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Working class deserting Tories in droves under Rishi Sunak, poll finds
(www.theguardian.com)
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this post was submitted on 09 Oct 2023
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Ever since I became politically aware, as opposed to just voting for whoever my parents voted (always conservative), I've pondered why exactly, do working class people ever vote Tory.
I'm working class, I know almost entirely working class people, and none of them are as racist and thick as you'd imagine they need to be to vote Tory, and yet, we've been saddled with these venal fucks for 13 years so far.
I guess it all comes down to 'knowing your place', and the endless propaganda from the Sun and Mail, about how the Conservatives can be trusted to know what's best for you, and most people just don't care. Or they think that "they're all the bloody same", so just keep voting for what they know.
But when you examine Conservative governmental history, and the promises they make and break over and over again, there's literally no good reason for anyone without any real capital to vote for them. Their stance on the environment will kill us all, they don't actually want us to have access to free (at the point of use) healthcare, they don't care that every single one of the formerly publicly owned services now cost us significantly more to use, and they don't give a shit that the cost of, well, everything is skyrocketing. They say they care, but their record shows otherwise. Every time.
I try to talk politics with my dad and my mother-in-law, but ultimately it comes down to "well, Labour wouldn't be any better", and then they shut down. Then they go away and vote Tory again.
And I honestly can't work it out.
The Tory line is usually about excluding "the other" who are the scapegoat for all the ills of society.
If you're working class and vote Conservative, you're wanting someone excluded from society who isn't you.
You believe that through sheer hard work you can climb the ranks of society occupied by other Conservative voters. Each person on their own merit. "The other" is some part lazy, corrupt, or unable to do things "the right way" and will make everything so much harder.
The proof of this is the very fact that you seem to be spinning your wheels and not getting anywhere in climbing the ranks of society, and "the other" is in plain sight. See?! See! It must be "the other" who is at fault!
What you fail or refuse to see is that from the point of view of societal ranks above your own, you're part of "the other". Nothing will change your mind about this, nor theirs.
Now, not to be completely partisan here, it's true that non-Tories have their own "the other".
When we're being nice, we call them Tories.
(Last part lapsing into silliness of course. There are plenty of non-Tories who have questionable prejudices of their own. Brexit going the way it did would appear to contain some proof of this.)
Not to dismiss the points you've made, but I think it's worth remembering that the voting system is biased to give us conservative governments even when most people don't vote for them. Last election they got 44% of the vote but 56% of the MPs
It doesn't help that they own the media and propaganda as you say
In the last election with Johnson, it was about getting Brexit done and giving the establisment a kicking. If you are poor and struggling, a vote for the status quo is not very attractive. Johnson promised populist change.
have the tories always been this way? american republicans used to care about deficits and would actually look to raise taxes to pay for spending to avoid them. They had much more of what you would think of as an individual being conservative in their finances. Then reagan hit and its just been lower taxes on wealthy ever since with a side of crazy that keeps getting bigger such that its practically the whole plate now.
My gut instinct is to say no, that the level of fuckery we’re seeing now was seeded by Thatcher. But I was born in ‘80, just as she came to power, so can’t really speak for a time before then.
I was lucky and born in the early 70's so was able to just barely able to experience some normalcy.
The working class are basically dumb people. That's your answer.
Liverpool seems to buck that trend