Is Lockdown generally something favoured by those who are generally left of centre/public sector?

[Treesofwood]

I would say I am definitely left leaning, and am also not in support of lockdowns as a strategy. Infact in some of my dealings on here I have been accused of being pro brexit, hard right. Why would that be? Can you be left wing and pro freedom or are the two actually mutually exclusive? And what does Brexit have to do with any of it?

Roughly speaking, yes.

Yeah, public sector jobs are more safe than private. Everyone (including myself) has been made redundant been in private sector.

I’m middle left and don’t think we should lock down, we can’t afford to. Others will argue we can’t afford not to.

Nope I reckon hundreds of thousands of retired Tory voters are quite happy to see the workforce thrown under a bus to keep them safe, provided the ones they need in the NHS still go to work.

Crikey, we've got so many people being thrown under buses, thrown to wolves, thrown to lions I don't know how there's anybody left to do all this throwing.

I think, as a very broad generalisation, a lot of the public sector are a bit insulated from the economic effects. People who go into the public sector (at least into the civil service) also have a tendency to think governments can fix everything, which, IME, is also a bit of a leftwing tendency.

What I do find particularly strange are (some of) my most leftwing friends on Facebook, who in January apparently thought Boris was a literal fascist, and by March were desperate for him to enact legislation so sweeping and draconian most fascists would only be able to dream of it.

I think it’s now much of a libertarian you are. I am a left wing libertarian and oppose
Lock down and too much state intervention in life.

I am middle left, anti lockdown, anti brexit, pro economy. But yes people who work in the public sector or rely on benefits seem to think that 'the economy' is a fictitious thing that only tories care about rather than basically the only important thing underpinning our entire way of life and basically everything 🙄 they'll be at the head of the queue complaining when they get dealt another decade without a pay rise.

I think it’s way more complicated than pure left right. Roughly speaking those who prefer lockdown tend to

• be older
• in employment that they can work from home or public sector employment such as schools where they will be garenteed a full wage during the period
• or retired!
• be home owners (often with gardens)

Those not tend to be

• younger
• in less stable employment (often low paid service sector)
• in poor quality accommodation, often rented/ shared etc.

The problem is that the economic impacts are felt more at the younger age due to lack of savings, more low paid insecure work in this age group. The health impacts are as we know impacted higher up the age range including many retired people on secured incomes who own homes out right.

It creates an obvious divide and one I cannot see being solved! I do know far more older than young people in favor of lockdown and far more home owners so roughly I would say they tend more towards being conservative voting on the traditional political spectrum but as I said I think it’s less about left/ right than many traditional issues.

Im a leftie and IMO lockdowns favour the middle classes.

Teachers and NHS staff are public sector and at higher risk of infection because of the work they do.

What I do find particularly strange are (some of) my most leftwing friends on Facebook, who in January apparently thought Boris was a literal fascist, and by March were desperate for him to enact legislation so sweeping and draconian most fascists would only be able to dream of it

Yes!

Lockdown is not difficult for me. I can work from home and have lots of advantages that make Lockdown bearable.

But I am very aware of the threat to the economic health of this country, and I'm old enough to know what having a fucked economy is like. It's not pretty.

I’ve found the political allegiances on lockdown to be weird & slightly unpredictable. Particularly surprised by some very left wing friends who have gone all conspiracy theorist about it all.

I'm LoC, public sector & anti Lockdown. & anti-Brexit.
It's a lonely space.
My job isn't secure at all, btw! Covid means serious financial crisis for us.

A lot of the anti-Lockdown folk are Libertarians, conspiracy theorists,
"Best solutions are very simple ones that confirm all my prejudices" mindset. I want nothing to do with them. My left wing slant is to worry about hidden long-term harms to the very vulnerable, inequitable distribution of harms now & in future that are part of the suppression strategy, lack of evidence for some of the recommendations, and wanting a sustainable, evidence-based harm-reduction strategy.

It's a weird political link isn't it.

I'm left of centre and am done with lockdowns now, I don't think they work. Partner is more left than me, and is getting nervous that we'll NOT have another one. Meh.

Considering it's the right of centre people who usually want more regulation, it's weird that they are getting all shouty about freedom. They are the ones who want to control women's bodies and so on.

There was a moment at the start of all this (early this year) when conservatives were the ones getting twitchy about Foreign Viruses and the left was suggesting it was racist to shut down flights from China....

Public sector worker. Left leaning. Absolutely not in favour of another lockdown. My council employer is already looking at a huge budget reduction and govt support won't cover all the loses and additional costs. I'm in high risk/tier 2 area that's already economically deprived. Another lockdown would destroy those businesses that have managed to hang on.

Considering it's the right of centre people who usually want more regulation, it's weird that they are getting all shouty about freedom

Conservatives don't want more regulations in life!

I voted Labour at the last election and I work in the public sector but I do not support lockdown. The damage to the economy is just too great.

I work for the NHS and am definitely not in favour of another lockdown

Conservatives don't want more regulations in life!

They do when it affects people different from themselves. Look at the disgusting way they label and treat asylum seekers.

It's interesting because people are more likely to vote Conservative as they get older, but I think older people are also more likely to be on favour of lockdowns. It's good to see other people who are more on the left and also anti-lockdown. BJ is libertarian. There's probably one of those quadrant graphs that could be created for this where you are in a quad rather than left/right.

I'm very left wing and I'm anti lockdown.

Im a left....I’m not in favour of another full lockdown, I’m in favour of measures that work and that are working in other countries by governments that aren’t incompetent and causing cases to rise. Then having no choice but to lock us down or everything be overwhelmed by the pandemic.

My partner is council/local government I’m NHS employed. Both had pay freezes and threats of job losses through budget cuts since we’ve been together (10years) I certainly don’t feel safe and secure jobs wise so the economy certainly doesn’t pass us by! Both of us are really worried to be honest.