Has anyone else been forced to become Conservative after all of this?

[ponderingsoul]

Probably the wrong wording, but I'm curious - after always considering myself fairly left wing/ liberal and generally voting Labour (or tactically Lib Dem when I was in the SW), I no longer really consider them a valid option for me because of their gender views/ inability to take a view.

Has this happened to anyone else? Never thought I'd be a Tory, but now feel like I have no choice as this issue is so important to me.

No, owing to other policies of theirs that I don't agree with.

However a) I also feel very strongly about this issue and will be spoiling my ballot paper if Labour and the Lib Dems don't demonstrate a significant shift in their thinking b) if I lived Miriam Cates' constituency I would. The work that she is doing is incredibly important and I would like her to remain in her seat to continue it.

God no. I'm bitterly disappointed in Keir Starmer and his fence-sitting but no way I'm ever voting Tory. It's grim times all round

I'd make a distinction between voting for a party, even regularly, and "becoming Tory" or even becoming Labour. There are a lot of people who vote for different parties depending on the election, the issues, their local candidates, whatever.

That being said, I think quite a few in recent years found their regular voting patterns have been upended, mainly because of changes in Labour/left politics, but also because of changes on the side of the Conservatives. Gender ideology is really just one small part of a larger move to switch to an identity politics paradigm on the left generally, and also there seems to have been a move away from a fairly pragmatic political program to a weird kind of idealism/utopianism.

While at the same time Tories, and really conservatives across many countries, have actually embraced some policy directions that used to be mainly associated with the traditional left.

So it's really no wonder voters are finding their voting patterns are effected.

No. They brought this shitshow on our heads!

Hell no!! I’m bitterly disappointed in Labour over this issue - cowards & liars! but im
not voting Tory either

It's certainly making me rethink who I'm intending to vote for. I used to vote tactically not-Tory - which here means Lib Dem although it's such a safe Tory seat (or has been up til now) that it usually makes no difference what you do. Blue rosette on a pig sort of thing.
I still don't think I can bring myself to vote for the pig with its rosette - hoping for a not completely insane independent candidate perhaps.

Seriously, OP, you would join or vote for the party that has been in power for the last 13 years and actually allowed this situation to develop to where it is now? I really can't find the logic in that.

Has anyone else been forced to become Conservative after all of this?

The way I see it is that I've become distinctly more untribal. I'm now interested in ideas and policies which can be good or bad irrespective of which side(s) of the political spectrum they come from.

An example: putting children onto a medical pathway which leads to them becoming sterilised adults who have no sexual function is always going to be horrendous no matter who supports it.

I vote for whichever party matches my views most closely. So it can never be Conservative. I have to hold my nose to vote Labour sometimes, but as it's the party that's the best-if not perfect-fit for me they get my vote.

No . Tories started this shitshow.
The Communist Party seem to be the only ones who understand women’s issues with this and appear to have been consistent.
I will vote for them or an independent if appropriate.
I’m normally a liberal lefty - mid 50s, never voted Tory in my life. Wasn’t expecting to go as far left as Commie… but that’s still preferable to Tory.

I’ve become more of a small c conservative. All the radical changes which have been pushed through in the last couple of decades, I now understand what conservatives are on about when they speak about the importance of family life, preserving culture and tradition, etc.

All the stuff about re-naming everything, throwing statures in rivers, endless ruminating and grovelling about past misdeeds instead of honouring what has worked to bring us to a pretty fair and decent here and now. I’ve got a real distaste for it - it just seems like angry mob rule.

This makes me appreciate the Tories a lot more, even though I do believe in redistributing wealth, having generous, well-maintained municipal facilities and effective and transparent regulation, so I am still more left.

Possibly. Not voted Tory yet but I am thinking about it quite seriously for the next GE. So far my voting history has been Labour or LibDem, plus the last GE when I spoiled my vote as I couldn't face voting Tory but refused to vote for Labour or LibDem based on their anti-woman stance.

I have definitely become a single issue voter. I feel like Rishi Sunak has a decent grasp on the impact this is having on women and I have a lot more faith in him than Kier Starmer. I think if Labour had been in government for the last ten years we'd be in a similar position to Canada and any fight back again gender ideology would now be impossible.

No. I have been a lifelong labour voter but I really can’t bring myself to vote for them now. That saying, it would be a cold day in hell before I vote Tory.

I'm not sure I can bring myself to vote Tory, but I certainly won't be voting Labour, LibDem or Green.

Will the people saying they won't vote Labour be happy with another Conservative government?

It's made me a firm floating voter. I have independent candidates in the local elections so that's easy.

The General election is all to play for.

Exactly this. Bigger picture. We have to get the Tories out.

I voted Tory twice last year hoping they'd hold the line on womens rights - I never thought I would. But I won't again. Having written to my local tory councillors about local womens and girls issues they've all ignored me, so I won't be fooled again.

Not Conservative, but I cannot vote for the parties that deny my human rights, either. I live in a true blue area, so my vote makes no difference. I have spoil my GE ballot with gender critical statements. But local elections are far more challenging. Previously I have voted strategically in order to widen our local representation - it was turning into a Blue Boys' Club. Now I vote Conservative in all local matters to try to swing the balance towards women, girls and vulnerable people actually having a chance to access any services. Tories may make free services available than left-leaning councils, but there's no point having services that are inaccessible to those who need them.

No. The Tories may "know what a woman is" but they sure as hell couldn't give a fuck about them.

But I will add that I think the theatre around politics is very misleading and the 'never Tory'ism obfuscates the fact that there really is very little difference between the two main parties, despite all the noise, they may be two separate shop fronts, but they're the same company behind the scenes. This issue (or any other) is not going to be resolved through electoral channels

I live in the sort of place where even if they can get a Labour candidate, they don't leaflet or door knock. They would never notice if I didn't vote for them. The Conservatives have fucked the council into billions of debt, and the Lib Dems are more bonkers about women's rights than even Labour. I've been googling for Respect my Sex stickers but haven't found any - I would like to spoil my ballot with one of those in May

Why would anyone vote for a party like the Conservatives as a protest against another party removing rights and civil liberties. Tories are the masters of removing rights and civil liberties.

Yep. I absolutely see where you're coming from OP. Never thought I'd be in this position, but here we are.

I wouldn't vote Labour, lib dem or greens if you paid me. I don't want to spoil my ballot so that really only leaves the conservatives.

THIS