To ask why people vote Tory?

Funny how these replies always purport to be from non Labour voters. The amount of abuse the left receives, is nothing compared to what they dish out.

It has to be said that life in the UK on low or middle income is much harder than it seemingly is in other western countries of similar wealth.

Seemingly but is it actually true?

It's been bad times globally with Covid, war and climate change issues. Many people would give anything to live here though. There's only a handful of countries I'd live in if it wasn't here.

I think most people vote for the party that they think is best out the (small) bunch. Not because they fiercely agree or condone with everything they do.

What personal experience do you have of being poor overseas? I only ask because despite having a “professiona job” in one of the countries ALWAYS suggested on mn as somewhere utopian to live… when I came back to the UK as a single mum on benefits I was waaaaaay better off. I cried when I realised my meagre possessions contained a (literally) dog chewed plastic ladle - and on benefits I could afford to replace it.

I get it, you want other people’s money to be used to make your life easier. The reason that people vote Conservative is that they don’t agree, they expect you to provide for your own family.

I wouldn't have put it quite like this but it's not a million miles away from why I vote Conservative. As a household, we pay around 50% of our income in income tax/NI (and more when you add in other taxes). I genuinely believe that's enough and I don't want to pay more tax.

I know it's a controversial point but we also pay for private healthcare and education which means the government isn't having to fund those costs for us.

I wouldn't ever vote for Labour as they're essentially a higher taxation party and I don't like some of their race to the bottom type policies. Anyone that votes Conservative is vilified on MN but millions of people voted for them at the last election.

I also dislike some of Labour's magic money tree type policies. Great, let's squeeze the MNCs and increase corporation tax. Except you risk them moving their HQ/operations out of the U.K. so it's not a net gain when you lose their corporation tax revenue and income tax revenue from the employment they create in the U.K. Ditto for high earners who are often internationally mobile.

I wouldn't ever vote for Labour as they're essentially a higher taxation party

We currently have the highest level of taxation ever in peace time and Truss’ refusal to tax to fund the freeze on energy prices will see us paying the price for a decade. Meanwhile the CEO of BP says his company had the highest profits ever.

We’re reconciled to paying for our future healthcare because we’d be waiting for ever otherwise. I’d rather pay more tax and have a properly functioning NHS.

That is true (not helped by having to fund the pandemic measures) but you can't tell me that Labour would be looking to lower tax?

Labour wants to tax the £170 billion excess profits the energy companies have made so far this financial year. Truss is putting the cost of the energy price freeze on the nation’s credit card. I don’t think that’s a sign of fiscal probity at any time, let alone when interest rates are rising. I don’t know what Labour’s tax policy is because they haven’t yet announced it but I’m pretty sure their spending priorities will benefit public services that have been decimated in the last 12 years.

Perhaps because most people actually aren't members of either the Labour Party or any other party? And often not consistent voters for any one party?

Because you are (I presume) a Tory supporter, you notice when Tories are called 'thick and selfish', but not when people on the left are called 'crybaby losers', 'envious scroungers' or 'virtue-signalling hypocrites'. I can assure you that all these things happen! Often.

This is where, surprise surprise labour are being dishonest. The 170bn represents worldwide profits, and it will already be heavily taxed. There comes a point where additional taxation is counterproductive as it deters economic activity. Further, as I say upthread these profits are vital for many private pension schemes- which benefit pensioners in all walks of life; it doesn't equal profits for some laughing mr Burns character!

It’s a good line for Labour as they can hammer it without acknowledging the long term consequences but I agree with you

Their next proposed windfall tax was only raising £8bn anyway which is a huge gap from what is required.

OEUK are against, speaking for more than just BP

I don’t know what Labour’s tax policy is because they haven’t yet announced it but I’m pretty sure their spending priorities will benefit public services that have been decimated in the last 12 years.

But I'm not talking about spending priorities, I'm talking about taxation. Labour has historically been a high spending, high taxation party.

Why did the BP CEO describe his business as a “cash machine”? Even the companies themselves are amenable to higher taxation on the profits.

news.sky.com/story/cash-machine-bp-more-than-doubles-bosss-pay-to-4-46m-as-energy-prices-surge-12569227

Labour has historically been a high spending, high taxation party

It’s not now. The Tory government has levied the highest taxes for 70 odd years. 🤷‍♀️

Pretty exceptional circumstances, unprecedented global pandemic in the modern era...,

Still true.

So you think Labour would have reduced tax? I highly doubt it unless they did a u-turn on their policies when they were in government.

Labour would have looked to raise tax further, not least to have more spending power.

And then war.

this is a good resource for energy security and why windfall tax undermines it

oeuk.org.uk

and view on WFT

oeuk.org.uk/a-windfall-tax-on-the-uks-energy-providers-risks-adding-a-uk-supply-crisis-to-a-global-price-crisis-warns-oeuk-chief-executive/

Starmer is playing to the crowd but he is looking at it on what goes down well level. Easier if you have zero chance to implement something which has negative impact.

Labour would have looked to raise tax further, not least to have more spending power.

That’s pure speculation. The current government hasn’t even costed its plans and it’s borrowing to fund them. Every single expenditure in the last Labour manifesto was costed. This government is spending like a drunken sailor on shore leave with no clue as to how or who will pay for it.

That’s pure speculation.

But it's not, it's based on their previous time on power. Either way, I'm not going to keep debating the point. Not many people would view Labour as a lower tax party than the Conservatives. If you do, that's your call.

I'm not surprised, after Covid. I dread to think how the Labour Party would have handled it.

We’ll never know will we @Culldesack? It’s pointless to speculate.

Plus no one in the Labour Party can tell you what a woman is 👀

Because Labour are just woke and have no interest in people who get off their a==e and work hard to earn a good living and look after themselves and their family I guess
I could never dream of voting for a party that has the vile racist Diane Abbot in it personally
Or that says it will increase corporation tax - if my corp tax goes up the fist thing i do is look at costs and lose staff
Or that says if a company has 250 plus employees it will take 10% of that company
Or that someone who works for the company who has never run a business should be on the bard and entitled to make decisions about the companies structure and business plan and operation
Or that wants to invite rubbish like Shamima begum back into the uk who is unemployable and will luve off tax that I pay for the rest of her life
And I could go on .....................

It's not a politician's job to tell me who I am!

Assuming that this comes from objection to self-ID, well, I'm against self-ID too, because it can so easily be abused. But turning it into the need for politicians to 'define a woman' brings one so much into the risk of male politicians having the opportunity to force us into strict gender roles- as with Texas and even the Taliban.

It’s pretty rich when it was Theresa May’s government that proposed self ID less than five years ago. Memories are short.

www.theguardian.com/society/2017/oct/18/theresa-may-plans-to-let-people-change-gender-without-medical-checks