Voting for Reform.the north/south

[Jollyjupiter]

As a proud Northerner i can say 80 per cent of my peer group will vote for Reform in May. Do you think it will be a North v South split?

Believing there's no structural or institutional racism in the UK, that any incidences are just a case of individual prejudice is not appropriate for party leaders. It demonstrates an unwillingness and inability to deal with important issues.

People can insinuate or outright claim as much as they like that I don't like Ms Badenoch because she's black. That will never make it true. I don't like her because she's a poor leader, inexperienced and hubristic. As much as I've never supported the Tory party, its demise at the hands of a string of completely inadequate leader has opened the door for Reform instead.

Preach. They were promised lower food and fuel prices, but they’re higher. They were promised lower inflation, but it’s higher than it was during the Biden administration. They were promised a mass exodus of immigrants, yet ICE ended up shooting two US citizen protesters in the face. It’s an absolute disaster.

So yes…could we have some of that here please? FAFO is right.

Well I disagree, she’s a good leader and more experienced than your preference in the house.

And since you do prefer Ed Davey I don’t think he’s all that either.

I like Kemi, it’s the rest of the Tories I don’t trust

On the youngsters i work with that have just come out of university, on people i know who have been to university more recently than i, on the friends of my dc, on the majority of the media who are younger than me who come from lower socioeconomic backgrounds but went to uni, on personal experience, on teaching profession ( whom i know many of), on general life experience! For many people university instills a very left wing superiority bias! I recently met up with a few of my fellow students from my university course and all without doubt said they felt exactly the same at the time but were to scared to say anything to either tutors or fellow students because they feared being labelled and ostracised.

How do you make that out? Davey has 20 years more parliamentary experience than Badenoch, including experience of working in coalition which is where I suspect we’ll end up again in 2029.

I understand that, listening to analysis she polls really well and focus groups like her a lot but the party is quite a bit lower on ratings than her still.

I didn't say I prefer Ed Davey, where on earth did you get that from?

You know that we don't need to be so tribal in politics, right? You don't have to pick a favourite and stick to them.

How peculiar. Confirmation bias maybe?

Here. It’s easy to say they’re all dire but unless you don’t vote it’ll have to be for someone.

Not sure I agree with this. Yes, schools and universities are becoming more left wing, though it was probably always the case compared with society as whole. Also many students, particularly those that are wealthier or in higher education tend to be left leaning when they are students and full of idealism but it changes over time as they come to understand the real word impact of leftist policies. I was firmly centre left in my twenties but now in my late forties with a family to support, working 80 hour weeks and being taxed to the eyeballs to support a bunch of ridiculous policies and endless welfare recipients you can bet that I wouldn’t vote Labour or Greens if they were the last parties on earth. I am highly educated and a high earner, pro EU (but that ship has sailed), pro multiculturalism and controlled immigration but very much on the right now, one of those voters that people probably assume would never vote reform as I’m not English, not even white; but I will, if tactically that is the only choice over Labour. If anyone asked me I’d never admit to this IRL.

And since you do prefer Ed Davey I don’t think he’s all that either

This made me laugh a bit. It is very playground.

What about the rest of us who didn't vote for that though?! I don't want any of that crap brought in just to get one up and hope they suffer a bit and be like "told you so!" We'll all suffer under them.

Have you listened to her during PMQ's?

Would you actually want this woman running the country?

I am hard to surprise when it comes to British politics nowadays, but imagining this woman could run more than a bath makes me chortle.

Thankfully your vote won't ever affect me.

Yes, I think this has been the problem since Cameron was elected in 2010. It's clear that careerism doesn't make good leaders. With Badenoch, as well as Starmer (and Cameron, Truss, Johnson and Sunak before them) you definitely get the impression that becoming prime minister was something to cross off on their career list before going on to more lucrative and international things. Public service really doesn't seem to come into it much.

Yes, schools and universities are becoming more left wing

As someone who lived through the 60s and 70s that really made me laugh.

Of course. Do you mean you’re not in the U.K.? I’ll just return your phrasing then, thankfully your vote won’t ever affect me 🤷‍♀️

Yes I have listened to her during PMQs. She’s very impressive and make Starmer turn into a blithering idiot. Why is it that you think she’s so bad, please elaborate. I have my suspicions…

Yes of course. But fortunately that's not a decision I'll have to make until the next general election. I live in a devolved nation so my compromise this time will be voting for one of the national parties, as much as I'm not keen on nationalism. But as you say, if you want to vote you have to accept that you may have to compromise. Ms Badenoch would be a step too far for me!

@Itchthescratch your recent post is pretty much where I stand on the tax, spend and migration issues.

Of the current party leaders, Farage and Polanski are snake oil salesmen; Sir Ed Davey is not the brightest but seems personally moral; Kemi Badenoch is growing into her role, and has brought some people I hold in high intellectual regard around to her party, like Mathew Syed.

I'm part of the petit bourgeoisie, in that my DH has a micro SME and most of my career I was self-employed, which explains my innate caution about socialism, but I had quite high hopes of SKS, and I think he's done rather well internationally. However, the cronyism, self regard, dreadful economic decisions and all the U turns will scupper him after the May elections. I doubt the Party will throw him under the bus because there isn't another credible candidate with the ambition to depose him.

Er…I don’t want it, that’s my point?

That’s fine, you can not vote for KB for policy reasons but I do think it’s a shame when the line is there’s ’something odd’ about her.

It’s probably one of the barriers she’s faced so far to receive this kind of dismissive othering.

Go on, please elaborate @RoseBlueuet. Kemi Badenoch has proven herself to be an effective party leader and so effective at PMQ’s that Starmer is actually frightened of her.

She is particularly impressive when viewed against her peers Starmer, Davey, Polanski and Farage.

im very interested to learn why you think she’s so awful compared to this merry band of fuckwits. Please can you elaborate.

Oh right, maybe I should have said. I'd never vote Conservative anyway, so my dislike of their leader is purely in the abstract.

I felt the same about Thatcher. What a waste for the first woman PM to be someone who actively worked against women's rights. Badenoch has succeeded despite the structural racism that she went on to deny existed..Yes nobody has any obligation to speak up for any group but if you're coming from a particular standpoint, how odd to completely deny that. So I stand by my description of her as odd.