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?

I agree everyone should have access to SEN education if it is required. It’s a pity that labour didn’t directly address speeding up the assessment processes (currently 2+ years for ADHD/ ASD, not to mention court battles with their local authorities) and funding for EHCPs. Many of the children are thriving with specialist support at my son’s school and they weren’t before- so I’ve seen it first hand. But that’s not where we are. Also there will be many parents (with deep pockets- not necessarily the most needy) who will now be applying for EHCPs who weren’t before which will put even more pressure on the system and cost the government a fortune.

Thing is Labour has to find money from somewhere to improve things. The country is in a state. Public services aren’t fit for purpose. 14 years austerity, nothing to show. Whose fault is that ? Where has the money gone ? I’d be asking the Tories tbh.

I repeat, there are many Labour supporters on MN who resort to calling anyone in favour of controlled immigration, bigots/racist. You might not, but many others do. Although I would say that Labour are really just paying lip service with the immigration thing. They’ve said they will instead target the people smugglers. Good luck with that. It’s needle in a haystack stuff - it would take a lot of time for little gain. Like whak-a-mole; take one of them out, and others will just take their place.

Afew have called you out on it now, and you cannot backup up what you are saying. Name this town, because I'm sure we all want to know it exists. So yes, it matters.

I'm definitely not embarrassed who I vote for, and would tell anyone who asked. But I've noticed that labour voters seem particularly intolerant of anyone who has a view that's different to their own. I think that is likely why you feel you're shy to admit - for fear of being verbally attacked for your views

I honestly don’t think anyone apart from you and another poster really care. How many posts are you going to carry this on for??

If it had been a 14 year labour government with this outcome, you can bet your bottom dollar it would be the other way around.

I have asked once 😂

This town exists you have the Internet Google it or better yet look for skilled jobs in the north West and you will see plenty in this town... look for skilled apprenticeships you will see some... you won't find many if any in my town believe me I look regularly... tell me what reason do I have to lie? I'm clearly not a conservative I've made that clear. I've stated the successful town I am talking about is labour, so what possible reason do I have to lie? Unlike you I don't participate in partisan politics or make excuses for sheer failure and incompetence.

Seriously? This ‘quarrel’ has been toing and frying for nearly three pages……

froing 🙄

It’s quite amusing she refuses to name the town tbh!! 🤣🤣🤣

Frying sounds better 😂

You know asylum seekers are a tiny, tiny portion of immigration, yes?

They are just desperate to prove all labour council towns are failures... they want this to provide proof that their excusing of this failure by blaming austerity stands up to scrutiny. If the town up the road run by Labour is successful which it is... their excuse doesn't stand up. Your right though we should all move on.

What excuses? I'm unsure what you're referring to. You've lost me now. Let's leave this here, it's got lost in translation at this point. It has been a quote of quotes of quotes with afew pps within them.

So interested in this - why are you embarrassed if you feel it is best choice?what are your values that you feel they align with?

The money has gone to the fat cats. Increasing their wealth exponentially whilst the vast majority of others suffer.

This is Tory brand of politics and always has been. I don't understand why people couldn't see it in 2010.

This is why voting is secret so you can vote for exactly who you want

I get what you’re saying and maybe it’s coming across as such but I think it’s down to the fact that those who want a fairer society, fairer distribution of the wealth and a better life for everyone can't believe that others can still vote for and cheer along a Tory party that have been so self-serving.

Nearly 70k this year. That’s 70k (mostly individuals, not families) who we have to find accommodation for. With huge waiting lists for housing in this country already. If granted asylum, we could be looking at thousands more potentially - family members - following on. I’m all for immigration, if controlled and skilled or semi skilled. Quality over quantity. Guessing if you don’t think it’s a problem that you think we should have an open door policy?

Quality over quantity! Careful now, your humanity is showing 🙄

It's depressing that people still try and argue that the Conservatives saved the UK from economic ruin - despite years of austerity, we didn't see a dramatic fall in the % of debt as a percentage of GDP, because austerity actually stunted our economic growth overall. As shown on this graph.

This was something that many economists at the time warned us about - you can't treat national finances like a household budget. By underfunding social services and the NHS you end up with lower productivity (read: GDP) and an escalation of more complex (read: more expensive) care needs.

For example, schools and hospitals wouldn't be struggling so much if the Tories hadn't cut funding for all the peripheral support services that used to be provided/fully funded. We now have a scenario where every public service only has enough budget for fire-fighting and nothing for longterm stability/growth.

Labour was wrong to bail out the banks during the 2008 crisis, and it should have tightened up financial controls earlier to prevent what happened (Gordon Brown now concedes to both points). They also shouldn't have brought us into war in the Middle East. However, their investment in public services is to be commended and it's short-sighted to see that just as 'taking on debt' rather than understanding that this was laying out groundwork to produce a more productive, stable, and healthier country.

TL;DR Debt in itself is not a bad thing, unless there's no accompanied (actual or at least forseeable) growth. Unfortunately, after years of Tory mismanagement we now have a net debt that nearly equals our overall GDP and I don't see those figures improving by much if the Tories remained in power.

This ‘tiny tiny part of the population’ argument is getting very old with both immigration issues and the gender one. People need to start realising that some take it as key issues however little you personally think it affects our overall social structure, because it’s having a bigger effect than you care to accept and it’s pushing votes away from Labour and similar parties. You cannot be indignant that people still vote Tory or even Reform and still refuse to see that there are issues accepting left leaning parties policies and strategies on these matters.

The best post on this whole thread by far.