If I vote Tory, would I be shooting myself in the foot, as a lone parent?

[BertieBotts]

Just that really. I am musing. Never voted before and never been interested in politics (though I am fascinated by it all now) so I am feeling a bit blind with all this! I keep changing my mind about who to vote for.

I want to go back to college either this or next September rather than getting a job just yet. DS is 18 months. Do you think that I would be able to do this under a conservative government, or will I be forced to work? Thinking childcare costs etc. I can't find anything in any of the manifestos about it - does anyone know what the other parties have said or are likely to do?

"Some mothers don't want to 'have it all' they want to stay at home with their children and bake cookies etc, without a LPA breathing down their necks."

So you reckon that the tories will not try to get unwaged single parents back into the workplace?

Seriously?

It sounds like you had one who wasn't doing their job then. I suggest you report her rather than tarring them all with the same brush. Where I am, the LPA is a godsend for lone parents like me. But maybe that is becasue I want to work, who knows. I can see it must be a depressing job if all you are faced with every day is parent after parent who doesn't want to work

And let me tell you, the first thing the Tories should do in that case is sort out the sodding CSA so it actually works, and the FATHERS are made to pay their way and demonised just as much as the mothers and children they leave behind

Atlantis, the tories have all but admitted that people earning under £50k will indeed by affected by the changes they are making to tax credits.

They haven't made it entirely clear, but it's estimated that families with an income of over £31k will feel some effect.

I wish they would just be honest about it, all this cloak and dagger stuff just makes more worried.

Worth pointing out that a lot of our rules and regulations on parenting and employment are determined these days in Brussels and not Westminster.

However, I would echo the advice to complete your studies and get a foot on the job ladder as soon as possible. You do not want to be unemployed or unqualified when the austerity measures come into force... and that's regardless which party is in power.

smallishseep-congratulations for putting a very heartfelt and strong argument and keeping your cool!

I would like to think that the tories had learned some lessons about 'helping' people and really had 'changed' but i dont believe it for a minute. Unfortunately as I have said in other threads, tories are wealthy people who look after other wealthy people.
Some of the policies they are talking about are fundamentally floored and unrealistic.
I dont think anyone can honestly say Brown has done a good job but then we have had as terrible 13 years quite aside from whoever happened to be in power with one crisis after another.
I think asa single parent you are likely to suffer even more discrimintaion under the tories than you may feel now because they make it quite clear that they are all for working, tax paying 'families' ie-nuclear

"And let me tell you, the first thing the Tories should do in that case is sort out the sodding CSA so it actually works, and the FATHERS are made to pay their way and demonised just as much as the mothers and children they leave behind"

Am 100% behind you on that one. And let's not forget that it was the Conservatives who created the CSA (and it worked very,very well in the late 80's because I used them ) and made fathers resposnible for their children's upbringing.

It's labour who demonise the mother and not the father's. (aka, the csa and the family courts).

Ooh, lots of discussion, great

Thanks for the links to manifestos, they don't seem to say much though...

I have noted the advice to try and get into education sooner rather than later.

I am interested in the discussion about LPAs. I have only had one meeting with one, but not been on my own more than 6 months yet. They seemed very much of the attitude "It would be better for you if you worked" and I don't know what they said about education because I wasn't really thinking about it at the time.

I always thought I wanted to be a SAHM but the reality of it, I don't enjoy it very much, so I would like to get back to work, but probably part time. But I think that women should be able to choose, especially while their children are young, and part time work should be an option too - why does it cut off at 16 hours? That is madness.

I am not bothered about which government I personally would be better off under, but I need to be able to live. At the moment it wouldn't affect me too badly if they cut benefits because I don't drive, have debts or have expensive spending habits. I tend to live within my means but I am not counting every penny.

"They haven't made it entirely clear, but it's estimated that families with an income of over £31k will feel some effect. "

By whom and when because their manifesto says differently.

And agreed, every party to should forced to admit what it's going to do and be made (where possible, given natural disasters act beyond their control etc ) to bloody well stick to it.

atlantis - the problem is that whoever it is DC is talking about is unclear. You may be right, but I think he's talking about people who fit the 'traditional' concept of family - ie married people.

Let's hope that if the tories do get in (quake) they will do something about the lazy so and sos at the CSA because they are supposed to have so much power but do not use it. I am currently waiting for March's payment and count on it but the staff at the CSA can't be arsed to chase it up. And they have lost all my case information for my youngest dd's father.

The tories shouldn't be proud of the CSA though. As an organisation it doesn't know it's arse from it's elbow, regardless of who's in government. Dd's dad complied with everything, sent all the paper work. They lost it. Twice. It was only by ringin them EVERY SINGLE DAY for a month, at considerable expense, and finally getting my (labout fwiw) MP involved that they sorted my claim.

X post electra. CAT me if you want help with the CSA I know every blardy excuse they will try and give you

"Ooh, lots of discussion, great "

Please don't think I was trying to drive you towards voting Conservative, just answering some misinformation from other posters on 'the bad old tories', which is what I seem to be doing all the time unfortunately.

Posters are right, no matter who gets in things will change, you just need to decide if the change is right for your family, or the lesser of three evils and if you've got your studying behind you and you don't like the government, you can always emigrate.

smallishsheep - thanks very much I think I will because the CSA has become a nightmare for me!

"And they have lost all my case information for my youngest dd's father. "

With my youngest they managed to lose the case file three times in two years resulting in me losing two years money, they said I could apply for compensation, but that's not the ex paying is it that's everyone else paying for their screw up and the ex's lack of responsibility.

They still have my original case file running (son now 22 !), can't take it off the system or shut it down (god knows why) so i'm in clerical and it's done manually!

Finally managed to get the sod to pay after four years.

atlantis, I'm still at the implication in some of your earlier posts that the tories wouldn't force encourage unwaged single parents dependent on benefits into paid work, as labour do with the LPAs etc.

I really doubt that is the case you know!

"The tories shouldn't be proud of the CSA though."

That's since the 'new computerised system' that Labour bought in that farts and splutters and coughs a lot, nothing to do with the tories SS.

"atlantis, I'm still at the implication in some of your earlier posts that the tories wouldn't force encourage unwaged single parents dependent on benefits into paid work, as labour do with the LPAs etc."

No, if you read my early post I was actually arguing against a post that was 'oh bad tories' and was speaking in the past tense when they were in government.

In 'the old days' they may have talked tough on single parents ( and I was one then as again I am ) but what I was trying to say was they didn't have your arm up your back trying to force you into work as labour have over the last 13 years.

the CSA are useless and I am coming from another angle, my husband and I fought through the courts over maintenance etc with his ex and eventually after being threatened by her we agreed that it was eaiser to just let her have the equity from my dh old house as a maintenance lump! less than a year and a half later she had blown the lot and the CSA were after us again for money and we were barely making ends meet, both of us working full time, our dd in childcare costing a fortune and she was at home,having not worked for years now driving around in a mercedes bought by her 'undeclared' partner of 3 years. we explained and gave legal letters proving the one off lump we had paid and were told that unfortunately, as she had spent it all it was irrleevant! and we had to start paying again. now I refuse to pay her until she gets a job because I have had to work sicne my dd was 4 months old so why should she have 10 years off!

'your arm up your back trying to force you into work'

Just when I thouhgt you were talking sense atlantis. What a load of emotive crap

Agree Tinkerbell, the new system doesn't take into account property division and financial gain like the old one did. Before when you divided up your assetts in court that was taken into account.

But atlantis, that doesn't mean they're going to stay off single parents' backs now, does it? There's a tory billboard ad around the corner from here saying "LET'S CUT THE BENEFITS OF PEOPLE WHO WON'T WORK"

You said that you'd spoken to single parents who hate having LPAs breathing down their neck when they'd rather be at home with the kids and baking cookies. That seemed to imply that you think it'll be different under the tories. It won't: it'll be worse.

It's fine atlantis, better to have views from both sides anyway

Atlantis, there's various pieces about the level of earnings at which the impact will be felt.

For starters, there's this item from Channel 4's FactChecker, which shows the savings the Tories are claiming couldn't be made if the level was at £50k as they've claimed.

Then there is this article from The Blue Blog, in which Theresa May states "Our priority is to find a way to get spending under control that is fair and protects the poorest. Tax credits are designed to help families on low incomes, but we are now paying them to families earning over £50,000. We don?t think that is affordable anymore, so we have said that under a Conservative Government these families would stop receiving tax credits. No families with a combined household income of £40,000 or less will be affected by our policy"

So the £31k figure is an estimate if the tories are to make the savings they say they will makeand Theresa May herself mentions the £40k level - which blows the £50k figure out of the water.

Hence the confusion.

In a word, yes.