To feel completely disillusioned with the Labour Party?

[user6776]

I've voted Labour since I've been able to vote. Come from a working class family of Labour voters also and I'd never vote Tory, but I'm feeling so disillusioned by Labour at the minute.

Wasn't really a fan of Starmer to begin with, but even less so after his comments about Margaret Thatcher. I really don't want to vote for them at the next GE.

AIBU to just not vote at all?

Really? You think a TikTok poll will alarm anyone? Or be more accurate than a poll where the people questioned are decided scientifically?
Edit: just seen It’s not even a poll. It’s ‘likes’. Of what? Particular posts? The page? You think either one is indicative of anything at all?

I thought it was highly amusing that the Telegraph even thinks that’s newsworthy.

Which other party you think can balance Labour’s value and policy the best? Vote for them & hope for a hung parliament.

You clearly know absolutely fuck all about polling/market research! That stuff isn't worth the paper (or screen?!) it's written on.

Its so frustrating when someone is looking at a single issue and citing it as a reason not to vote Labour. The alternative is we get another 5 years of the Tories ruining the country

I think in real life there are vanishingly few single issue voters, unless it's a local issue. And if there are, the biggest single issue - by a country mile is "how do I get rid of the Tories ?". Way ahead of anything else.

Do you really think there is any chance of reform winning?

I really hope there's no chance at all of Reform even making third place, but Tiktok and FB are far bigger platforms than any polling company can muster so this raised my hackles. I pointed out the issue in general interest, but I do find it quite alarming that Reform is as high profile as it is. We have the EU elections next weekend, on Sunday, and in France, Holland and Germany the right wing looks set to win. The same in most of Eastern Europe. The UK is out of step with Europe's mainstream.

@Sirzy, I won't rule it out completely, but I don't think there is any chance of rejoining an EU that looks even slightly like the one we voted to leave. Not sure I would want to.

I hope all the derision of my analytical and marketing skills is misplaced, but I was pretty good at reading the runes when I got paid €£$ for being right.

https://x.com/PolitlcsUK/status/1796979348014027158

The thing is @Papyrophile, audiences on TikTok and FB are self-selecting. They don't represent the general population, which is really important when it comes to producing reliable statistics. Which is what polling/market research surveys do produce (especially with the numbers being polled at the moment)

I think that's reassuring. Thanks @Blossomtoes.

My most fervent hope is that we don't lose sight of the middle ground in this election.

I take your point @BIWI. But I still fear that the centre is a bit complacent. For the record, I'd like politics to stay quite centrist, and I am not very bothered whether we end up with Keir or Rishi, as long as the winner has a workable majority and is a competent administrator.

I don't know about the Tories, but I doubt very much that the Labour party is complacent - everything being reported about Keir Starmer is that he's warning against complacency. We've seen it before in elections, where polls suggest Labour is in the lead, but then when it comes to it, all the secret/ashamed Tories come out to vote!

That said, I very much do mind who we end up with, as I can't see any way that more years of government by the Tories/Rishi is going to be beneficial in any way.

I will live with a moderate anything after the GE.

In fact, I would prefer a closely hung Parliament. All the parties have useful ideas. Make them work togther for the benefit of us all, please. I can cheerfully ignore the interests of squillionaires, and the cries of the able but work shy. If you are of working age, and can walk and talk, you should work at least part of the day. If you are too ill to do so, then you should be an NHS priority to get to back to sufficient fitness to work a little bit.

A closely hung parliament would be a nightmare. Nothing would get done.

Sometimes, doing nothing and waiting is the best option. I feel this is one of those moments. I can't actually (for the first time in my life) summon up a remedial list of policy. I think we need to wait and see what the GE vote delivers; how much of a mandate Labour wins will be crucial. Over 60% is decisive, over 70% says they can take a few risks on their wild side. Absolutely no chance at all that they will get 80% plus of the total vote. With an outcome below 60%, an incoming Labour government will have to get GE naysayers on board. Personally, politically, the very best thing an incoming government could do is as little as possible, I want what's in place to work properly. And fairly too.

Voting green is a vote for anti women gender extremism. I really wouldn’t- they’re not environmentalists any more

Depends what the single issue is surely and how important it is to you. I won’t vote Labour because of their record on women’s rights. That’s a really important issue to me. I think the Tories, for all they have done many things I don’t agree with, have finally got it right on women’s rights

You might want to look into what the Green Party stands for first. They have been a disaster in Scotland, but thankfully seem to have take the SNP down with them.

Maggie ‘I don’t know what sex I am as o haven’t had my chromosomes tested’ chapman, green MSP. People thinking ‘I’ll just vote green’ did this. Just don’t vote if you only candidate is green. Take it from a scot, they aren’t environmentalists they are crazed nutters.

I’m not going to tell you what to do, but I’d just encourage you to think about why Starmer might say stuff like that about Thatcher.

To be elected he needs to win the votes of people who would usually vote Conservative. He’s not going to do that by scaring the horses with radical policies, or implying he’s some kind of left winger. That’s where Corbyn went wrong.

He has to be a sensible, sober, respectable, centre ground.

We really need the current shower out and trust me, Starmer is a vast improvement on the current lot, even if he doesn’t tick all your boxes.

How is what’s already in place going to work properly with a government that does nothing? None of our public services are working properly, huge amounts of work are needed.

@pointythings agree that Reform will split the Tory vote. And as such will reduce the chance of a Tory majority, leading to the chance of a hung parliament.

However, my Mum hates the Tories, will buy some of the GB News crap, and the Tory disinformation campaigns. She hates Farage, but is too thick to realise that Reform are the Brexit party. She'll lap up the anti-migrant rhetoric. And as such might go for Reform. She's typically not a Labour or Tory supporter, but these are the kind of voters both parties will be chasing. She voted Brexit, now moans about the cost of living, can't put two and two together.