Advice about voting for an MP

[ExpatSchmexpat]

I saw today that Brits abroad will be able to vote in UK elections again. Yaayy.

I have a question though. I was relieved to see that "my" MP (we get to vote in the last place we were registered) is GC. But she's a Tory and frankly, the only thing she ever says that i agree with is on the subject of human sex categories (2, immutable)

It puts me on the horns of a dilemma. So i thought I'd ask here and see if anyone else has come to a conclusion how to handle the election.

Do i vote for the sitting Tory MP, with whom i agree on nothing but that one, hugely important to me thing. Or do i vote for the candidate most likely to be able to take her majority, knowing that while i agree with them on several other big points, the one huge thing that has been in my life since i was old enough to realise sexism/misogyny/patriarchy while i was fairly young, is something that i profoundly disagree with all other candidates on.

What would you think the lesser of the 2 evils is: voting against my better interests on schools, the economy, the NHS and possibly the environment - or voting against the very fundamental thing about me: my femaleness?

Or should i look at her record in the actual constituency and see if the MP is any good, or if the potential new ones would be better? Should i vote tactically in the knowledge that any government that gets in from now on is "captured" and is going to continue the TWAW (if because it's not a priority, or if they really believe that is a bit of a moot point)

Or do i spoil my newly won ballot? Anyone else having similar worries? (whether in or outside the UK)

meant to say: have nc for this, although if you've seen me around here it's probably quite obvious from what

I'm in exactly the same boat, OP. I want change, but women and girls safety is of the utmost priority as it feeds into everything - safety in education and in healthcare etc. I think people assume it's just a minor issue but it's really not. I think I'm stuck with the Tory candidate as there is no other party willing to defend women's safety and I owe it to my daughter to defend her.

Previous poster talked about education and healthcare and women’s safety. How's that working out under the Tories? Also see rape convictions. This whole trans shitshow has unfolded under them and there are plenty of TWAW Tories. Personally, I would look at the whole picture.
Do you know what the other candidates think on trans issues?

@Kendodd even the current shit show is better than having our rights as women completely removed, our safe spaces obliterated and our language stolen from us.

I was reading earlier about how it takes up to 5 years for a rape trial to get to court because of shortages within the system, but Rishi Sunak wants to take judges out of the system to deal with Rwanda appeals so he can deport people faster to appease his own party. He's on record as not agreeing with the Rwanda policy anyway.

Really, the Tories are making GC noises because they think it will win them votes, not because they care about it that much. Labour do the same, from the other side. I'd imagine both parties have viewpoints across the spectrum on trans rights and how the law should or shouldn't be reformed to allow for them.

In other words, it's culture wars. They want you to focus on these single issues that are hot topics, rather than looking at the full picture. As pp said.

The harm they've done to the welfare state, education and health ultimately hurts women far more than anything they've tiptoed around on trans rights.

In my opinion, it's not. I don't think the impact of trans rights laws would be as dramatic as you make out, even though I have my reservations about them.

I'm much more concerned about things like child poverty, which has gone up massively under the Tories.

Or should i look at her record in the actual constituency and see if the MP is any good, or if the potential new ones would be better?

this would seem to make sense to me, but then I'm unconvinced that Labour will be able to make significant change for the better in the current political and fiscal environment (there isn't lots of money to throw around this time compared to the Blair years)

I'd advise get a new hobby, and don't worry about fear mongering and culture wars that are really not day to day concerns. They really are not. But I guess if you are invested that much in something that is so immaterial to feminism then that ain't going to change.

What's important is who is better managing the economy right now?

The current lot, have proven they cannot IMHO.

Child poverty is interlinked with child safeguarding which is being destroyed by gender ideology.

There is a teacher who has been barred from DBS for stating sex is real and refusing to be compelled to use non-standard English and wrong sex pronouns. He also raised a safeguarding concern. What if it didn't suit the politics of his school to raise concerns about child poverty?

The next thing will be that raising a safeguarding concern about poverty (or other issue) has you barred.

Any political party that is willing to deviate so far from reality they deny the truth of binary sex in mammals will deny anything. Waiting lists? Really massive, but magical thinking means you just identify as them having gone down and jail anyone who says otherwise. And repeat.

Labour will not do anything about child poverty and they'll criminalise people who speak up about reality.

At least with the Tories you can still tell the truth as you see it. It's a low bar, though. If you have an independent who is unafraid to tell the truth, I'd vote for them.

I really wish Posie's party for women would get off the ground, it would help a lot of women voters. Pro women, pro reality, pro children. Would get my vote.

As far as the economy goes, I think Truss will look like a brief holiday somewhere a bit shit compared to Labour's impact. Historically they're not that good for the economy unless they're pumping fake money created from nowhere into it (e.g. by artificially suppressing rates of inflation by removing core elements of human existence from inflation measures). Which probably isn't a good idea right now.

It's a real problem. Because while i see that schools, roads, NHS, whatever you care to name it are a shitshow right now, i can't see how they will get better under another government.

I really wish a Labour / Conservative coalition (as many other large democracies end up with) would happen. Because that way the extreme stuff has to go and the centrist policies get taken care of and come into force.

On the other hand, I've been pushing back on sex inequality, equal rights, gay rights, equal opportnity, sexism and misogyny since i was knee high to a grashopper. To vote for someone who says "TWAW. End of." makes me want to throw up. So anything else they say just turns to "blah blah blah" because the biggest thing in my life, since forever, has been women's rights.

I am a middle-class, educated, white woman. That is not to say i don't know what the issues are around class and race, even though i don't experience them first hand. But to see so many women (and one high profile man) lose their living over saying "nope, you can't change sex" is another misogynistic nail in the coffin of equality.

The context might matter here. Is it a safe Tory seat? Or is it likely that you voting Labour might contribute to a change of MP?

I live in a seat where the Labour Party could field a cardboard cut out rather than a candidate and I’d still get a Labour MP. There’s little point in investigating my MP’s individual stance on anything (not least because I think they simply vote with the whip at all times and never do or say anything noteworthy!). Instead I view my choices as: do I want to associate my vote with Keir Starmer and trust the Labour Party under him, or will I just spoil my ballot in a creative manner? (I’m not convinced that anything could make me vote for Sunak’s conservatives regardless - that would be like saying ‘more of the last 14 years please’ and that’s been shit).

So more information about your constituency context might be important to figuring out what you might want to do.

i don't understand any of that, and you can push off with the patronising "get a new hobby" twaddle.

I guess i know where you stand on TWAW though,

I am EXTREMELY concerned that where we have managed to get, say, 50% women representation on panels, if that 50% have a dick (or were born with a dick) we're back to being ignored.

And it's not as though i don't think that trans people (and i hesitate to get on board with "tru trans" or labelling a whole lot of people AGP) - like ALL people - deserve privacy and dignity when they want/need it. They do. But not at someone else's expense.

I suppose what i COULD do is try to register where Rosie Duffield will be standing. To try to push her over the line. Hmmm. Will investigate.

That makes sense. I think it's a safe seat, I'll have a look at that too, because if that's the case i guess i can only make a point by spoiling a ballot (do they read them? or just chuck them in the shredder?)

I have no intention of voting Tory but nor do I have any intention of wagging my finger at anyone who does.

I'm a lifelong Labour supporter and haven't yet decided whether or not to vote for them again. I've lost so much respect for them that, as things stand at the moment, it's not looking likely. I'll make up my mind when I've seen their full manifesto, and also when I've checked out the independent candidates.

I'd also still prefer a working Labour majority to a government that's forced to make deals with Lib Dem/Green/etc parties whom I trust even less than Labour. So that's another factor I'll be juggling.

I'm not going to advise you what to do though, op. It's a terrible decision but I think we've all got to work it out for ourselves.

It's a line in the sand for me - if a candidate and their party both believe that TWAW I won't vote for them. That's not to say that other issues don't matter as well; I won't vote for a candidate who is GC if I disagree with them or their party on fundamental policies.

It's also tricky when the individual candidate says one thing and their party backs the opposite view.

@ExpatSchmexpat

I saw today that Brits abroad will be able to vote in UK elections again. Yaayy.

The Brits abroad that have regained the vote are those that left the UK more than 15 years ago. While I would like to see every GC vote possible, I wouldn't feel right voting in a GE where I haven't lived for over 15 years.

Look at it like this. You got Brexit because you wouldn't let us vote (the establishment rather than MN members) and now we're going to impose a government on you 😜

Rape crisis services turning away rape survivors because they inquire whether there is a female only group.

Rape survivors being told by elected officials that they cannot request a female medical examiner.

The prison service deciding that there is an 'acceptable level of risk' for female prisoners when violent male sex offenders are placed in the female prison estate.

The Head of ERCC, who has bypassed the allowed occupational requirement of the EQA2010, telling rape survivors to 'reframe their trauma'.

Parents being possibly prosecuted under a Hate Crime Bill for suggesting that schools do a bit of watchful waiting rather than jumping straight into socially transitioning a child without their parent's knowledge.

Elected representatives pictured standing grinning in front of signs saying 'decapitate terfs'.

Oh, all that is happening already in Scotland, isn't it? Shit.

But Annaliese Dodds said that Labour has consistently been clear there needs to be provision for single sex spaces at the Jewish Labour Movement Conference when asked about gender.

https://x.com/siennamarla/status/1746483589716263078?s=20

This Annaliese Dodds, in case you were wondering...

I guess that's the luxury of living abroad and being able to vote as an expat.
The current government are not only racist, deceitful and borderline corrupt (and that's being very generous following the millions funnelled to friends during Covid) but have absolutely decimated public services. Yet you want to vote them based on a niche issue that most people outside of Mumsnet and Twitter aren't that bothered about? I'm sure if you had to use public services here on a daily basis you'd be voting differently.

I would contact every candidate in your constituency and outline the alarm that you feel about the possibility of self id, etc. and ask them what their position is. It may do nothing and may lead you to spoil your ballot but the subject still seems to be under a lot of people's radar and the more prominence it gets the better.

As someone who has always voted in a very logic driven way for whoever had the most redistributive policies that might reduce inequality (Labour for most of my 60+ years, but once LibDem), and then decided (mid 20-noughties) that the climate crisis was the crucial issue and for almost a decade canvassed and voted for the Greens, now, I would NEVER vote Green or LibDem, because both have been absolutely captured by the trans movement, which is a massively destabilising movement in our society.

In my view, if you're on the left and also despair that people are being gas lit about reality, about the concrete, perceivable world around them, about whether a man can be a woman; if you care that various forces for disparate reasons are undermining our social cohesion, our ability to communicate and form communities, you have only one choice: Tory or Labour.

The Tories look OKish on the trans/women's rights issue, Labour less so. BUT Labour does not look nearly as bad as the LibDems and Greens and it's also our only hope of beginning to tame rampant unregulated capitalism, the rivers of money flowing into the system to purposely exploit us or destabilise us.

For that reason (and not with much hope) I will vote Labour when it comes to it.

I'd agree with much of that, but the trouble is, I don't see Labour doing too much about 'rampant unregulated capitalism', or the many other ills our country suffers from. And they are still much too under the thumb of SW.

It’s a difficult one. Our Tory MP is awful and I don’t think our public services will survive another five years of a Tory government. As it is, it will take many years to rebuild them.

On the other hand, the only candidate who could realistically beat our MP is a bloody Lib Dem (and not a nice person, according to a friend who’s had dealings with him).

I might spoil my ballot. We shouldn’t have to choose between public services and women’s rights and it’s disgraceful that we do.