General Chat

My parents both held strong political views but I am to easily led, I think, I must be a MP’s dream as if they say the right thing they get my vote. I have tried to sit and watch question time and think, yeah I agree with him then 2 seconds later hear the opposition’s argument and quickly change my mind to them. Apart from the BNP and wouldn’t even entertain them for a second, I have no idea what party holds which values on what.

I have voted many times, for the party that think will be do their best for us. I used to think Labour for the working class, Tories for the middle class and liberals for who cant decide on either of the latter. Now we are suppose to live in a classless society and this has thrown my reasons in to chaos. Or has it? I still class myself as working class, well nearly middle class as I live in a semi detached house and in civil services terms lower middle management. So should I now be leaning towards the Tory party? However I am a member of union and have joined in strike action at times but only if I think the strike will make an impact on me being on strike, so I have crossed a picket line granted with my head hung low but only because my Dad would be rolling in his grave. Not because I feel I should be striking, so there could be some labour tendencies there. I was once called a socialist because of a comment I made about private education and told “ right on sister” and was horrified as I meekly asked what was a socialist? This worried me great because I still have no idea when asked where my political stance is, I normally use the get out clause it’s my business and not up for discussion to hide the fact I am totally ignorant in these matters and also get very confused.

I have tried to ask my Mum but she gets so passionate and worked up it scares me, I have asked my OH, he tends to change his mind like me, I have even asked my sister who believes everything she reads in the press so she cant be trusted and when I confronted my other sister I was threaten with a paint roller and told they all line their own pockets. So you can imagine my plight, I am of an age where I should be sitting up and taking notices instead slagging off every prime minister and government we have ever had because it’s the norm everyone else does it.

Can anyone please shed some light on this I would be very grateful.

Yours confused of Cheshire.

I am interested in politics Hayley, but don't discuss them because if you are not really interested others can get easily bored....... it came from my Scottish Mum who had a keen interest and was a works convenor.......she was not a rabid political animal.......a sweet and quiet person really, but we often had people in our house who had fallen on hard times, and she would help all she could...... lived her politics to my mind....

I am not as good as that, and am really a fence-sitter..... I have a long memory and can often shout at the telly over some hypocitical politician who had done a complete about face, and hopes we , the public, have forgotten what was said.....

I will vote for who tells the least lies.....

Baring in mind the general election is due this year, I have completely lost faith in the labour party, however I grew up and left school in the 1980’s and was paid £25.00 a week for a YTS never out of work and always considered myself one of Thatcher’s victims, or was I?

I did get sucked into Thatcher's dream, and I do feel that although I did not agree with some of her schemes, she was a strong politician, and did not let the Europeans get away with pushing her around......

If you see her in any European line-up......she would always position herself right in the middle at the front, and physically arrange who she wanted to stand near her........I laughed when I saw that....... but when Tony Blair and lately Gordon Brown are pictured.......they are on the edge of photos......

I have a great interest in politics - shame (in my view) our politicians haven't!
They seem to ignore the past - don't learn from it. They seem to think the electorate are mindless buffoons, and go for popularity (what they can say to encourage votes) rather than reasoning.
Slinging childish remarks at each other during 'Quesion Time' in Parliament drives me mad - did they never learn to debate?
We all know (thanks to the Telegraph), that many seem to think they are above the law, and that for them to lie is acceptable.

Hardly surprising you don't know who to vote for Hayley.
I wish they had an extra box on the ballott forms stating 'I have no confidence in any of the above' - it would save me having to write it!

I'm waiting for the manifestos to come out - will read them with a pinch of salt and then decide.

Hayley it doesn't matter who you vote for the government always win.

I did a YTS scheme in the 80s too Hayley and tbh though I hated it at the time looking back.....it did me no harm. Got me off my backside and into a work ethic.

I am an admirer of Lady T. *waits for the rotten veg to be thrown at me lol* I Don't agree with everything she did but she was a strong leader and we haven't had one like her since who REALLY seemed to put Britain first.

Think she lost her a way a bit towards the end but she got this country out of a huge black hole in 1979 and I would vote for HER over anyone about today to do that for us now.

I usually vote Tory....but haven't always done....I'm pretty disillusioned with all politicians these days but can't bring myself NOT to vote..... you just have to go with what party speaks the most sense to YOU really.

I read a lot of politics forums and watch the arguments on there too ing and fro ing if I'm wavering on a certain issue and by the end of the thread having read 100s of replies I've usually make my mind up where I stand lol.

xx

You see Maggie I am one of the baffoons..lol Going back to Mrs T I get really confused at her, I watched a program about her on Friday I watch it nearly every week and love it about history, anyway they said the first she did when she went in to power was hold a dinner party and ask for the debt owed to Britan she was offered some of it back but nope she wasnt having any of it she wanted the full debt. I live in a house which was once owed by the council, if she had given the right to buy I wouldnt be living here.

I did believe in Tony Blair and at the time I did believe in New labour but now the tide has changed again I am swaying towards the Tory party...please dont tell me mum though...

I dont' normally get into political discussions too much...but I will say, in my view, Mrs Thatcher was something of an own goal for equality.

Yes she finally brought in the right to buy....

But she took away school milk. Her policies took away thousands and thousands of jobs, she closed mines, closed steel works, rendered many areas of this country a wasteland, brought in the much hated poll tax, did untold damage to the NHS, and so on....and had us live on NO benefits while unemployed for six weeks with a new baby and a toddler.

So no, I would never ever vote for the 'favour the rich and stamp on the poor' conservatives lol

Hmmmmmm thank you Teresa, sorry I have to ask this so please dont take it the wrong way:


Do you think the party has moved on in any way since the times you have talked about?

Nope....I think they put on a pretty good front, but the tory principles are still the same as they ever were...its only their approach that is different.

verdict: swayed again and am in complete turmoil lol

None of the parties truly represent the views of the electorat Hayley, it's not possible because we all have different ideas based on our own upbringing and experiences.

You just have to go with the ones who you feel are most likely to do some good overall for the country...and in a general election, that means globally as much as locally.

At the moment, all I'm seeing is the usual pre-election mudslinging by both the main parties...

LOL I disagree TW.

For my tastes they are too *centrai* for me.... I would rather there was more clear water between Labour and Conservative policies (from what I underrstand of them) than there actually is.

I genuinely believe that making cuts and getting this MASSIVE debt paid off before the IMF are called in to bail us out and interest payments become even more crippling for the country will only be done by a Conservative Government..... Labour are not historically good at doing the cutting and paying pack but are VERY good at over spending.

Btw....I'd be tempted to vote Lib Dem IF they weren't so pro European tbh..

Thats bring me another point is being in the european a good or bad thing? What Muffy has just said may as well been written in chinese...lol what debt?

re Mrs T..the one good thing she did for many, including me, was give the right to buy council houses, BUT the bad thing was that councils could not use that money for building new council housing,

other than that I have nothing good to say of Mrs T ...... yes she was 'strong'...

I think now you have to take the effects of the worldwide recession out of the equation... ie would a Conservative government have done any better for the UK financially while the whole world was in recession.
That done look at the policies that you have or may agree with and vote accordingly.

Personally I will cut off both hands before ever voting conservative lol.

A former manager of mine in the '80s said re that election "if you are voting for what is best for you, in a well paid job, vote conservative...if you are voting for the benefit of those who are not so lucky...vote labour"......

I've always ended up voting LibDem TBH...because there are good policies on both sides so sitting in the middle to me makes more sense.

BUT....Labour may not be good at making cuts...unfortunately the tories are very good at making them in the wrong places, like NHS and education, and placing stealth taxes (worse than labour for doing that). Don't forget it was the tories who threw the poll tax at us, and put VAT up to 17.5% because they dare not raise income tax to pay for their spending. They had cut the upper tax thresholds as well as lowering income tax.

Rose, a woman after my own heart. Couldn't have put it better myself. LOL

Most of those who say they were better off under Mrs T's government were those who had their own business, own home, and were fairly well set up. Those who lost jobs, homes, had to move away from family and friends to find work etc, would have a very different story to tell. (Trust me, I'm one of them)

This country is billions and billions of pounds in debt Hayley !!!

To the extent that we are now printing money to keep the economy afloat !!!

They've maxed out the countrys credit cards ....in other words lol.

I don't want to be European personally. I'd have liked Labour to have stuck to their manifesto pledge and given us a referendum...but they didn't they signed the Lisbon treaty and pulled us deeper into Europe.

I'm cross the Conservatives didn't say they would hold a referendum and give us back the choice as well should they come into power tbh...but there you go. What they said made sense but I don't like the blatant disregard for democracy when a referendum was given to other European countries on the same subject xx

THAT is part of the reason I would vote Tory TW..because they have SAID they will ring fence NHS spending which I heartily approve of xx