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.

It is not my top priority, no. Nor is it the top priority of most voters I suspect. If you think it is, good for you, but if you seriously think it's top of most people's decision making process, it kind of illustrates the danger of echo chambers really.

You're right. The GC single issue people on MN would have us believe that literally nothing else matters at all except the trans issue and that every woman believes this.

Fortunately they don't. I also have a disabled adult child.

I’ve read the whole manifesto the day it came out. I’ve also analysed and cross referenced areas important to me and those which I believe will affect us all as a whole.

There’s a lot of ‘how terrible everything is and we’ll do better’.
Theres things such as we’ll introduce ground breaking floating wind farms….not so groundbreaking though when we already have two in the North Sea. Huge red flags amongst their manifesto when you actually look beyond the spin and realise, but we’re already doing that, or that won’t work in the real world ( look at the charities shambles and how they had to quickly backtrack)
Nothings priced out or realistic and this is one of the most worrying things about their policies along with their take on the current equalities act

The important issues to me are a ‘let’s wait and see, we’ll think about it when we get in’.

I don’t want to vote on a wing and a prayer Thankyou.

Ive usually voted Labour, as has my whole family before me. I’ve listened to what they have to say, I’ve volunteered and distributed leaflets on their behalf in the past and been at many election counts through the night counting votes. ( I’ll be doing that again this time around too )

We need a Party in power that is realistic about the very difficult decisions that need to be made and a party that is brave enough to make them. Labour will not do this, they are too desperate to please which is to the detriment of the country as a whole and ultimately to us.

Labour has nothing for this country now and going forward into the next few years.

I don’t have a problem with single issue voters.
I don’t think I have any right to judge why someone choses one policy over another or believes one policy is enough to carry their vote.

I do question those that don’t have a clue about policies or just vote for a party because that’s who they’ve always voted for or who their parents have always voted for.

That’s throwing away the opportunity to decide for yourself.

I agree !
Very poor show from Starmer I think he’s decided he has it in the bag why bother telling the electorate anything.

He knows after a party has been in power for a while the other Party always gets in as people want a change. That’s why he hasn’t really got anything to say and why his manifesto is so lacking and unrealistic …

Tbh I feel like he’s become very arrogant and he’s treating us all like sheep who will mindlessly follow him. He could say he’d ban UC and he’d still get in.

It is true that Conservatives have had 14 years and some big majorities and wasted them that means that Labour and the other parties have had 14 years to work out what they can do to make things better. More importantly they have had 14 years to work out "How best to achieve those aims".

So far the manifesto lacks detail of policy decisions. Nothing more than can be scribbled on the back of an envelope during the morning commute.

Bitter much!

How are people sheep? Is it because people want better than the 14 years of corruption, lies, sleeze and misery.

Doesn’t sound bitter really especially from a PP that’s voted Labour….
Its all quite true.
Starmer is standing back and just watching.
He doesn’t answer questions and hasn’t given us any answers.
People do seem to just be voting for a change irrespective of what that change might be because we really don’t know.

Im surprised women are happy with keeping the current Equalities act that doesn’t protect them and as for lies let’s not forget 179 members of our armed forces were killed in Iraq based on Blair’s lies.

I must have imagined all the hours of TV interviews and debate (when he wasn’t being shouted down). I must also have imagined all the column inches of interview with Starmer, Reeves, Rayner and Streeting where they’ve been explicit about their policies, right down to the number of additional planning officers they intend to fund.

Anyone who doesn’t have at least a vague idea of what a Labour government will bring really isn’t paying attention.

Their manifesto is seriously lacking in financial detail and seriously lacking in workability but very heavy on telling everyone how bad everything is and how they will do better……The floating wind farms comment is being sold by Labour as their idea when we already have them. Nothing new here then.

Starmer deflects and avoids actually answering the questions and that has been so obvious from the beginning. No matter how much he is pushed for an actual answer.

No one in the last debate was stopping him from speaking over Sunak, he just didn’t bother. Either he’s just very weak or / and He is happy to sit back and for it all to just fall into his lap.

Which of course it will.
Then what……that’s the big question!

The manifesto is fully costed. It must be or the IFS wouldn’t have been able to analyse it.

So Starmer is aggressively shouted down in two TV debates and it’s his fault? That sounds suspiciously like a version of victim blaming to me. What about the loud, angry, aggressive man who abused his natural courtesy?

It’s a debate.
They're both used to being heckled and traditionally in Parliament Starmer hasn’t been short of the odd dig just like the rest of them.

So why not now 🤔

I believe he’s too scared to lose votes from those that vote Labour all the time anyway.
Most people ( let’s not stick our head in the sand on this ) don’t read the manifesto anyway just the headline sleaze.

Because it wasn’t PMQs, it was supposed to inform the electorate of the two leaders’ views and policies. Anyway the Tory behaviour in the debates - Mordaunt clearly was given the same brief as Sunak - hasn’t done them much good, has it? As the Green leader pointed out “That was dignified, wasn’t it”. Their behaviour epitomised why the public’s turned off politics in general and the Tories in particular.

Agree it’s there to inform the electorate on the views of the Party’s.

We’ll have to agree to disagree on this one @Blossomtoes but up to and including the last debate and even whilst campaigning ( and before the GE was even called look at the question ‘what’s a women’ ) Labour have avoided the real questions so

I’m sick of hearing we’ll see once we’re in power…….

oh ok then 😳

This has got nothing to do with the woman question and everything to do with decent behaviour and treating the electorate with respect. You can’t blame a politician of whatever colour for not explaining their policies when their opponent won’t allow them to speak in a televised “debate”. I suspect we’ve seen the end of that format now due the way it was abused.

I've already said what I think about this. It was very convenient for Starmer to pretend he couldn't get a word in edgeways when it was clear that he didn't actually want to.
Let's not kid ourselves that he is some shrinking violet who could not put Sunak in his place if her wanted to.To be honest, I am surprised people are defending this and trying to put it down to better manners or the like. If he had something to say, he should have said it. If he didn't, I conclude he either has nothing to say or he is too weak to be a Prime Minister.
Either way, it's certainly bringing out the people who will defend everything he says and does.

Either way, it's certainly bringing out the people who will defend everything he says and does.

That simply isn’t true. He allowed Sunak to get away with the £2k nonsense seven times in the first debate without countering it, he should have had the Treasury letter in his pocket and waved it under Sunak’s nose. Would you have preferred a shouting match like the one Rayner and Mordaunt had that provoked sarcasm about how dignified it was? The quality of “debate” was shocking on both occasions.

At least in the American debate the broadcaster knew it was coming and switched the opponent’s mic off when each speaker was answering a question. It should have happened here.

BIossomtoes
The manifesto is fully costed. It must be or the IFS wouldn’t have been able to analyse it.

IFS
This is a manifesto that promises a dizzying number of reviews and strategies to tackle some of the challenges facing the country. That is better than a shopping list of half-baked policy announcements. But delivering genuine change will almost certainly also require putting actual resources on the table. And Labour’s manifesto offers no indication that there is a plan for where the money would come from to finance this.

Forget it Clav. After this morning I’m not engaging with you. You’ve completely lost the respect I had for you.

Im surprised women are happy with keeping the current Equalities act that doesn’t protect them

How do you claim it doesn't protect them,* *@Kandalama?

For example

No Definition on biological sex.
The EA2010 is abused and misunderstood leaving women victimised who speak out.
Labour have refused to simply make the Act clearer. I don’t understand why you wouldn’t want to make an Act abundantly clear to all.
Labour MPs have said its not important ….. really no surprises there then.
The Conservatives have said they would revise the Act as it needs more clarity.

We are not the same country that we were in 2010 so we now need pure definition.

it’s worth pointing out the lack of clarity in the Act is why transwomen have been using womens spaces, prisons and refuges etc. Initially the issue was dealt with more recently by assuming common sense on the part of the businesses. Then there has been various Breg changes for new buildings but It’s obvious this isn’t enough as it hasn’t worked so it’s really time now for the next step!

Tomorrow's the day folks!
How are we all voting?

Already had a postal vote.

Labour.

Conservative

The Lib Dem will get in again, with or without my help, but I won't be voting for someone who thinks that women objecting to men in their spaces are bigots.