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.

Highly recommend listening to the most recent The Rest is Money podcast which is an interview with Head of the IFS Paul Johnson on the economy and what the next Government is likely to need to do - spoiler he thinks they’re all lying about not putting up taxes!

It’s useful to hear someone who is independent talk about the different policies (as much as they currently exist) from each side.

Thanks for that.
I agree taxes will have to go up, thresholds for UC up and possibly down for taxes.
One way or another the lack of preparation over the last 50/70 years needs to be addressed

Now that the Conservatives have clarified their position on sex v gender I am waiting to hear Labour’s position set out in clear terms.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c0kkvkkejgno

Thanks @CaveMum - I'll have a listen.

I would describe myself as a centrist.

I want low tax esp indirect taxes and a small state. Encouraging small business/entrepreneurs. Only necessary immigration. Much tougher prison sentences for violent criminals.

Freedom of speech is paramount.

But I also want a co-operative society with a welfare state. I don't want anyone sleeping rough or kids growing up in mouldy overcrowded flats going to chaotic schools.

There should be no NHS waiting lists at all.

But no party is offering any of this??

Rayner

Apologies. I am sure you understood my point though?

I'm definitely a female version of Blair's "Mondeo Man" in that I'm in the middle and have swung between Labour, Tory and Libdems over the last 40 years! (Yes, I'm an oldie!).

I can't vote for the Tories whilst the odious little cretin Sunak is their leader. So, for me, it's likely to be independent this time around, unless Starmer can pull of some kind of miracle and give me reasons to vote for Labour (nothing on the horizon so far). I voted Clegg in 2010 but will never vote Libdem again after the way they sold their soul re tuition fees!

My main reason for hating Sunak is the way he excluded over 3 million people from Covid support schemes based on spurious and non sensical "rules" and not only that, but complete failure to accept he made mistakes and failure to correct those mistakes despite having many months, in fact over a year, to deal with the unfair exclusions. There are still huge numbers of people really suffering today after the collapse of their businesses, loss of their jobs, etc., who've had to use their savings, or sell their homes/possessions just to survive, not to mention a few dozen people who committed suicide because of it.

That's a fair point @MuseKira. And also at the other end of the spectrum, people who claimed grants for businesses that were neither really active or not turning over much. I know of a family who claimed 5 x £10,000 for five businesses that were either dormant (but not officially), were going to close anyway or hobbies such as the odd cake or party box. Because they were all 'based' in a business premises (which was closing pre-Covid anyway), they were eligible. Then they did it again. Multimillionaire by the way

Yep, the whole thing was a shambles. A few months in, on one of the very few occasions that Sunak acknowledged people had been excluded he basically said "we can't afford to help everyone" because of the billions they were paying out. So that's OK then is it?? Just because they've spaffed huge sums of money at some people, it's OK to completely abandon lots of others!!

I was chatting with my friend at the weekend she is a staunch Tory who loved Johnson. She is also very impressed with Starmer and his leadership of Labour (couldn’t be more different) but feels she will still vote Tory as she always does but could have been swayed to vote LIbDem but feels that is a totally wasted vote

She is in south west London so it’s not but she feels they are so insignificant the moment

thinking about his they have totally disappeared into the background which I think is a real pity we need a strong central party

I wondered if I might ask what you think of Nigel Farage taking over Reform UK again? I wondered if people who usually vote Tory might vote for them instead?

Wouldn’t touch anything involving Farage with a very, very, long pole!

There are a growing number of people who are concerned that net migration is approximately the population of Liverpool each year. 540,000 people new each year after deduction of those that emigrate.

He captures those voters.

75% of work visas are for health and social care. If they paid care workers better they wouldn't need to import them . The tories have banned them from taking their family so fewer would come now but I wonder who is going to replace them.

Priti used to say that the economically inactive would do the care work that no one else wants to do post brexit but vast majority of them are either not interested, too sick or have other commitments like caring for family members. I am also not sure a 25 year old depressed person who lives in his room full time living on pizza and never coming out is the ideal candidate to care full time for the most vulnerable people in society.

100k care worker visas were given out last year.

Your "25 year old depressed person who lives in his room full time living on pizza and never coming out" would probably massively benefit from getting a job and joining the real World like most people do! Getting out and on with normal life would probably do far more good than a succession of sessions with mental health support workers.

I am not going to vote for Reform but their suggestion that employers pay higher national insurance contributions for importing staff might persuade some to train more here. A 6.5% levy on migrant workers' NICs might just increase local pay rates and tempt some people into social care work. The rest of it is blatant (unfunded) showboating.

The thing is, this has been their proclaimed position for a while and yet they haven’t actually started the legislative process (which is expected to be quite a lengthy and difficult one).

It rather feels that they deliberately haven’t instigated any legal change so that they could campaign on the issue.

FWIW, while Labour have been making similar promises over the last 1-2 years but I’m equally skeptical they’ll make changes if elected.

Immigration is forecast to naturally reduce over the next couple of years anyway. The high levels over the last few years were fuelled by Afghanistan, Ukraine and Hong Kong, with a blip from Albanians in boats, which came and went. Unless something else occurs, you will be looking mostly at a core of students and care workers again.

now most of the care workers don't want to come cos they can't bring their family.

The vast majority of people going overseas to do care work do so for a better life for their families (access uk education for their kids) or send money home to their families. Can you really save much from a care worker's salary if you have to pay private rent (other countries provide accommodation with the job, bad conditions but its still included). And if you have to be separated from your kids, there is like zero point given the cost of flights back home.

You are welcome to help my 25 year old sister in law get into a job or even convince her of the need to earn enough money to move out. That is, if you don't get shouted down by her mum who would probably think you are evil/ materialistic for suggesting something like that.

She only comes out for meals when DH and I go over (once a week). Her mum preps for this by standing outside her room at least an hour before, calling her name at regular intervals. Her mum says she isn't ready for a job or even volunteer work as she can't even get her to get out of the house on time.

to be perfectly fair, she does earn some money writing online but doesn't earn much, certainly not enough to support herself without mum paying for all bills and food. but good enough for now. The thing is this source of income dried up, she wouldn't be able to get a conventional job even if she needed to as she has no GCSEs and also can't get out of the house without a lot of prodding. the good thing is she doesn't need to work and will never need to support herself.

But she would never get a job because her mum is happy supporting her and there is zero need for her to get one as she has enough to live on for now. It is her choice. Most immigrants are not lucky like her and so they need to get jobs, hence why we need to import them.

There are lots of people like my SIL. i know quite a few and their parents are all happy to put them up and they really need very little money as a result. they dont need to compromise their mental health by taking on a hard job for the sake of money. It is a free world but it means many essential roles are unfilled.

Ah yes, the 'pull your socks up' school of mental health care. Which has worked for us so very well for... basically never.

People with severe mental ill health do indeed benefit from the social aspects of work - but getting them to a state where they are able to reap those benefits without making them worse is something that takes investment of time, care and money. It doesn't save, it costs.

Come back when you get a clue.

I feel the Conservative party has become complacent, where are the Hestletines, Thatchers etc those characters who really believed in their policies? I feel the current politicians from all parties are in politics for the status, money and personal advantage to themselves .Sad but true

@Owl55 yes that is true but also the media weren't so infantile as they are now. You only have to watch old interviews from the 80s and 90s to see how much more intelligent political discourse used to be.