Who will you be voting for in the General Election?

[SuperBunny]

And why?

Does being a lone parent affect who you will vote for?

I am not sure what I think atm but am wondering what other lone parents feel.

will vote Conservative although get the impression on MN they are not often seen as the lone parent's friend they are the natural ally of the Countryside Alliance and issues closer to my heart than my missing husband has ever been

have always seen them as the party who reward and encourage people who work their way out of poverty rather than doling out grants and handouts and fostering dependency on the system - also hope they will stand by their promise to repeal the hunting act

I agree with Mitchy

I'm so sick and tired of Labour's attitude of throwing money at problems and blatant bribery.

Forgive me for being suspicious but in an election year we're suddenly giving free laptops to the "poor".

Sorry but given the state of the nation's finances I can't see the above being a priority.

I dont for a minute think the Tories are the answer. I just think they would make a smaller mess!

Would never vote Tory in a million years unfortunately I am old enough to remember them from before.

They only serve the I'm alright jack richer members of society.

Labour imo have moved too far over to the right.

So will prob vote lib-dem - we also have a cracking lib dem mp in our constituency although that's not my primary reason for voting for them.

I fear for lone parents/women if tories come in - and don't quote Margaret Thatcher anyone - she was an aberration.

I'm not sure I'd agree there Sin

The Tories are of the belief that people must be responsible to help themselves and the state only provide the minimum.

Labour seem to believe that the state can do it all. And that the answer to poverty is to give more money to the poor. The latter is a very naive approach which as brought the country to the verge of bankruptcy and a generation of workshy.

sorry niceguy I don't buy all that pull yourself up by your bootstraps crap.

Why is the gap between rich and poor so wide then if all labour has done is throw money at the poor?

And what is your answer to the wages paid by the largely private sector that have to topped up by the government in order for families to survive.

Not everyone can be successful not everyone can be entrepeneurial and make loads of money.

The trickle down effect does not work either.

In fact imo opinion the type of capitalism found in UK and USA does not work and does not benefit the ordinary woman/ man in the street.

And should one's raison d'etre be about making money and working oneself to the bone?

Sorry you will never convince me of the merits of conservative policies ever.

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/politics/901217-TORIES

perhaps we should link into this

As a lone parent with a fairly good income but still struggling I would be struggling even more without my tax credit, child benefit and housing benefit - Yes I get housing benefit despite earning well above average because my rental is well over 1300 a month for titchy house.

But then maybe I haven't been responsible enough by coming off the property ladder (no choice, getting divorced and oh working full time for well over thirty years!!

And they are no more the party of the family than my a*. Yes lets have a few token women acting like men but for the most part let's keep women at home with rich hubby paying for them.

Have you heard Anne Widdecombe's take on working mothers - disgraceful.

Wow I am really ranting now

Why is the gap between rich and poor so wide then if all labour has done is throw money at the poor?>In fact imo opinion the type of capitalism found in UK and USA does not work and does not benefit the ordinary woman/ man in the street.

I'll be voting labour. Turkeys ought not to vote for christmas unless they are suicidal.

I need my tax credits so that we can eat.

Interesting discussion, thank you.

I also have a good income and am lucky enough to get some maintenance from DS's father yet still could not manage without my tax credits. I don't know how we'd survive if that changed. Yet I do agree that 'throwing money at the poor' has not helped.

I don't know what the answer is. I don't know enough about Lib Dem policies to know how I feel about them. In my youth, I always voted for them but had no major issues that I was concerned about. Now, my priorities are education and how I will manage as a lone parent who works 60+ hours a week.

Labour without a doubt
providing resources for those in need seems only civilised to me

No one is suggesting that communism or fascism work they are simply extremes at the end of a political spectrum.

My utopia would be mutualism but I am old enough and cynical enough to know that wouldn't work.

I suppose I accept that capitalism has to exist and would not want to have drab world without some consumerism however that has to be tempered with some social reponsiblity.

The difference imho between Labour and Lib Dem and the conservatives is that the latter don't really care if the gap widens. Its easy to become richer if you are born with a silver spoon in your mouth.

You only have to look at the stats for the top professions to see that the priveleged are overrepresented in the professions.

Also interesting that myself and Bunny are on a good income plus maintenance yet still need tax credits to survive. One could also argue that if my landlord was rampantly profiteering I wouldn't need to get housing benefit.

If I did have the good fortune to become rich I would expect to pay more tax, wouldn't forget where I have come from and have a strong sense of social responsibility.

We can't all be rich entrepreneurs (sp) and the contribution of people to those business which have been built should also be recognised - in most cases its exploited.

Jeez on a roll tonight

Also remember the last tory office purporting to be the party of family values whilst many of them shagging behind their wives backs!

They really are no friend of the single parent or women.

Lib Dems for me to keep Conservatives out of my area.

Would like Lib Dems in power nationally but if not would rather Labour.

See the whole tax credit system is nothing more than a massive political tool for Labour.

The theory goes like this. First, take money from people through taxes, then make them jump through hoops to get some of it back. Oh and not forgetting employ a small army of people to administer it.

The more people getting benefits, the less likely they are to vote for someone who may take it away. It's like a drug. How many addicts will willingly get rid of their supplier?

How did we all survive before tax credits??? Did we all starve? Nope!

Surely a much much simpler way would be to reduce the tax people pay rather than make them apply to get some back?

Of course the lower end where people earn minimum wage could be financially worse off but they can be bumped up via normal benefits or even raising the minimum wage. Just think how much money we can save though if the vast majority of people who claim tax credits instead just got taxed less?

Oh and as for your landlord, as a part time one myself, I can tell you that chances are he's not raking it in at all. I get calls all the time and have to fix x,y,z. During voids, I still have to pay the mortgage, council tax etc. And that's not to mention when a tenant leaves and trashes the place. Some months I spend more out than I get in rent.

Lastly, pure capitalism is also just as extreme as communism etc. That's why govt's have laws on monopoly power, minimum wages etc. Now soon we'll have more regulations on banks.

In my view, communism, mutualism, socialism are all great ideas in theory. However, none take into account human failings such as greed. We all have them and until we can eradicate them, none of the above will work. Capitalism is just the best of a bad bunch.

This thread is very interesting to me. It seems the govt can brink us to the brink of financial disaster, ruin our standing in the world, have a huge expense scandal, have no real policies yet people still will vote for them based upon what they think the party represents.

I guess thats why the Tories are busy spinning themselves as the "family" party instead of the party of the rich. Labour have themselves as the party of the poor. Probably explains why the lib dems will never get in power! No-one knows what they stand for!

Niceguy, before tax credits, most lone parents were unemployed because they could not afford to pay childcare costs.

Now most lone parents are employed.

The tax credits I get way outweigh the taxes I pay.

Most LP's used to have to give up work, because they simply could not afford childcare and housing costs out of wages. Wages are simply not high enough for one person with children to sustain the expenses of work. Living costs are pitched at two incomes, or at least one decent income with no childcare costs. So benefits, with no expenses beyond the basics and housing costs paid for, were the only choice for most lone parents. That is no longer true, because of tax credits. Without them, you either need to earn a really high wage, or you have to go on benefits. That's how it used to be. For most lone parents, in common with most other people, earning a massive wage simply isn't an option because massive wages aren't all that common. Unless the Tories are going to pitch the national minimum wage at a much higher level, which won't happen, I wonder how they are going to keep lone parents working without tax credits.

are they doing away with tax credits then? I have never got round to seeing how much I'd be entitled to - can remember claiming something before tax credits (family income supplement or something?) and it was a nightmare

I am not really sure what the Tories are proposing but I do not like a system where you are taxed less because you are married. That's hardly about equality, is it? Lots of people don't get married for all sorts of reasons and that doesn't mean their children suffer. I did not chose to be a single parent. But I am and I do my very best for my DS. Having preferential tax treatment would not have saved my marriage and, if it did, it would not have been good for DS. He is better with just a mother but in a stable, happy home than he would have been if his father and I were still together. I cannot vote for a party that supports a married couple allowance (and I have lived somewhere (as a married couple) that did have that system).

Think I'll be spoiling my paper (again)

Won't vote Tory, never have done and never will, I grew up in the NE of England during the 1980's...........

Not impressed with Labour either

I would vote Lib Dem.......but I've never had a choice of anything but Tory or Labour since I've moved here

I feel completely stuck for someone to vote for and really mean it. I can't vote labour because I completely disagree with the level of interference in private family life they see as acceptable. In particular there is the legislation about elective home education that they are trying to get through which has kind of made me a single issue voter. I suspect I will vote for whichever candidate is likely to beat labour in my area (and isn't the bnp). Both the Tories and lib dems have said they will vote against the bill so there's more hope of them listening.

I'll hate myself if I have to vote Tory though. I don't think they can be any worse than labour but it goes against my beliefs and principles. I'd spoil the paper but I'd rather anyone but THIS labour government.

Q. Does being a lone parent affect who you will vote for?

A. Well, it does not seem to BUT IT REALLY SHOULD.

Tories for me.

TOO much money thrown at those not willing to work just now. Maybe I am niave about the whole thing (dont claim to know lots about politics) but I am hoping the Tories will pull us out of this.

They get my vote.

Oh no, just wrote a load in response to this but I think I must have deleted it by mistake. If there is another post from me you will know why!

I completely agree with Sincity but I cannot write as eloquently as you.

There are so many points raised here in this thread.

Firstly, it seems that there are an awful lot of ill informed people about the way tax credits work and other benefits. It strikes me that most people who say labour throw money around, obviously have not tried to live off that money.

Personnaly, I think that to help a child live [in warmth, in a home and with food and a good health system and a good education system and a supported family with services to help that family] is a good thing, despite what that childs parents do or not. I think every child deserves that. I also think that people are greedy and poorer peolpe are ''easy pickings'', scape goats or blammed too easilly for their misfortunes.

Secondly, people seem to be blamming the benefits system for the debt of the country. This is not true. Isn't it a WORLD recession which actually no politician could have avoided. Isn't it down to Hedgefunds and bankers and mortgages?

That is to say, it isn't Gordon Browns fault or the labour party-they cannot control the worlds finances.

Thridly, tax credits. These are not to blame for the state of the country either. If it were not for tax credits more families would be in ''poverty'', and there would be even more reliance on the state. Instead of which these families are ''rewarded''/helped by working and in turn their children have come to enjoy a better education system than under the conservatives, a better health service [now GB has the correct number of hospitals understand per person as it should where as under tories we did not]and a better standard of living, services and support. Prior to tax credits, these families would not have been working and in turn their children would not be working [a povery trap]. They are in no way a ''political tool'' but a means of getting an awaful lot of people off UB and out to work and therefore out of poverty.