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?

It's also funny how all these 'let's not focus on the past, let's think about the future' voters also say they could never forgive the Lib Dems for tuition fees or Labour for the Iraq war (forgetting too apparently that tuition fees was a Tory policy and as if the Tories backed the Iraq war in Parliament.....)

But more were…..

I am not even a tory voter - but totally agree with this.

You shouldn't be embarrassed, but you should believe in your convictions. I'm not a tory, but I have friends who are, and even though I disagree with them, I respect their reasons for voting the way they do. It's a democracy after all.

Give over, I'm on benefits and disabled and voted Conservative the last few elections. Infact, most of "us" have and it's only the MC voting Labour/ Liberal Democrats or Green.

Maybe you live in London or the South as its certainly different in my area. Times have changed and it's no longer the privileged voting Blue.

But is he? Surely the time to row back on it would be before Election Day, not afterwards, when he’s already in number 10.

Okay so if you think independent education is elitist and charging VAT will make it more so, you'll be supportive of abolishing it completely to remove the elitism. Great!

Macro-economic conditions may have been poor but the UK has fared worse than other developed countries.

I agree with this. A few years ago locally I was spoken to by someone campaigning, who aggressively and mockingly shouted “Oh so you are a TORY “ when I said I didn’t agree with Labour’s policy on women’s sex based rights, and I was concerned about anti semitism in the party. She was incredibly unpleasant . I have never voted Conservative, but this made me more likely to do so, not less ! I hate the bullying of the left.
I actually have no idea who to vote for today. I care very much about single sex spaces and women’s rights generally, the environment, farming, health.

Well said.

How have the Conservatives made your life better?

Always good to hear from a spokesperson for All Of The North.

4 - Tory policy is closer to my values overall

You could have summed it up with this one sentence rather then try and justify why you’ve voted conservative. If you’re going to vote in alignment with your views, have a bit of backbone about it.

I'm not starving, have a roof over my head and my children enjoy school. I have medication and access to regular healthcare. Those are the things that matter to me, it's a personal experience and I am happy with what I have.

I was looked after during covid with regular shopping deliveries as I was extremely vulnerable and also gifted a box of food until the supermarkets sorted out priority slots. The vaccination programme was excellent.

COL payments were very useful as well.

So, yes for me. I've had a fine time.

There's nothing authoritarian about jeering at someone because of their vote. It's practically a tradition in this country. Authoritarianism would not allow you to vote as you choose or put you in prison for doing so, which I wouldn't agree with even if I didn't think people who voted Tory this time round must be either selfish or stupid.

You're welcome.

“When you're not doing so well, vote for a better life for yourself. If you are doing quite nicely, vote for a better life for others”
I can see so many people struggling under this government, I voted for those people.

I will never vote for the Tories as long as I can vote but if you wish to vote for them who am I or anyone else for that matter to judge? You vote for who you want to. That is why we have a democracy where we can choose who we vote for

Dont feel embarrassed op. If people berate you because of who you voted for, its their problem. I voted tory too. Good on us!

Its a tradition which isn't particularly nice and is putting off people from standing for election.

This is one of the contributing reasons as to why we end up with a poor quality of candidates standing.

It is intimidating.

Don't get me started on the levels of abuse, harassment and appalling behaviour candidates have to put up with, which this attitude is used to justify.

Its really NOT ok and we all are worse off for it.

Our posts crossed. Thank you for this extensive and very full list, worthy of note (especially for anyone who is voting Tory- embarrassed or not). And THAT is not bullying, just true and accurate facts.

This

Even if you agree with their policies, have they not demonstrated their complete inability to actually deliver them? 14 years of failure, with the country in tatters (despite their 80 seat majority - so it's not as if they've not been able to get their manifesto through because of the opposition) and you want more of it? They've had free rein and they've fucked everything up

And that's not to mention the way they and their chums have enriched themselves at the expense of the worst off; more food banks and more billionaires...

No they weren't ok. Billions were cut from public services, from education.

The saviour of the Tories was Brexit- fuelled by its racist, Little England selling to the voters. Aided by the promotion of 'Bungling Boris' as Mr Charisma, who spouted lies to a voter base that wanted to hear his lies. He was a charlatan, a liar, had no personal integrity but he followed dull-as -ditchwater Teresa May who could not take the Tories with her, never mind the EU or the public (but actually had more personal integrity in her little finger than Johnson has ever possessed in his life.) He conned us, and was aided by the right wing Press who lied for him and who absolutely tore Jeremy Corbyn to shreds . Corbyn did not helped himself and was not liked by the public or large chunks of his own party but the Press ensured he was unelectable.
The Tories set us up against Europe, conned us with promises of freedoms from EU strangleholds and restrictions, hundreds of millions of pounds would be saved monthly to invest in our economy, immigration would be under -control. In 2019 it was all still about Brexit, immigration, and Tory lies. It was all a lie and millions were conned by Johnson and his cronies.

Why would you vote for someone that you're embarrassed about? Surely that tells you that there is something wrong?

Or is it that you just don't want people to know that you don't care about education, nhs, social care, Covidgate, increased tax burden, gamblegate, truss bankrupting the country etc etc

I get people voting selfishly but unless you're a member of the super rich elite I really struggle to see what you think a vote for the Conservative party will do for you? I can't think of a single thing in my life that has been improved by the Tories in the last 14 years. But if you can then fair enough i suppose. At least stand up for your beliefs and not be such a coward.