I might vote Tory but that doesn't make me a bad person

kitty It was yesterday sweetheart.

Oh! It's an eat shoots and leaves thing. Sorry.

We're still getting the flak today, jingl...

I thought we got off lightly

Don't speak too soon, merlot!

Kitty nobody who has met you or got to know you in the virtual existence would aim vitriol at you and if it is any consolation it would be splashing all over me too. I consider myself a caring and compassionate person, I am not a bloated capitalist and we suffered appallingly when DH had to take his (private)pension when he became unable to work and we discovered that it was worth about half of what he had paid for by paying every possible penny during his last years at work after a lengthy period of ill health and unemployment which accompanied it. So we are pensioners, we do have our own house, but no perks like private medical care, cruises, foreign holidays and we have to watch the pennies.
But I voted Conservative for an MP I respect, whom I find helpful and approachable and I may feel in a minority on GN but stand by my decision.

Yes politics affects every aspect of our life, but we are free (thank God) to hold different beliefs and express them. Isn't that what democracy is about?

I have never voted Tory in my life but I make no assumptions that Tories are bad people. And I include our Tory MP in that - he is a very decent chap and supports local causes to the hilt, often putting his hand in his own pocket.

It is a mistake to assume that because some people have concerns about the effects of Tory policies that we do not recognise fellow human beings doing their best to be of service to the country according to their ideas. I do not agree with them, but do not always impute evil motives.

There are unpleasant people in all parties; and none have a monopoly on conscience. It is just that they interpret it in different ways.

I think that Tory policies are likely to have a negative impact on disadvantaged people, but do not assume that they are motivated by a desire to make people miserable - they just believe in the idea of "trickle down" which feels pretty laughable if you are at the bottom of the heap.

No such thing as getting off lightly on here!However, it is peculiar that the Labour supporters , also Greens , see everything in such black and white terms. Conservatives and even Lib Dems are hectored and lectured the whole time, so much so that it's hardly worth posting anything.They and only they know what is best for the poor of Britain, and only they 'care'.What rubbish.

roses - indeed we all get off relatively lightly on here
I see both sides being magnaminous in victory - and gracious in defeat
do NOT read any Mumsnet thread where Conservatives are branded as the devil's spawn - not much graciousness in defeat there - all they can see is that anyone who does not agree with their ideology is evil and worse.
as I said on another thread - this is a democracy and democracy decided the outcome.

Yes Mollie, we are all grown ups on here BUT most of us know exactly what Kitty means.

However, there are more of us on here than you would at first think, only some people don't post things, but are here never the less, which is exactly what happened Nationwide in the actual voting, the silent majority cast their vote.

I've never voted Labour in my life, and I don't think I'm a bad person either. For me it's the economy every time, because without a strong economy things that we ALL hold dear simply can't function properly. Sadly everything costs enormous amounts of money, and like household accounts the books HAVE to balance else misery and financial disaster is the order of the day and borrowing your way out of financial trouble is definitely not the answer, all that incurs is more debt which eventually HAS to be addressed. So for me to coin Bill Clinton's phrase, 'It's the economy, stupid'.

I tend to try not to comment on political threads, but in this instance I am happy to say that I, and the two others in the household voted Conservative.

For anyone who is interested, here's one analysis of the so called 'strong economy' argument put forward in support if the conservatives

mainlymacro.blogspot.co.uk/2014/11/why-are-conservatives-so-incompetent-at.html?m=1

For what it's worth, my thoughts about conservative supporters and politicians are largely in accord with Mishap's. I am a socialist, so not really a Labour supporter but certainly the polar opposite of a conservative supporter. That doesn't mean I don't have friends of all shades, and I like and respect them. What I don't have, and wouldn't want, are friends who make cheap jibes and insults which add nothing to the debate. I don't think any one side of the debate has a monopoly on that behaviour but I have seen far more of it directed at those on the left on here today, rather than the other way round.

I am beginning to believe the silent majority is well represented on GN. We are just, for the large part, fairly silent . We don't hector non-conservative voters, we don't behave as if anyone who doesn't agree with us is, per se, stupid, blind, uncaring.
And no, I don't believe all the left wing voters are like that - many, as Mollie has said, have been gracious in defeat, which has been reassuring to witness. But I understand what Kitty is saying. There is a silent majority..... and a noisy and vociferous minority

Exactly Ashtree!

To-day we are getting posts from very upset people who think they have the moral high ground and have been robbed. It's all understandable. What did amuse me was the lady who didn't get the famous Clinton quote and thought it was a personal insult! Oh dear.
I love my Country and want it to live within it's means; surely that's not bad?

I think I've been on a different forum No insults or vitriol on here against those towards the left? I don't know what I've found quite upsetting then, and I don't think I'm over-sensitive.

I'll leave you to it now.

Night owl...... Perhaps it might be better not to post links to articles entitled'why are Conservatives so incompetent' then on here, just a thought!

Kitty- I really have not seen the vitriol or anyone intimate that anyone who votes Tory is 'bad'?

We have many friends and relatives who vote Conservative, and Labour- and Lib Dem- and of course all sorts of other parties all over the world. With some we cant talk and discuss all sorts, and agree to disagree. With some it is not possible and we know which subjects to avoid (one of my favourite cousins in the USA is a real Tea Party type and believes Fox news is the only 'truth' out there - it's hard to take, but I love her so I button my lip and don't even try any longer, as it won't make any difference whatsoever apart from ruining our great relationship).

But it is not always easy if you and OH are passionate about free and excellent education for all and free and excellent health care for all- and a safety net for those who fall upon bad time (I've been castigated here though for saying that abuse of such should be severely dealth with)- and have dedicated our lives to trying to help with that. Is it not natural to worry about the privatisation of the health service and the development of 2 or multiple tiers of care? Or see the class sizes rising, non qualified cheap staff being brought in- the ridiculous amount of money spent on so-called 'academies', etc? And the undermining of the services to help those who truly need it?

Nobody would dream of pouring vitriol- but it is no surprise that some of us feel strongly about the above- without being judgemental or intolerant, and without picking on individuals or making personal comments/attacks.

Why not roses?

I don't think that counts as personal insults or vitriol, just an alternative view about the economy written by an economist.

Genuinely

I might have voted for the Green's, but our Conservative MP wants to improve the major road link between east and west by making it all dual carriageway. Insofar as he has instigated a feasibility study. I voted for him mainly because of this. I use the road nearly every day, and some of the driving and overtaking has to be seen to be believed. Plus he is a local man and has his family home in the next large town.

Well I for one don't think anything you refer to in your third paragraph is necessarily mutually exclusive with voting Tory.
Class sizes in my experience when I retired were less than when I started teaching in 1970, DH gets incredibly excellent service from the NHS at a major London hospital, so in every way I would maintain that we CARE but believe in a different political way of achieving a compassionate society. No one party has a monopoly of care and compassion.

I really don't think it's about moral high ground. I just think that some of us who have concerns about the implications of the Tory policies on the poorest have probably had some experience of this area, and are relating it to people we know or have known.

To express that concern is not about pouring vitriol at all; it is just what I said - expressing concern.

I am puzzled that those who take a different view somehow feel they are being "got at."

I am not getting at anyone; just saying that there is a real concern that needs addressing.