Gender Criticals - how are you going to vote in the election?

[ProfessorFlitwick]

My political views are centre-left. I am genuinely unsure how to vote in the next election because I am absolutely not voting for any party that supports harmful woke ideology. I am curious to hear how other GCs are thinking of voting next year?

I've recently moved to one of the safest Tory seats in the country - the incumbent MP is both generally acknowledged as an excellent, available constituency MP and has publicly said that a woman is an adult human female. So I'll probably vote Tory. I don't think anyone else has a shot at ousting him anyway.

Once upon a time, my social/political views would have put me firmly in the liberal, progressive, left-of-centre camp. Until that camp pulled up its pegs and went lolloping off into the distant Hills Of Righteous Identitarianism. I'm still standing where I always was, but apparently now I'm a Veh Bad Person on The Wrong Side of History.

So: politically homeless.

I don't live in GB anymore but if I did I wouldn't know who to vote. I couldn't bring myself to vote Tory, Lib Dems or Labour. I'd maybe spend more time researching independents or just spoil my vote.

I have a pen with a very fine nib so last general election I spoiled my ballot by leaving the rest of the page blank but in teeny tiny writing only in the box of one candidate writing something along the lines of 'Sex≠Gender. Women don't have penises.'

I guessed (accurately as it happens!) that it would be scrutinised at the count - it was a relatively close vote - and that the TWAW candidate would have to weigh up whether they wanted the vote of a 'transphobe' or not.

"I am enough of a grown up to know that no political party can be perfect or meet all of my needs. Spoiling my ballot doesn't magically lead to some new, better, political party entering the fray and I think it's childish and pointless."

Don't spoil your ballot then, but for those of us planning on doing so, it's not childish and pointless, and I don't think we're expecting a new political party to magically appear. If enough people spoil their ballot, the major political parties (especially in "on the fence" constituencies) will wonder what they can do to persuade those people who are willing and able to turn up to vote, but don't like their options. They might start to listen to what we're asking for. Not voting entirely is pointless, but spoiling a ballot sends a message.

This is generally me. I expect people to take as much financial responsibility for themselves, their family and their future as they can, but we need supportive social networks for the few that cant manage this. But yes GC views are top of my voting list. I live in a constituency which is unlikely to ever change from blue at a national level - but despite that I was very impressed by my MP's knowledge on the single sex arguments earlier this year. He knew his stuff. He seems better than the Tory MP (female) - 1 constituency over - who just seems a bitch!

I had no idea about that. That was the only issue making me feel guilty about not voting conservative to keep labour out. Now, if I do end up voting conservative this time around, I can at least do it with a clearer conscience.

I think if enough people wrote on the ballot
"Lesbians don't have a cock" or words along those lines..
Some people would take notice..

Also a centre-left voter. Current ponderings:

• Greens/Lib Dems: creepy, unhinged.
• SDP: Good, but wasted vote.
• Tories: amoral, incompetent, lecherous. But likely to support free speech and know basic biology (if only for seduction purposes).
• Labour: wokey-blokey-transy, anti-Rosie.

Conclusion: if there's SDP candidate, will vote for them. If not, will grill Labour candidate. If not satisfied by answers, will grit my teeth and vote Tory.

The people who are planning to spoil their ballot papers-what do you think this will achieve? Won't it just make an even more non representative government?

People who are planning to spoil their ballot papers won't change the election result.

Yes. I wonder this all the time. my mother would say it's cutting off your nose to spite your face.

People who can't vote any party have 2 choices-

1. spoil the ballot
2. don't vote

At least spoiling the ballot means that there is a chance that feedback will be given to the party you would otherwise have voted for.

Women died to give us the right to vote, it is a piss poor situation that the opposition leader does not care enough about women to be unequivocal that he will not remove the rights of women as a sex class.

I don't think any of the women who died fighting for the vote would be happy to vote in a way which removes women's rights. Women should not be shamed for protesting in this way, we are being given little choice.

There's another thread been started that may be of interest https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/womens_rights/4951787-floating-voterspolitically-homelessballot-spoilers

"The winners are the people who turn up."
So spoiling your ballot paper or not voting is just handing victory to extremists.
At either end.

So what would you have people do CurlewKate?

You can't force people to vote for a party whose views oppose theirs!

You can't shame people into voting,

I don’t trust Labour. They’re arrogant and wilfully blind to the conflict with women’s rights. Moreover, Starmer is a total and utter wet blanket.

I used to vote Green, but I won’t now while they’re in thrall to non-science and are so eager to appear ‘down wiv the yoof’ they overlooked paedo links.

The LibDems are pretty similar to the Greens and a waste of a vote.

So, I’ll either vote for an independent, or, more likely, vote to keep Labour out - which means voting Conservative. If we all voted Tory, I reckon you’d see a big turnabout from Labour and co. To my mind, a vote for any of those parties, is a vote against women’s rights and I can’t and won’t do that.

Oh, and I don’t think ballot-spoiling works. I used to count votes. They just got put in a basket and sniggered at. The parties don’t read what you write. An eloquent comment on global warming or women’s rights is treated just the same as the drawing of a big will.

Bloody prudish auto-correct! Should be a big WILLY!

I'm actually quite optimistic that we'll see some good independent candidates next election. Even aside from this issue, I think there's a lot to be said for having some MPs who aren't party affiliated.

As for ballot spoiling - I've counted votes too and I'd say a good agent goes through the spoilt ballots but that some are too lazy / arrogant to bother. It would be my very last resort but I'm not discounting it.

@lifeturnsonadime "
So what would you have people do CurlewKate?

You can't force people to vote for a party whose views oppose theirs!

You can't shame people into voting,"

I'm not trying to force or shame. I just want
people to know that spoiling a ballot or not voting makes absolutely no difference at all, and in fact may well lead to a more extremist government. What would I like people to do? I would like them to look at the policies of the parties they have to choose from, and vote for the one that has the most that they agree with.

I have done that and can't vote for either of the main parties.

Not that it makes a jot of a difference in my area which is, and always will be a Tory stronghold.

I don't believe that voting for a party you don't agree with on a fundamental issue will remove extremism either, it supports it.

A vote for Labour as it currently stands is a vote for gender extremists.

Look at how they are promoting Eddie Izzard whilst stabbing Rosie Duffield in the back and tell me that they are not extremists!

You're allowed to want that.

Meanwhile I would like to have a mainstream party to vote for that doesn't actively hate women.

Since there isn't one, I can't vote for one.

What I've learned from many years of scolding by Good People on here, is something along the lines of:

• Don't not vote, that's Not Good.
• Don't vote Tory, because that's Not Good.
• Don't spoil your ballot, only idiots do that and anyway nobody will notice and it's Not Good because you owe Good Parties your vote.
• Of course, Good People won't go so far as to instruct you where to put your X, because that doesn't seem quite like a Good Thing to do... but... You do want to be Good, don't you? So you know what to do, don't you? Don't you?

No idea. Labour is most likely to reduce the SNP majority so that’s v tempting - but they don’t seem to have grasped that humans can’t change sex so because this issue is so important to me I might hold my nose and vote Tory.