Long-standing Conservative voters thread

[Katypp]

Any one else who has - up to this point at least - been a Tory voter?
I have voted Conservative at every national election (I am late 50s). This one is probably the most likely to change. Purely because I think new blood would be a good idea. I live in a very Labour area and have never shared my colours with anyone from being in my early 20s.
Given the fact that the Tories usually win, I suspect there are a lot like me.
I know it's a big ask, but I hope thar this might be a sensible thread for other natural Tory voters to discuss the election and not be called names and shouted down like we are on every other thread.
If you are a Labour voter, please don't hijack the thread and tell us how wrong we are. There is free speech in the UK and we are just as entitled to hold our opinion as you are to hold yours.

Thank you for posting this OP - I am a natural Tory and have always voted for a party which normally is one of low taxes, small state, supportive of traditional values, encourages hard work, especially small business and the self employed and understand areas outside of towns, the rural vote.

My values have not changed, yes sadly the Conservative party has been moving too far left for my liking and I am pretty sure now for this election I will find it very difficult to vote for them.

You are right there is normally a lot of silent voters who tend to be Tory - it being easier to keep quiet as to who they will vote for, and it is probably this group of people who will decide this election - too many of them are probably unhappy with the current Tory party and have been for some time.

I do not like the situation where anyone who has conservative political views smeared with the term right - there is nothing wrong with those views. Far right and far left views join up at some point and become totalitarian and dictatorships.

There is not really a Conservative party left now and this has been happening over a number of years. They do not seem to be reading what some members of the population want and believe in - if they did I believe they would be in a stronger position.

Latest announcement re pensioners and tax is a no from me.
I REALLY don't understand why the demographic that probably has the lowest living cost base and the highest amount of freebies and reductions from the state should pay less than families. I say that as someone who is a lot nearer to pension age than young family age.
Everyone should have the same threshold to start paying basic income tax in my opinion.

@Katypp it's good to hear at least some natural Tory voters (like yourself) can see the unfairness in this policy. Can I ask whether the national service idea put you off as well? I'm wondering who that would appeal to really. I think maybe they were going for the Reform voters?

Ultimately the Conservatives seem to be determined to destroy themselves. Their appeal to anyone to "younger" (under 50/60?!) seems to be decreasing all the time.

In the not to distance future I think the party will split. The view of the left and right of the party are totally at odds. It makes the party unmanageable for any potential leader.

I think you're probably right @Flapjacker48 it does seem like they should have split already. They're basically 2 parties. The UKIP / reform / Brexit party and the One Nation conservative party.
I'm not a conservative voter though so maybe I'm missing something.

There basically is not a Tory party at all as the current MP's, bar a few exceptions, hold no Tory values.

It is very easy to say the elderly should not benefit from tax breaks as some elderly people are well off others are not, the same for families - it is all very well saying the elderly should not benefit over families, but many families are well off, others are not.

As to the "national service" suggestion - I posted on another thread that the media have jumped upon how to make sensational headlines. In theory I have no problem with encouraging 18 year olds to do some volunteering or charitable work for a set number of weekends - it encourages empathy with others, allows communication skills to improve and can give a sense of well being. If part of that includes becoming part the military for a year which some 18 year olds choose then once again I feel there may be some benefit from it.

The problem I have, on top of the Tory party are not currently Tory, is these announcements come out of nowhere without any prior thought and really in the grand scheme of the issues facing the country are really of no importance.

I'm a conservative with a small C, a floating voter, who generally votes Tory.

I’m mostly a Tory voter but can’t bring myself to this time and most recently I voted Lib Dem at a local level as she was the best candidate for the local area.

The pension policy really strikes me as desperation. At a time when we genuinely need innovative and well-considered policies we get this nonsense instead.

The national service plan seems at best ill-considered and short on detail.

Added to this that my local area has been heavily impacted by some questionable decisions on house building and infrastructure, I cannot vote for our local Tory option. I’m voting elsewhere

This is such a good post as I too am a long standing Tory voter. It's difficult to discuss how you're feeling because I just get shouted down, including by friends & at work, so tend to stay silent. I think we need a change in government but Labour frightens me a bit. We are by no means rich but I think will get hit by higher taxes if Labour gets in. I do agree with quite a lot of Labour policies but I was also very much affected by austerity measures that came in when Labour were voted out. I just don't know who to vote for but I don't want to waste it either.

I am not sure I understand all the policies, especially the financial ones, but yes, I've voted Conservative all my life and now for the first time am not sure if I will. For me, it is less about individual policies (see above) but more because I feel that the current Conservative politicians lack any real vision or leadership. They seem utterly burnt out.

It's a real dilemma for me because if not Conservative, then who? I have never really had to make a decision before, it was always a foregone conclusion. I'm waiting to see which candidates stand in my constituency but I have to admit none of the known parties strike me as attractive. That said, if no others appeal to me, I will vote Conservative again. My usually solid Conservative voting son is saying he will spoil his ballot paper as a protest but that seems a waste of a vote to me.

I have similar concerns to those posting here, with tax levels so high, I cannot see any light on the horizon for anything other than continuing higher taxes for Labour. I have always been an advocate of a flat rate tax system as it is one proven to increase tax take, yet from the main parties, including the Tories, it really is tax and spend, particularly on pet projects and sadly with Labour envy politics.

I'm sure nobody here will want to listen to my opinion (labour voter here) but please do think very seriously before you vote Tory this time. Even if you agree with everything else are you really ok with the national service idea? At the moment there are no exemptions. That means that youngsters who are having to pay their own university fees or are already in full time work will have to give up a weekend a month as well. It's not aimed just at the NEETS. Doesn't sound very conservative to me...
Sounds more like a punishment for being young.
I do agree that it could be character building or open up opportunities for young people but FORCING it? Sounds like it goes against every single conservative liberty value

I have heard from Conservative campaigners that 70 and 80 year old tory voters really like the national service idea..

That is the demographic they are targeting and they don't mind burning their bridges with any of their voters below 70. I suppose we could move over to gransnet to talk to those voters....

I'm similar. I'm also in a bit of a dilemma because my local MP is the Conservative candidate and is a very good local MP, he gets involved in local issues and is supportive when people go to him with issues. However, I really don't think I can bring myself to vote for him on 4 July as this government have lost their way so badly.

I honestly believe we need a change of government colour fairly regularly and we also need a strong opposition. Single party politics rarely ends up benefitting anyone.

With any proposal from any party, the devil is in the detail.

Usual Conservative voter over here. I was really struggling with who to vote for, we are at the comfortable but not well off level.
The national service has decided it for me.

I honestly believe we need a change of government colour fairly regularly and we also need a strong opposition. Single party politics rarely ends up benefitting anyone.
Exactly this. A very apt political saying for the current situation is:
Politicians are like nappies: they should be changed regularly, and for the same reason. They all get the God complex if they stay in power too long: certainly Thatcher, Blair and Johnson did.

My values have always been conservative with a small c. But the "Conservatives" have been the monster raving loony party for some time now, who seem determined to punish the young with tuition fees and prolonged school closures (lockdowns); both of which, in their minds, appeal to the grey vote.

As for "character building" for the young, I've often said this: we can talk about that when they start introducing "character building" for aspiring politicians. Get any would-be MPs out of the family wealth/posh school/Oxbridge/Parliament bubble, and make it a requirement to spend some time in the real world, doing a real job, meeting real people, before entering Parliament.

Shoot me now but I have long thought some form of National Service would be a good idea. I'm a lot younger than 70-80. So the concept itself does not repulse me, but that does not mean I am attracted to this recent policy announcement. It is childlike in its lack of detail, totally ill thought out and unworkable. It just served to enforce in my mind the belief that this government really are a talentless bunch of idiots.

@Hiddentory the NS policy as it stands would mean that 18 year olds who work weekends - which loads do, to help with university living costs - would miss 1 weekend every month (assuming they didn't opt for the military option)
That's potentially a 25% pay cut. Surely you don't agree that's fair?

I'm naturally left leaning, but this thread just makes it clear how badly the Tories need to return to the centre ground. I could respect the old school One Nation Tories. They would never have given us the headbanging Brexit we ended up with, they would have understood that in a free country the right to protest matters, they would have been efficient in implementing legislation instead of dragging their heels. We need the real Conservative Party back. I will never vote for them, but I want a high quality opposition to hold the government to account.

Excellent post.

Being upfront I'm a Lib Dem/Labour voter (depending where I live)

The problem with the conservatives is they have ended up with 2 very distinct factions within the party in terms of policy /direction and have ended up constantly trying to appease both sides. If they go far right to try and win back reform voters they will lose the votes of most one nation conservatives who have a hint of 'liberal' about them- if they go the other way it will be hard to differentiate them from the Lib Dem's or even Labour who have moved back towards the centre ground with Starmer in charge.

Personally I think if they lose this election then they need to regroup and decide exactly where they want to place themselves- if it's more to the right then at least it gives people to the right of politics a definite distinction

As it is they have been useless for most business, useless for younger people, catastrophically useless when it comes to any public services and utilities and none of this has even been remotely offset even by low tax, low red tape etc- post Brexit red tape is far worse than ever for any business that imports/exports or does mail order overseas as part of its trade.

The fact they can only campaign on 'but Labour' says a lot I feel

Everyone has a right to vote which way they wish - I'm fully in agreement about that but as things stand I think in attempting to keep hold of the pensioner and reform vote they are offering zilch that is progressive for anyone else and I actually can understand why some people who don't quite understand that Reform can say any old uncosted bilge knowing full well they aren't going to have to carry it through (same is true of the greens I feel as well) will vote Reform as they don't really care that it's just a limited company that Tice and Farage can make money from- (oh and those losses are more than likely unspecified payments to directors)

I would say that if he is a great MP then give him your vote - they are thin on the ground and we need decent people in the HOC.

No, I don't. As I said, as the policy stands, it is not attractive to me. But as a general concept, it has long been something I thought could work, if thought out properly. In my fantasy world, the idea of harnessing the energy of our youth to address some issues in modern society could be beneficial to all.

But not the specific policy set out by the Conservatives, no.

I agree with this. I've been a Labour voter all my life (apart from a brief flirtation with the Greens, never again) but years ago I could at least partially agree with the idea that 'we' all had more or less the same goals, we just had different ways of getting there. There were some reasonable and decent One Nation Tories that could command respect, even admiration, from the 'other side'.

Now, well since we're trying to keep it polite let's just say...not so much. It really is a crying shame for the country.