Aibu? DS should talk about his party politics activities in interviews?

[Theworried]

DS is at uni and applying for internships etc. in the field of finance. A lot of these interviews ask typical skill or behaviour questions- e.g. tell me a time when you have shown teamwork etc.
DS is an active member of the young conservatives and has done a lot of activities in his uni and in our local young conservative group- e.g. take an active role in meetings, canvassing support amongst young people etc.
He thinks that he should be able to use these examples in job interviews as they highlight his skills and is a big part of his life, but DH thinks he should shy away from it as it is do with party politics and is quite a divisive topic in society.
I think that DH is worrying unnecessarily and interviews would not look down upon it as he is developing skills through this activity.

I agree with saying "a political organisation", and if they probe further, the line about keeping politics separate from work. If they respect that, all well and good; if they push further, then perhaps it will be a company where political affiliation will really affect fit, and so it's better to have it in the open.

No where has the OP identified what her or her DH’s political views are.

christ, her DS is an adult who can make up his own mind.

Just don't mention the party. I know it could be an issue with our current team and there could be concerns about a cultural fit.

I'd say it's ok to go on his CV, just about, but he shouldn't really talk about it in an interview. Finance recruiters might well be right wing but that doesn't mean they will be fans of the current Tory party. I do think it shows questionable judgement.

Absolutely. I would keep my mouth shut.

@CinnabarRed makes a v good point.

If he thinks that's something to be proud of currently then his judgement may be in question. It depends also on what the job is. It will alienate more than it will help so refrain from overtly political enthusiasm. Unless he's applying to work with one of the current politicos, in which case, theyll snap him up.

I am disgusted the number of people who would blatantly and potentially illegally discriminate in an interview process on the basis of political views.

Not least when we’re talking about a main stream party that a significant proportion of the population voted for, and continues to vote for.

Would you think the same if a devout religious person was in the room? You could argue that one might struggle to understand the analytical and reasoning skills of someone who follows a religion, but surely would put that bias aside in an interview scenario.

I genuinely worry about society’s inability to appreciate that diverse views are beneficial and we should not demonise others for differing viewpoints.

That said, in your son’s position I also wouldn’t mention the name of the party but saying a local political youth group should suffice.

@mintbiscuit

I didnt say otherwise

However, it's unlikely he randomly decided to be a tory with zero influence from his parents or family.

Even if he has randomly decided completely against the grain to be a tory I'd still be horrified.

They're awful with absolutely zero redeeming features /beliefs

I think this is the perfect response - it makes clear it is one of the mainstream parties (so not BNP or UKIP type thing!) If pressed on which party 'I leave politics at the door in the workplace' is a great response - it shows moderation and maturity and no desire to brow beat colleagues with your personal politics..

@VeggieSalsa That is what I felt originally, that DS shouldn’t be ashamed of his activities, he has worked really hard as a member and has shown a lot of good qualities in doing so.
@Comedycook I think I will tell DS just to do this as it would be the best way to avoid any judgement.

I think he should say which party because otherwise he might end up working for some of the disgusting bigots on here who would penalise someone for supporting a political party that nearly half the population vote for.

I agree with your DH, being a member of the Conservatives is not something to proudly declare, especially with the state of the country at the moment.
I suppose finance will have a better chance of people not being put off, but dor many organisations an active Conservative party member is a big red flag.

@Gymrabbit

When did half the population of the UK vote for the tories?

Definitely good to show the skills/experience but don’t go into political beliefs.

@ToK1 It definitely wasn’t 50% but in 2019 43.6% of votes were conservative. That is why I initially thought this isn’t something controversial, but staying away from party politics is the professional thing to do probably.

In an ideal world he should be able to raise it as an example of being active in the community and having experience of the kind of thing you have to deal with all the time at work - meetings, discussions etc etc.

However, for better or worse (and as demonstrated on this thread, mostly for worse) people will judge him for being involved with the conservatives, which in any healthy, respectful workplace should absolutely not be an issue, but just look at some of the replies already about "cultural fits" etc.

And I say this as someone who has never and will never vote tory.

I work with people who are unemployed, mainly stuck in a rut and frustrated with the complete lack of government support they receive. They can't survive on UC, can't get a job (which is what most of them want) and are sometimes seen as not in enough need to use food banks. I wouldn't want them to be subjected to someone who would talk favourably of the party that is running them, and a large proportion of the population, into the ground.

@Theworried

According to Google there are 46 million people eligible to vote

13.9 million voted tory in 2019

Meaning 32 million either didn't vote tory or didn't vote at all

So no.

By no stretch of the imagination did half the country vote tory

32% of the vote share in 2019 - that’s less than a third of the people who actually got off their arses to vote.

A 21 year old who has lived through the most incompetent, corrupt, self serving government in recent history has incredibly poor judgment if he thinks it deserves support. When its natural constituency is turning against it, that tells you all you need to know. And it’s not bigoted to recognise all that.

I agree with PPs that he should mention it but not state what the organisation is.

Politics is very divisive. Like religion.

In a work setting it is best avoided.

I've seen people at work go from being good mates to at loggerheads simply because they started talking politics. And it's not good for team cohesion.

It shouldn't be like this, but there are some pretty nasty people out their who don't believe other people are entitled to different beliefs and opinions than them.

He could keep it neutral and just not name the party, but detail the activities.

Or just put it exactly how it is - we have this strange situation in our society where it is perfectly ok to say you support labour/lib dem, but if you say you support conservatives then you are flamed. IMO that's not OK - we're supposed respect the views/differences of others. I'd never flame anyone for their vote/opinion. I don't even vote as I think they're all bastards, just wearing different colour ties and rosettes.

Since the conservatives won the election, you can rest assured that there are plenty of millions of people who voted for them, so it's not necessarily the kiss of death to name it on a CV.

It is absolutely appalling that some of you would discriminate against a person based on their mainstream political views. It's not like he's just got back from coercing Turkish voters to vote for Erdogan.

The flip side is, why would someone want to work with a load of bigots who think that diversity of thought is a bad thing?

I would discuss in general, expect to be asked which party, and be honest about it. Frankly it is unlikely to be an issue in the finance sector, where conservative values are surprisingly common 🙄

I think it's poor judgement to talk about your political views (whatever they are) in the vast majority of interviews. @Comedycook 's response is what I'd go for - saying it's a main party, but politely and sensibly declining to actually specify because there's no need to bring politics to work.