her because to me a lot of her views are hideous but she is off the mark with mine.

WatchingFromTheWings · 07/06/2017 10:51

'D'M is UKIP and incredibly racist with it. After months of listening to the vilest of her opinions I'm now NC. Always get that brought it up and could never reason with her.

I'm labour, DH Tory up until now but they've lost his vote.

Cocklodger · 07/06/2017 10:52

Mum and I labour, sister conservative. H is labour. ILs conservative. I can't talk politics with my IL but can with my sister, despite opposing beliefs