AIBU to be feeling politically homeless

[Jaffacakebeast]

If we had a general election now, I’d be stuck.

I normally vote labour, even last time.

I voted leave, would do again.

Any1 else in my situation? I honestly couldn’t vote labour right now, and I have never voted tory. Unless they dramatically changed as a party I don’t think I ever could

Corbyn is ruining Labour for more people than I have ever known before. Life long voters. They need to cut him loose.

I'm with you OP. No idea where to turn next ....

Is it not possible to like Europe, but dislike the EU, without being a plastic tory?

In our local council elections in May our choices are Labour, Tory, UKIP. We're both life long left / liberal voter who are now disillusioned and politically homeless.

I think both tory and labour are going to see a huge fall in their share of vote.

You think so ? maybe, but most people will vote for a donkey wearing a rosette of the right colour. This was shown with the Zac Goldsmith fiasco - Tory vote him in / resign and stand as an independent - not re-elected/ reselected as Tory - voted back in. Now, he is either a good MP or not, colour of the rosette shouldn’t make a difference.

But then, most people don’t actually understand how the electoral system works. I wont be voting for Corbyn or May - I don’t live in Islington or Maidenhead. Hence all these MPs who have resigned and become independent - it doesn’t trigger by-elections because we vote in individuals not parties. Ditto the outcry about Fiona Onasanya – there is no by-election because 1 in 10 of her constituents have not demanded and petitioned for this.

Brexit isn’t the only issue, although we’d all be forgiven for thinking it is.

I agree and I voted remain. I hope there is an independent party candidate in my area.

I actually think we will be in more chaos if there is a general election at the moment as I think a massive part of the population feel politically homeless at the moment.

I can't see either of the main parties getting a majority.

I voted remain but I hate Corbyn with a passion and I would rather die than vote Tory. I resigned my Labour Party membership over the way they are choosing to treat women and when I wrote to my MP about my concerns he basically blew me off and told me not to worry my pretty little head about it

I am completely lost as to how to vote

Brexit isn’t the only issue, although we’d all be forgiven for thinking it is.

I was intrigued to receive a leaflet from our MP detailing a tour she took of our ward which seemed almost at pains to point out that for local folk, Brexit wasn't an issue compared to knife-crime (this is Birmingham), austerity and NHs concerns, schools, housing ...

If a similar theme is developing across the country, it makes things interesting in some senses ....

I feel the same.

I cannot handle the Tory party. It's full of rich, elitist people, who go into politics to further their own careers. They are manipulative, self serving, rich people. They don't have the first clue about what it is like to be a normal working class or middle class person. They treat the country like a huge business, all profit and no care for social conscience. They don't care NHS because they all have private health insurance.
They were completely against the minimum wage when labour brought that in. They cut benefits for the most vulnerable in society. They cut school funding, but they don't care, because they send their children to private school. I don't understand why anyone who has a household income of less than 80k a year would vote for them.

I used to be a lib Dem voter, but they are invisible these days, I don't even know what they stand for anymore.

I would vote Labour, but not while J C is the leader of the party. How can a man that won't take a stand against bullying and racism in his own party be in charge of a country?

Don't even start me on Brexit.

Regarding a protest vote... It's very unwise. A vote is for what you believe in, not an up yours to those you're mad at. Spoil your ballot paper if you have to, but don't protest by voting for something just to be difficult.

Lifelong Labour voter pre Corbyn and remainer here. I think we’re going to see a much more fragmented Parliament after the next GE. My prediction is that neither of the main parties will get a majority and after the last coalition none of the smaller parties will agree to one. I’m politically homeless but will hold my nose and vote Green.

Was having this conversation in the office recently.

The consensus was prerry much everyone (about 10 if us - leavers and remainers, Tory and Labour) wouldn't know how to vote in a GE at the moment.

I think everyone has been shafted

I'm the same. I hope there isn't a general election now as I wouldn't know who to vote for. Get Brexit sorted (I voted remain) and hopefully a new political party/overhaul emerges after. You can dream I suppose!

I'm a remainer and feel politically homeless.

Typically I'm quite centre politically, and have therefore generally voted depending on who's manifesto I most agree with. In the past I've voted Labour, Tory and Lib Dem. It suited me quite well when all parties were politically fairly central and I could pick on policies. But now it feels like we have the choice of extreme right or extreme left, neither of which I am comfortable with. TIG might be a possibility for me, but I live in a very safe Tory seat, so whether or not they will field a candidate I don't know.

I am also politically homeless in a safe Tory seat. I think this mess might actually lead to electoral reform - fingers crossed. I don’t see how almost half of the electorate can be ignored this way without something happening.

Those of you who voted leave and now say you wouldn’t vote Labour or Conservative, why not? What is happening that you didn’t expect? How did you think it would be different?

I think we’re going to see a much more fragmented Parliament after the next GE.

I think 2010 should have put the main parties on alert that things had to change. They chose to stick their fingers in their ears and now they've right royally screwed. If the main parties can't deliver a broad spectrum of views with FPTP then we'll simply have a recurring series of coalitions - or worse (like the current DUP S&C arrangement) until FPTP is fixed.

We had a chance to do it ourselves, but most chose to do what they were told, and here we are.

@Aomame83 - your post is so sweepingly sterotyping I cant even begin to pick it apart. Actually you make me wryly laugh with your 'all tories use private schools' - like Diane Abbott you mean?

Im making a leap and assume you are a natural labour voter - but your type of post just irritates me - I see this time and time again on forums, these wild assumptions that ^all tories are x y z'.

The NHS is in a mess because of Blair and PFI - my trust uses 50% of its income on PFI repayments it cannot legally extracate from.

Schools - not helped by the Tories but the Blair idea of Academies has screwed a generation. Ed Balls started fucking about with education before Gove came along.

All the rich people are Tories - your really need to take a look at the elite in both parties - many public/privately educated, Oxford/Cambridge educated - and not by merit but by birth right, you talk as if there are no Labour peers.

Read more widely and learn some facts before spouting prejudices.

Incidentally, what do folk on here think of the key points of the Newport result yesterday given that it was after 29th, and while the Labour-Tory talks are news ?

1. lower turnout
2. Remain Labour MP winning in a Leaver constituency
3. UKIP "superstar" Neil Hamilton coming in at less than 10%

Lifelong Labour and Remain voter here with broadly socialist principles when it comes to things like health & social care, having a good welfare safety net, social housing etc. Yet I couldn't vote for Labour at the moment given Momentum's influence, the party's record on women's rights and their commitment to Brexit. I would sooner eat a barefoot marathon runner's toenails than vote Tory, their policies have literally condemned thousands of disabled and disadvantaged people to death. Lib Dems...I have no idea what they even stand for, they're so anonymous. Don't think we usually even have a Green candidate in my constituency.

I don't think I've ever felt so politically disenfranchised.

@PlainSpeakingPlainTalking

No I'm naturally a Lib Dem voter and was for many years, I voted Labour only twice. Not everyone who goes to private school comes out as a hard right Tory, I'll grant you that. I'd be hard pushed to find someone not of that ilk in the current cabinet though. Amanda Rudd probably isn't that way, she seems fairly reasonable. When the most prominent members of a government are like that, they end up representing their whole party as they are the figureheads. For the record I'm not a fan of Diane Abbot, I'm much more aligned with Keir Starmer and Yvette Cooper.

On the whole, you're trying to tell me that for the length of time the Tory government has been in place, that the over zealous austerity measures couldn't have been eased off somewhat and haven't been a huge contributer to the failing sectors I stated?
That Brexit isn't an exercise in internal party politics playing fast and loose with the future of the UK?

Newport is really interesting. Makes me wonder if the good people there would still vote leave in another referendum.

@PlainSpeakingStraightTalking

I apologise I got your user name wrong on the previous post.

My constituency is a 2 way marginal. Voting for anyone other than Labour only helps the Tories.

Been thinking about this for a while. No way can I vote Labour with JC as leader as he'd be a disaster & an embarrassment as PM. As for another 5 years of this Tory mess, no thankyou. Plus the very real dread of having Boris or JRM as leader. Was planning on voting Green as a protest but (after reading thread) need to do some research on that too.

yup - Remain voter - Labour Party member since 1985 - just don't know where to go :(

The treatment of women - and Jewish people (mainly Jewish women) by the far left has left me so angry - and so many people just deny the problem - the parties refusal to act, the support of people suspended for blatant anti Semitism, allowing men on all women short lists - having some 20 year old bloke as women's officer - it's disgraceful and I have no home.

I'm Labour at heart but I don't like Corbyn or Momentum. My local candidate only posts very uncontroversial local stuff on her social media, so I have no idea what she thinks about the big issues.

I voted Lib Dem last time and I probably would again at the moment. I don't care about the tuition fees issue.

I'm very interested in The Independent Group.