To be a secret Tory voter and feel embarrassed about it?

[SecretToryVoter]

I’ve just gone to do my vote and had to admit to myself that I’m one of those secret Tory voters and would be embarrassed to admit it to friends / family!

A month ago I was adamant that I would be voting Labour but ended up changing my mind for a number of reasons

1. Keir seems to have a number of grand ideas of what he wants to do but no substance behind how he’s going to do it (where is he going to find an additional 6,500 teachers as just 1 example)
2. Womens rights
3. my Labour candidate has been helicoptered in and doesn’t look good on paper whereas the Tory candidate is a local, well respected councillor
4. Tory policy is closer to my values overall

anyone else had to admit to themselves that they are a Tory at heart for this election?

Labour haven’t a clue about why teachers are leaving though. Their education plan is very clear on this. ‘Get more teachers, have better academic standards. Oh and free breakfast clubs’.

The reason for this is because both Tories and Labour are quite happy for schools to be run like business. They’ll talk to headteachers and SLT, but not to the ones with boots on the ground who are less teachers these days and more behaviour managers trying to get through the day without being attacked physically or verbally. A huge part of this reason is because of the lack of SEN recognition. More teachers isn’t go to fix this, neither is academic targets. The whole education system needs an overhaul top to bottom.

To be honest though it’s an apt description.

The main reason why people hate the Conservatives so much now is that they have shown exactly why they are known as 'the nasty party'. They have demonised disabled people and they have caused countless people to be sick and unable to work because they have decimated the NHS. And now they're complaining?

David Cameron managed to convince people of this 'compassionate conservative' nonsense. Then he stupidly let people play fast and loose with membership of the EU. After that, it was a shift further to the right.

I think that is where the anger comes from.

Not surprised you're embarrassed.

As I see it, she’s describing left wing people who shame others for their political views as intolerant lefties. Sounds about right to me.

im a lefty but accept other opinions and can debate them instead of calling people evil or bigoted

I've always voted conservative in general elections (last time purely because of the need to get brexit done). The current lot, under Rishi's leadership are just plain rubbish though, and deserve a pasting. But I don't want a labour government either, definitely not in their current guise, which for months has seemed a certainty.

Our local conservative mp is diabolically bad though, totally ignores local issues, head so far up her own arse she's no idea what's going on, and is just blindly loyal to her party over all else. No way could I bring myself to vote for her this time. Even conservative voters round here agree on that - they're only voting conservative for the party, not their local MP.

In general, it seems as though people are voting for the least worst option (between labour and conservative). If there was a 'none of the above option' I'd pick that. Although I suspect so would half the rest of voters!

So while it might sound absurd, my choice is between Reform (as a total protest vote), or lib dem (because our local lib dem candidate is actually really decent and champions local issues, rather than because of the party or national policies).

To me, there's a different between being embarrassed and not wanting to discuss something:

Being embarrassed at having voted a particular way means you know deep down that e.g. you were voting selfishly to protect your own rights/money etc. even though you knew it meant shafting over other people more in need, or, e.g. you were voting for a party that had some policies you found really abhorent but were willing to overlook because other issues more immediately affected you.

Not wanting to be open about how you voted is more the case that you are fully comfortable with the decision you've made (even if it is necessarily the best of a bad lot rather than your ideal candidate), but you know that people around you have different views and you are just not interested in a debate which won't change either side's mind and which might make them think badly of you/call you names.

So I would say that being embarrassed about how you vote is worrying, because it implies you don't think you really made the right choice; but not wanting to talk about how you voted with other people is fine.

If you have multiple children in private school you obviously aren’t being ‘taxed to the hilt’, despite the Tories massively increasing the tax burden. You have vast amounts of disposable income sloshing about and want to keep it all. Just be honest.

What I'm talking about is a collective approach rather than an individualist one. It's not about sharing your food with someone, it's about sharing food.

It's not about being generous it's about pooling resources to create something that works better for most people instead of just you - or not you, as the case can so easily be.

But some people vote for very selfish reasons.

All rubbish that has been debunked many times.
Brexit was born out of lies that the electorate fell for.
The extreme measures taken by Sunak were due to the wholly mismanagement, corruption and abuse of public funds by BJ’s & Sunak’s cabinet.

There was no empty coffers when the Tories came to power, I can’t believe you actually think it.
The Tories have asset stripped the UK to the bare bones so there is damn all left on the carcass.
The Tories want the little people begging for scraps, that is how they administered their control and power.

So if the Tories were to get back in what do you honestly think that coming out of the ECHR would do for woman’s rights?

Because coming out of that would definitely not protect anyone vulnerable

Yes the Tories are a massive embarrassment so I get why you'd be embarrassed about voting for them. Double embarrassment.

I voted for them OP but I wouldn’t admit to it in real life because a lot of Labours tend to be fiercely critical of anyone who votes Conservative. But I don’t feel ashamed at all. Well done for not being a sheep and making your own mind up.

@SecretToryVoter your vote, your choice, your business. I have no problem at all with how you are using your vote.

I would be more embarrassed by your comment. Grow up.

Well good for you, that's probably because the people who think differently to you (Tories, Brexit Voters) don't expend enormous amounts of time and energy haranguing you, insulting you, questioning your intelligence, calling you either a heartless cunt or a privileged toff or a thick racist and threatening to de-friend you, either on social media or in person.

The same cannot be said for many people on the left who, as you say, do tend to enjoy shouting loud and proud. Not only about how great they are for voting Labour / Remain / Green, but also how utterly shit everybody else is, for not.

We on the right of centre don't tend to speak to, or about our friends, colleagues and neighbours in such disparaging terms. We just respect their right to vote as they see fit and then quietly go about our business doing the same.

Maybe if you knew what it felt like to be in our shoes most of the time, you'd not stop being proud about how you vote, but you might start being a bit less loud about it.

Don’t be embarrassed. You vote for whoever you like.

It’s your democratic right and reading some of the comments on here reminds me why I listened to my mother telling me not to discuss politics, religion or money with people you do not know well or trust.

Actually the last Labour government did overspend and some of their actions worsened the financial crisis. We are still paying for their PFI projects now. No government is perfect- the coalition of Tory/lib dem inherited an economy in tatters.

I have voted Tory. I don't want them to win. I want labour to win, but I don't want a supermajority without a decent opposition. I am in a tory/libdem split seat. No chance for labour here at all, so voting for them would be a waste of a vote in that sense. The new local Tory seems nice and is standing up for local values that matter a lot to me. The libdems will almost certainly win but have lied about various things and buggered up the local council so they are not my favourites. So I have voted Tory despite wanting labour to win.

I wouldn't vote for them, and never have, but you don't have to reveal your vote. But why are you voting for a party you're embarrassed to admit you're voting for?

If you have multiple children in private school you obviously aren’t being ‘taxed to the hilt’, despite the Tories massively increasing the tax burden. You have vast amounts of disposable income sloshing about and want to keep it all. Just be honest.

I agree. 'When you are accustomed to privilege, equality feels like oppression'

Good for you. I hope this gained the attention you hoped for.

I can't fathom this. If you want Labour to win, vote Labour

Genuine question to the shy Tory voters, as I don't know any who's done their come out. What have the Tories done for you in the past 14 years? What have they promised that's appealing to you (and that they couldn't have done in the past 14 years)? I don't want to hear about Labour or any other party. I want to know why the Tories. If you have valid reasons, surely there is no reason to be shy in your allegiance.