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Do you feel politically homeless?

(135 Posts)
grannyactivist Wed 06-Nov-19 13:49:13

The news that Dr. Bendor Grosvenor, the art historian, has withdrawn his support from the Conservative party has got me thinking.

I wonder about how people are affected when they have become disenchanted with parties they have supported assiduously in the past.

My parents-in-law were lifelong supporters of the LibDems (previously Liberals), but they tore up their membership cards when they joined forces with the Conservatives. I also have a dear friend who has been a very active lifelong Conservative party member and even an Agent for many years. I know he has struggled with recent events and I don't yet know whether he has jumped ship, as I suspected he might do, but there must be a huge personal cost to someone in giving up on a political party they have been so invested in.

How do you choose who to vote for when the party you've believed in no longer seems like the party you joined? Do you feel you've been betrayed? How do you find a new political home?

Blinko Wed 06-Nov-19 17:48:52

Safe Labour seat here, so it won't matter a jot what I vote. I will vote, though.

Lib Dem even though whatsername Swinson doesn't fill me with enthusiasm. I do ask myself if she were a male would I feel the same lack of inspiration shock

Do I suffer from unconscious sexist views? Like, I always think of doctors as men, even though most are female nowadays.

Oh dear, there's no hope (on so many levels). Maybe wine is the answer.

Grammaretto Wed 06-Nov-19 18:35:37

I feel even worse off here in Scotland. I really don't want the union broken up and I am a Remainer so it looks like I should vote LibDem but it could be a wasted vote. If a wasted vote, I would go Green whose ideals I espouse, but the Greens are chumming up with the SNP. Labour has little or no hope in Scotland and anyway they would allow Nicola another referendum.

I am cynical and think the party who plays dirtiest and is richest will probably win but I would be very depressed if Boris got back in. I don't mind Jeremy. I think he's genuine though whether he could unite the country is another matter.

As you say Blinko maybe wine is the answer.

EllanVannin Wed 06-Nov-19 19:18:31

I'd rather stay at home thankyou. They can all get on with it !

lemongrove Wed 06-Nov-19 19:39:06

Everyone has had their fill of politicians and their nonsense and game playing in the HOC.
In the end though, I could not vote for either Lib Dems with their anti democratic stance on Brexit or a party with a leader like the hopeless Corbyn (and crew.)So although I don’t like Johnson I will vote for the Conservatives like I did last time and time before that.
When I first came to GN I was a Lib Dem voter ( in fact I remember being asked by Varian not to give up on them) .
Where I lived before in the West Country, we had an excellent Lib Dem MP.
In time, Labour may become more palatable under a different leader, so may the Lib Dems ( and the Conservatives as well)
At the moment it has to still be Conservatives though.

varian Wed 06-Nov-19 19:40:52

Please think again EV. There is so much at stake. If you want to save our country from this looming brexit disaster vote Liberal Democrat.

Flossieturner Thu 07-Nov-19 11:10:37

I am really torn. I loathe Boris and think Jeremy should have spoken out much more on Brexit. He was said to be euro-sceptic so why not say what his personal belief is. That said, we have an excellent young labour MP who takes a genuine interest in his Constituency .

As a remainer I should vote Lib/Dem but feel it is a wasted vote.

grannyactivist Thu 07-Nov-19 12:38:44

I'm fortunate enough not to have had the dilemma of having a really good constituency MP whose party has core policies that I don't support. I'm really not sure how I would vote in those circumstances, or deal with the ensuing cognitive dissonance.

Having written the above paragraph I then googled politics+cognitive dissonance to see what has been written on the subject and came across this article.

The following is an extract that I think is particularly germane:

In today’s political world, the desire to reconcile cognitive dissonance drives the growing tendency of political candidates to emphasize apolitical qualities such as personality and demeanor while deliberately cultivating vagueness about their policy positions in an effort to minimize cognitive dissonance in voters’ eyes, said Blackwell.

“The less they know about your policies, the less strife they’ll feel in voting for you if they disagree with you,” he said.

PamelaJ1 Thu 07-Nov-19 14:32:14

Grannyactivist, that last sentence sums it up.
I don’t seem to be able to make sense of most of what I’m hearing.

Grany Thu 07-Nov-19 15:49:56

paintingthetownred I agree with everything you wrote that's how I feel about Jeremy Corbyn and the Labour Party.

NotTooOld Thu 07-Nov-19 16:11:59

I think we should avoid calling BJ 'an adulterer and a liar'. So he may be but if I remember my history lessons correctly many former PMs have fallen into that, or similar, categories and it didn't necessarily make them bad PMs.

Labaik Thu 07-Nov-19 18:43:33

But I don't think we found out about those things prior to voting for them, did we?

MaizieD Thu 07-Nov-19 19:06:42

Unfortunately, NotTooOld, he's not a good PM, either.

ElaineI Thu 07-Nov-19 23:56:35

I feel very sceptical about trusting any of them now given all the lies about NHS getting all this money from Brexit plastered on buses and all the nasty vindictive comments aimed at each other and worse that female MPs are resigning because of abuse they receive online and other places. This whole Brexit affair has caused so much ill feeling and set people against each other. And now apparently we will be borrowing vast amounts for new hospitals (that's a joke in Edinburgh where the new Sick Children's is not fit for purpose and nurses ready to move had to stay in condemned buildings with no heating and a roof falling in and now services will be suspended as there is no area to perform their care), new surgeries - no-one wants to be a GP with all the crap they have to put up with (not the patients - other crap), new schools - less people wanting to be teachers. Sorry just having a rant, just watched question time from Glasgow and no-one seems capable of giving a clear understandable answer! Sad also that today on news all broadcasts featured young people who think everything prospective MPs say is lies - and sadly they are correct!

grannyactivist Fri 08-Nov-19 14:21:54

I think the erosion of public trust in our politicians will have repercussions for many years to come. What is particularly sad is that there are very many, particularly back bench, MPs who genuinely went into politics to be a force for good. There are also many cross party groups that work cohesively and well. Unfortunately, to paraphrase a well known saying, there are some whose focus is on betterment for the few rather than working for the many!

MaizieD Fri 08-Nov-19 14:47:49

I really don't think, Elainel, that you can blame 9 years of needless tory austerity and the great EU Referendum cock-up on all our MPS. There are plenty who genuinely want to contribute to improving people's lives and making the UK a fair and effective place to live. They just need sorting from the dross...

And our young people need to be taught how our democracy works and how to look critically at what candidates say.

And learn some basic economics...

MaizieD Fri 08-Nov-19 14:48:41

Meant to say, young people should be taught this and encouraged to participate by voting

grumppa Fri 08-Nov-19 15:00:11

I have always favoured PR and so have always voted Liberal then Lib Dem as a matter of principle, assisted by the fact that I have never lived in a marginal constituency

However, it is now getting marginal, and the Labour candidate is far more impressive than tbe Conservative. Against that, the Labour leader is a worse option than the despicable charlatan who leads the Tories. So I shall stick to my principles.

Rowantree Fri 08-Nov-19 15:28:25

Painting yes, yes and again yes.
Someone with integrity at last in JC. He is NOT a racist. He's spent his life fighting it. He encompasses the values I hold dear. I don't agree with everything he says or does, but it's like someone said about bus journeys: You have to get from A to B so you don't wait at the bus stop for the non existent bus to take you to your door, you get the bus which brings you closest.
As far as 'leadership' is concerned - no amazing soundbites apart from the Labour one about the many not the few; no glib rehearsed statements, no bullshit and no lies. If you want that kind of leader, look the other way. To paraphrase his own words - he wasn't born to rule and seeks power to share it and to lead with compassion.
If he doesn't win the election (and the media and Tory party have done a great hatchet job on him constantly which says a lot) I foresee he'll go back to the back benches and campaign as he's always done. No corporate speeches charging big bucks per talk, no slick jobs editing or managing newspapers. He just wants to see real change and better lives for ordinary people.
If you loathe all he stands for you'll be cynical about this but if everyone else is having their say, then that's mine, for what it's worth.

HurdyGurdy Fri 08-Nov-19 15:43:50

I am in a bit of a political wilderness at the moment too. I can't see any benefit in having any of the parties' leaders as PM. I wouldn't feel reassured with any of them in the role.

However, I think as a whole, we have a tendency to fail to separate the party leaders from the party. We are not voting for the Prime Minister, but for the party we want to govern.

The politicians won't be in place forever, but the parties (mostly) will go on, so it's the party politics that we should be voting for, and not the person who will live in 10 Downing Street.

There are bits of each party's policies I like, but none of them have enough bits I like to make me want to vote for them.

I am in a real dilemma over where to place my X on 12th December. (That said, living in a Conservative stronghold, albeit one with a very good MP, it won't make a jot of difference which way I vote.)

varian Sun 10-Nov-19 13:45:53

UK economic outlook in four Brexit scenarios according to the highly respected Institute for Fiscal Studies. This is not party-political spin, but the best informed prediction of various scenarios. No-one should feel politically homeless after seeing this. Everyone who cares at all about our country's future should vote for the candidate in their constituency who is most likely to stop brexit.

Amagran Sun 10-Nov-19 14:12:50

Thank you, varian, for providing solid, unbiased evidence, free of the red herring of personality politics, to help guide waverers' voting choices. A more trustworthy and unbiased source is hard to imagine.

GillT57 Sun 10-Nov-19 14:21:39

I am swithering and debating with myself daily, but I shall cast my vote tactically to get rid of the Tories and Brexit. If this means Corbyn ( no fan) I will accept it, and I consider this no worse than the many on here who support the moral wilderness that is Johnson just to get Brexit. For me, it is about the end result, and if I have to hold my nose and vote Labour, then so be it. Also, if a Labour administration is a disaster, we, the electorate, have the option to kick them out after five years; we do not have this option with the ERG Tory administration taking us out of the EU.

Luckygirl Sun 10-Nov-19 14:39:01

I am always puzzled as to how anyone can have a political "home." It just seems utterly mindless to me to buy into a complete political stance or manifesto - how can you subscribe to all of it?

Someone who recently left the Tories said he was sad to leave the "party he loves". - How can you love a party? Just barmy in my book.

grannyactivist Sun 10-Nov-19 15:16:35

Lucky I tend to agree. I am currently a Left leaning Green with LibDem tendencies who will be voting for an Independent candidate. grin

Luckygirl Sun 10-Nov-19 15:57:27

Only vote for the independent if she/he stands a chance of making sure a Tory does not get in!!!! smile