My dh and I were discussing the tory party. He really dislikes what they stand for.aibu to.ask .. .

[Chewchewaboogiw]

Ask if you.vote tory and would be planning to continue to do so.. why and what do you like about the party?in the circles we mix in no one votes tory that we know of so cant ask in real life.. but there must be many who vote this way.

Exactly
and if there really so so many very rich people in the country
then goodness - something is going right

I personally wouldn't vote for them but given the opposition I can see why people do unfortunately

SIR Kier Starmer is said to be worth £7.7m, which is £6.3m more than Boris !!!!.

That would be because Starmer hasn’t been through a messy, expensive divorce and hasn’t got numerous children to support. He also doesn’t appear to have a wife with a penchant for £800 a roll wallpaper.

Middle class people who vote for labour have a real dissonance when it comes to admitting that the Tory party get in on the WC vote every time

All the parties are the same. There is very little difference between them these days. They are just there to put on a veneer that we have democracy to keep the plebs quiet. In reality they all now answer to rich donors and multinationals who dictate policy and the wellbeing and concerns of the electorate is irrelevant.

I’d hope you’re right, but there’s been enough talk in the past about ‘mansion tax’ and taxing unearned wealth that I can’t be confident that I wouldn’t be affected. I don’t live in anything that could be considered anywhere close to a mansion, it’s just a normal family sized house but it’s an expensive area and since it was bought, it’s value has increased to a ridiculous level. Labour’s attitude makes me worry that I will be penalised for losing a parent when I was a child and getting a house.

I also wouldn’t agree to any increase in inheritance tax. The way is done is already very unfair, and there no way Labour would improve it.

I think it’s more that there are still enough people alive who remember the 70s and 80s. And that this Labour Party is far more ideologically aligned to the labour party of the 70s and 80s than nu Labour. The people who lived through it do not want to go there again. Tells you a lot.

i understand why rich people vote Tory to protect their wealth and pull up the ladder behind themselves

I’ll never understand why anyone else does racism and/or stupidity

So if You don’t divorce and have multiple children to support then realistic to think you can become a multi millionaire?

I mix with professionals in various finance and business sectors who vote Tory.

Good people who care about the more vulnerable etc, make huge donations to local and National charities, have a social conscience, incredibly well informed and up to date on all current affairs.

They vote Tory because they believe that Tory policies provide the best environment for the economy to thrive and that that is the best for all: for employment, for opportunities, etc.

They are also vocal about policies or things they think the Tories get wrong, and do an analysis before elections, and will change their vote accordingly.

(I am not a Tory voter, never will be)

Some people will vote in favour of a hardworking, respected MP who cares genuinely about the constituency no matter what his or her political colour. The late David Amess in Southend for example. Ken Clarke was another one.

Middle class people who vote for labour have a real dissonance when it comes to admitting that the Tory party get in on the WC vote every time

They don’t though. Two of the last four elections haven’t delivered a majority and the 2015 election delivered a tiny one. The 2019 landslide was a blip, it won’t happen again, particularly with the cost of living biting hard.

@forinborin people don't achieve their dreams in a vacuum..my DH is from a poor family but is now a higher rate tax payer. He didn't achieve it through sheer grit. He was lucky to be born and bred in London so he could work in an entry level role in the City while living with family, the tube meant he didn't need a car to get to work or to interviews. Could also save a deposit in 3 years.. studied in a rg university in London while living at home too.

I wonder how a young person in Middlesbrough could replicate this if he can't afford a car to get to work and there are only minimum wage jobs in his area. The effects of poverty start at a young age too.

The Tories are not investing in infrastructure and healthcare and education, all things needed to lift people out of poverty.

What do you mean by despair?

When I’ve seen this posted in this way it’s sarcasm

Obviously some of us do care - me included and won’t use sarcasm

SIR Kier Starmer is said to be worth £7.7m, which is £6.3m more than Boris !!!!.

But he was brought up working class, he hasn't had things handed to him on a plate. He's worked damn hard to achieve. I had high hopes for him, but he hasn't managed to reign Labour in and make them a united party.

I vote Tory and 90% of my friends and family do too.

To me they stand for lower taxes, smaller state, personal responsibility and pro business - although the current lot are (to me) high tax, big state.

Demographic wise, I'm on a good salary in a professional job, 34 and live/work in London.

@tomatoandherbs if you have an actual highflying career in law and a small family as well as a professional wife, yes you can build wealth that way. He also had kids quite late so could focus on building his career as did his wife.

The media does not pay as well as law which is what Boris was doing pre politics

It’s a good point. Pragmatism is behind a lot Tory votes. Labour do not have a shred of economic or fiscal credibility. As Bill Clinton’s strategist once said, ‘it’s the economy, stupid’.

I vote Tory because I can't bring myself to vote for Labour and I think that voting for the smaller parties is effectively a wasted vote - especially where I live as the Conservatives have had a HUGE majority for years.

I generally prefer the approach where people are encouraged and helped to fend for themselves to the nanny state
approach of left wing parties.
It's not as cut and dried as that, obviously, and there are pros and cons to each, but for example, I can see the benefits of outsourcing parts of the NHS.

I live in a very working class ex-mining area which had been Labour for 60 odd years before swinging to Tory in the last election, so the stereotype of Tory voters being rich really doesn’t hold here.

Brexit, immigration, crime and employment were all hot topics. There is definitely a perception of Labour being soft and southern these days, especially under Corbyn. You don’t really get much of the working man vibe anymore, and unfortunately our previous MP (a proper old school ex-miner) retired so Labour lost a bit of the “loyalty factor” locally.

I also heard quite a few people expressing concerns about Corbyn nationalising things like energy or railways (this was back at the last election- I suspect the mood on nationalised energy may have changed!)

Basically I think there was a major image crisis for Labour. They’re too shambolic to govern effectively (“Tories are bastards but at least they get things done”), they don’t care about the North, they weren’t strong on Brexit, they can’t handle money etc etc.

Very curious to see if we will swing back at the next election but it’s hard to tell- the Tories are not popular at the minute but Labour have done little to make themselves appealing in their own right.

@scorpiogirly

The fact Boris knows what a woman is and is prepared to protects women's spaces is enough for me to steer clear of the Labour Party.

Also this - big time.

@BuanoKubiamVej

People are more or less likely to vote in a particular direction depending on their philosophical position on the question of "why do some people end up very rich while others remain poor all their lives?"

People who vote Tory aren't necessarily evil as I was led to believe by my mainly socialist family. However, they are likely to believe that anyone who works hard, keeps a lookout for opportunities and isn't trying to sponge off the state will end up wealthy eventually, and the state shouldn't then take away that wealth and give it to the feckless and lazy individuals who couldn't be bothered to do all that.

Whereas people who would never vote Tory tend to believe that life stacks the cards against the poor and disadvantaged, that it's very difficult to escape from the bottom rungs of society no matter how hard you try, and that those with the privilege of having more resources and opportunities need to be compelled to share that good fortune with those who don't.

This is a great nuanced post

What do you mean by despair?

The thought of this corrupt dishonest man and his shitshower of a party being re-elected because of a hatred of gender ideology that is irrelevant to most people in their everyday lives. FFS even the Americans didn’t give Trump a second term.

I don't know anyone really who votes Tory.

Most likely because I work in education and lots of health care (nhs) workers on my family too.

Outside of immediate family through my ds sport there's quite a few who tend to give the line "it was just cake". Interestingly enough these are people who have a higher income.

But obviously anecdata isn't evidence!

Always have always will

I never understand this attitude, towards any political party. They're not football teams, they don't deserve your unthinking devotion.