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.

There are Tories, quite decent fair-minded people some of us, who share values with @Crikeyalmighty and @AnnieSnap , or the moderate left. I think that describes me. We tend to be pragmatic and utilitarian, not very tolerant of obvious idiocy, and we definitely don't believe that there's a huge reserve of the rich who can be soaked for more tax to fund every luxury belief. We are disproportionately the small businesses, who employ 5/6ths of the population, in garages, laundrettes, shops, hospitality, hair and beauty salons, nurseries, construction-related trades , garden centres, farming and horticulture. But there is a sizeable and growing element that believes the glossy Instagram life is their right. But that said, there is a screech of outrage everytime anyone mentions the duty to society and responsibility that we all need to shoulder.

@Papyrophile there absolutely are - but they aren't in the Westminster party in any numbers that matter, and those who are there don't have any influence because the party is being run by and for the extremists and the nutters who want to out-Reform Reform.

The Conservative party needs a phoenix moment.

Very true @pointythings, which is why I am struggling to allocate my vote. Locally, the biggest, nicest houses have Vote Labour placards. Not the social housing properties or the modest terraces.

That speaks volumes, doesn’t it?

Maybe some realise that everyone could do better, they are hardworking have big houses and believe in society. My friends who are very well paid are both labour supporters.

Maybe some read the mainly Tory loving press and believe the lies written so vote Tory, or don't vote at all.

I am not quite sure what to believe about anything at the moment. We're 68, and take our living out of the engineering company DH started 32 years ago. It's small but very niche and highly profitable considering the sales, although it goes up and down. Our primary customer is the MoD, and some of our work is refurbishing historic super yacht engines, though there's much more small projects from the local fishing trawlers, who are more likely to offer you a sack of scallops than money. DH has been planning his retirement for five years, after a major health crisis 20 years ago, from which he recovered quite well. Crashing the company is looking like the only exit route at the moment, which will see several people out of work. Any employees that want new jobs will walk into them, because they are superbly skilled and trained, but most of them will retire and do odd specialist projects. But our primary customer is going to be right out of options, because there isn't a competitor who offers a similar service. Our primary customer would like us to tool and staff up to create secondary units in two other locations. We're too old to want to do it, and I will fight against it. I want my DH to have some time to enjoy life.

@Thisagainandagain , locally, it means you made a mint in the Southeast, and sold a house in London, and came and bought a grand house, which you employ cheap labour to clean and maintain. Occasionally, you might condescend to drop in and pay for a meal at the local pub.

I just thought I'd pop on and follow the thread. I'm a small c conservative American, ex-military, and lean Republican. I haven't been able to bring myself to vote for Trump in the last two elections and haven't decided about this one. Another factor in my situation is our electoral college system. I live in New York, which is so solidly liberal/democratic that my vote would not impact the election.

I'm watching your election closely just out of general interest and for the contrasts with ours.

Hardly my place to say so @MissConductUS but I always read your thoughts when you post. How would you vote if you were a UK citizen?

Thanks, @Papyrophile. It's hard to say how I would vote if I were a UK citizen, as I'm not completely clear on why everyone is so unhappy with the Tories. Neither candidate has either Trump's massive character flaws or Biden's clear cognitive decline. We're in the unfortunate situation of having to pick which candidate is the least frightening.

I'm certainly flattered but a bit surprised when someone mentions that they pay attention to my posts, as there are only two threads I contribute to on a regular basis. One is a long running conversation about boring and calm news about what's going on in our lives and the other is the Ukraine threads, where I quote Sun Tzu and explain military strategy and how ground combat works. Have you seen me posting on one of those threads?

I am tempted to spoil my paper. I won’t be voting Labour or Lib Dem as I simply cannot trust them on immigration. This is a major concern for me, and I’m very worried about Labour’s plans. No matter what they say in front of the camera, I know that behind the scenes they will be removing obstacles, making it harder to deport people, and so on. Keir Starmer pretty much summed up his position when he described himself as a YIMBY. In other words, we’re not going to be clamping down on immigration, so you’d better get used to it. Instead, we’re going to cover the green belt in ghastly rabbit hutch houses, which developers will jam on top of one another to maximise profits.

That said, I like our Labour candidate very much. She’s a history professor at the local university, and I know her to be an absolutely lovely person - kind, honourable and fiercely intelligent. From what I know of her politics, I’d describe her as a centrist. The most intelligent people generally do end up as skeptical centrists.

No one in their right mind would trust the Tories on immigration as they have been in power 14 years and failed abysmally. Record numbers coming over daily and all Rishi can do is shout "stop the boats" or Rawanda.

The Tories have wasted several hundred Million pounds of UK taxpayers money over this ridiculous Rawanda plan, and hardly a single person has been sent there, utterly shambolic.

They are all talk and no action, and this was supposedly one of the Tories strong areas.

@Thisagainandagain I'm centre left (more to the centre I guess) social minded but not to the point of stupidity- believe in making money through effort and we have a business - we aren't loaded but do ok, many Labour and Lib Dem supporters think like myself and we aren't all unrealistic unwashed stop the oil protestors as many Tory's seem to think - I for one am not particularly 'woke' nor pro unlimited legal immigration (although Tory's are grade A at this in recent years)! - I get fed up of some people being 'offended' about often very trivial things etc- but I can put up with this if it gets us a government that actually give a monkeys about standards, public services and fairness for more people etc and aren't constantly looking at ways of giving mates back handers and brown nosing people like Michelle mone or Bamford etc -

The Tories have wasted several hundred Million pounds of UK taxpayers money over this ridiculous Rawanda plan, and hardly a single person has been sent there, utterly shambolic.

Half a billion and not a single person has gone. Not one.

Sadly, it's behind an impregnable paywall, but the FT Edit has an interesting article today entitled "Neither politicians nor the public think straight on immigration" which looks at the lack of success on immigration right across Europe. It is, as you might expect, the FT's fair, moderate take on the subject.

Half a billion and not a single person has gone. Not one.

Be fair. One person went. We gave him £3k in cash to do so and he got there and promptly went awol.

You’re right. Yes, one!

@MissConductUS I tend to read any US related threads, because I lived there for five years in the 80s) and lots of others too, including some on Ukraine. I'm not stalking you!

He went on a different scheme. He was a failed asylum seeker due to be deported and didn't go as part of the pointless expensive Rwanda scheme.

Now it’s two, but as you say, they are volunteers who agreed to go if the Government paid them £3000. No one has been ‘deported’!

@AnnieSnap I think anyone with a brain knows the Rwanda scheme was dog whistle politics designed to appeal to Tory/Reform voters to look 'as if we are doing something ' however it's a hell of an expensive scheme just to send out a message, but that's the Tory's for you ( well this bunch) - never mind the cost, hey it's public money, not from my pocket-it's a good job they aren't in business- imagine as a project manager describing your ROI on the Rwanda scheme.

And they always have whatever money it takes for their dog whistle stop and vanity projects, but there is “no magic money tree” where public services are concerned.

@AnnieSnap oh absolutely. They could have purchased half a million standard 2 and 3 bed houses and flats on the open market and put them up for 60% on shared ownership and 40% on social housing for what they spent on HS2 and track and trace and long term that would have done far more to improve people's prospects of getting a home and given the country an 'asset ' too for a long time. They could also have stopped right to buy etc.

When you think about the £400 billion out of the economy by Brexit, both in actual spend to implement and reduced tax take etc- I am still incensed as to what that money could have been spent on- they could have (as Labour are planning) have booked people into private health to get the waiting lists down- invested in more scanners, paid for everyone to have an annual check over plus full blood test ( set up gvt run clinics to do this) - no need for a doctor at this level, this is where Physician associates should be used plus phlebotomists etc

Set up proper fully NHS dental practices all over and paid enough to make it an attractive proposition for dentists-

The list is endless!!!

Vote for me- lol!!

You’d get my vote any time @Crikeyalmighty. Those are excellent ideas. Can I be in your cabinet?

That's fine, I didn't think you were staking me; just flattered that I've posted things you thought were worth reading. 😄