To think we can take our country back?

[wheresmymojo]

Here we are - stuck in some kind of batshittery where we're going to have Boris Johnson as our PM, we're going to leave the EU and our only 'friend' will be a man with a shit toupee who thinks sexual assaulting women is something to brag about.

I've been watching it all unfold and feeling helpless while the country I love descends into madness at the hands of a bunch of mainly white, rich, male arseholes who don't even know what the truth is anymore.

But it's occurred to me that there are only 160,000 Conservative party members. In the whole scheme of things that's nothing compared to the number of Mumsnetters!

I know the Tories have been shysters but imagine if we could join the party and push it towards compassionate Conservatism.

I realise this still wouldn't be everyone's bag - but surely it would be better to have a party of compassionate Conservatives than the shite we currently have moving ever further to the right.

It's too late to avoid Brexit and too late to avoid Boris but if anyone on Mumsnet who has ever previously voted Conservative joined the party we could organise, join forces with lovely Rory the Tory, put our best 'stern Mother'* faces on and tell the hard righters to fuck off to some horrible little niche party which will never get into power.

It's £2 a month to join - together we could actually make a huge difference to the country while putting the gender balance to rights at the same time.

Isn't it worth it just to see the faces of Mark Francois, The Mogg et al?

Imagine what we could do to turn around the party's education policies!

Think Momentum but made up of nicer human beings with fairer tactics and better hair.

What do you think?

*You don't need to be a mother to do a stern mother face, I don't have children yet as TTC

1. The Conservative Party members don't get to set policy in any meaningful way. They sometimes get a choice to pick a leader who they think represents their views.
2. Look at Rory's voting record. It's not great.

Mumentum?

Meanwhile, I have to admire the sheer shiny brass neck of posters trying to tell other posters they shouldn't vote Green, Labour, etc, while simultaneously proclaiming they themselves will vote for the Tory party – which HOLDS THE SAME POSITION and is governing and pushing the legislation.

There is no party fit to have my vote. Unless things change drastically at the next election I shall spoil my paper.

There is no chance in hell that I would join the Tories, but I wouldn't join Labour atm either. LibDems are an embarrassment and the Greens, well, no. Because Lucas.

*Better to join the Labour party and vote to get rid of Corbyn.

If ONLY there was sane realistic leadership of the Labour Party then we wouldn't be in this shit situation.*

This, with bells on. Only an absolute bloody idiot could have led Labour through this shit show without totally cleaning up. I hate to think what hold JC has that his party hasn't ousted him already.

2. Look at Rory's voting record. It's not great.

Also this. He is a traditional Tory in cool clothing, that is all.

I think one of the main problems is our MPs not respecting the democracy of our country. Right or wrong, the majority voted for Brexit.

Surely the MPs should be working together to make this happen (whatever their personal views), not be fighting and trying only to further their own careers.

They seem to have forgotten that "we" vote for them to represent "our" views in Parliament.

Maybe what we need is MPs NOT having an automatic right to stand at each election, and they must be selected every time.

I don't know what the right solution is, but something will need to give.

JC has won 2 leadership elections on a one-member-one-vote system, fair and square, and no-one has challenged him since. You may not like him, but it's not a conspiracy.

OP's idea could work. The numbers argument makes sense. PP are saying no way given the history but we've seen parties can be philosophically shifted and rebranded.

Our county council has 1/3 female councillors (mainly Conservative). If there was push that could easily get to 1/2. Budget priorities could be influenced. Every leisure centre being designed with unisex changing facilities has to go before a council planning committee.

IMO this has more chance of success than getting WEP properly off the ground.

JC has won 2 leadership elections on a one-member-one-vote system, fair and square, and no-one has challenged him since. You may not like him, but it's not a conspiracy.

I don't think it's a conspiracy. I just don't understand why the party is voting for someone who has failed so badly. What do they think is going to happen and why is no one challenging him?

missbattenburg Cards on table: I have been a Labour Party member for 8 years and I voted for JC twice. I don't think I'll have to consider the matter for a 3rd time, but you never know...

It's a difficult one. These are unusual times and someone who is very honest, kind, decent and would never have expected to lead the party has been catapulted into a perfect shitstorm. Would Andy Burnham have done better? I think the press would have murdered him, but who knows?

Trying to keep people together is extremely difficult right now, and some MPs are clearly v unhappy with the membership's choice, but we are where we are. If someone else wants to stand, that's fine, but we need to be offered someone better than that bloody fool Owen Smith. I will be interested to see where Keir Starmer goes next.

They seem to have forgotten that "we" vote for them to represent "our" views in Parliament.

I don’t think parliament has really represented us for years. Post Thatcher we’ve been given a choice between parties which are so similar you could barely fit a cigarette paper between them. Most of our MPs seem to regard themselves as conduits of the opinions of white middle class southerners and don’t seem to be capable of understanding that the rest of the country doesn’t hold the views of woke SJWs.

One of the biggest causes of this is the middle class hijacking of Labour. Middle class people are now far more likely to vote Labour than Conservative and working class people are more likely to vote Conservative. Labour have zero interest in w/c people and recently have been viewing them with open contempt because they fail to fall in with left wing dogma about women having penises and believing 40 year old men with full beards are child migrants. Labour’s deserted people like that, they’re the people they’re supposed to represent but the left is far more likely to campaign for their disenfranchisement than it is to look after their interests.

Take your country back from who? Who has stolen it? I’m confused who you’re ‘taking your country’ back from?

A bunch of mainly white, rich, male arseholes

What do you find objectionable about them being white and male?

Better to join the Labour party and vote to get rid of Corbyn. If ONLY there was sane realistic leadership of the Labour Party then we wouldn't be in this shit situation.

This. It beggars belief that no party can scrape together a credible, inspiring, thoughtful and compassionate figurehead. I just don't get it.

I despair.

I had the same idea the other day Mojo, and it's an even better idea to put it out there to others :) I may do it, to influence internal policies - don't know if I'll ever be able to vote for them in an election tho!

From the OP join forces with lovely Rory the Tory

Cant stop laughing, very loudly at the irony of lovely Rory - who is eversoslightly more white, privileged than the other candidates! At least he didnt play the "I'm adopted/Im an immigrant/Ive got a half Chinese children/I've been in care/I am a woman/I've got a moslem great grandfather" game of scrabbling to have some form of common identity with the public.

At least Rory is what Rory is - white, middle class, colonial, privileged education just like all the others. Dragon School, Oxford, Whitehall, and he doesn't hide it.

Labour have zero interest in w/c people

What part of better education and opportunities for all, workers rights, a fully funded NHS, lower taxation for the lowest paid and regional development does not benefit working class people? Have you actually read the manifesto?

I think many misjudge the position that Labour are in at the moment. Yes, the membership is largely pro remain (as am I), but the grassroots Labour communities are strongly pro Brexit. Everyone on MN wants them to come out firmly on the side of remain, but in doing so they'd lose many seats. They can't win either way.

I don't want a GE before Brexit is sorted, the Tories got us into this mess and they can finish what they started. Then we can elect a decent government when they've imploded.

@FannyWork

Absolutely agree.

I am already a member of the Conservative Party and no thanks, we don't want a bunch of left wing luvvies joining although I wonder how much of a shift you think you could achieve; I'm guessing zero. On second thoughts, a few hundred thousand new members would swell the coffers, so go for it

Hang on, Boris has a toupee?

Better to join the Labour party and vote to get rid of Corbyn.
If ONLY there was sane realistic leadership of the Labour Party then we wouldn't be in this shit situation.

That is a good point. I am an ex Tory voter and I won't vote for them until they have a major change to their policies. I want to vote for a party who will spend more on services and not leave our vulnerable to rot. I won't vote for Corbyn though because he is dangerous.

You and your racist views wouldn’t get my support 🤮.

Better to join the Labour party and vote to get rid of Corbyn

Actually I know a couple of Conservative members who joined the Labour Party so they could vote for Corbyn, assuming him to be unelectable. I bet they weren't the only ones.