Why do/would people on lower incomes vote conservative

**Yarbles** · 12-04-12, 18:36

I am a life long and convinced socialist to the left of Labour by a good measure. One of the thorns in the side of the Labour movement in general is what used to be called the working class Tory.

Why doesn't a movement that at least claims to champion the interests of the well off typically fail to reach so many who rely on the state for health education and to top up their earnings?

**melons** · 12-04-12, 18:55

Maybe they're not all stupid

**Yarbles** · 12-04-12, 19:02

Originally Posted by melons

Maybe they're not all stupid

Well I have collected some explanations first hand.

One I got was "They are better dressed than Labour".

**Tomcat** · 12-04-12, 19:06

Because of a slick advertising campaign that told them all the problems were somebody else's fault and that nice chap Call Me Dave was going to come in on his white charger and make it all right. I wonder how many newly-unemployed Tory voters are questioning their decision.

**melons** · 12-04-12, 19:09

Originally Posted by Tomcat

Because of a slick advertising campaign that told them all the problems were somebody else's fault and that nice chap Call Me Dave was going to come in on his white charger and make it all right. I wonder how many newly-unemployed Tory voters are questioning their decision.

Or maybe some of them felt that the previous Labour government were aloof, patronising, corrupt, incompetent and nannying ?

**Gedge** · 12-04-12, 19:12

Yeah if only they had voted those nice labour people back in...we could have carried on going lalala and spending money we dont have and have no chance of ever repaying...

I very nearly voted Labour just to see how the fuck they would have dealt with this shit storm of their creation..but then saw sense and voted conservative, as despite all the pain they stand the best chance of digging us out...albeit a slow painful and probably ultimately futile effort..especially if the mugs vote labour back in next time allowing them once again to spend us into the shit then sit it out in the wilderness while someone with a bit of sense does the hard work for another 5 years..

**Yarbles** · 12-04-12, 19:16

Originally Posted by melons

Or maybe some of them felt that the previous Labour government were aloof, patronising, corrupt, incompetent and nannying ?

These are typical socialist characteritics I am affraid certainly in my mentality but also becase a left wing governemnt is typically new to the job, lacks contacts within the ruling elites and in the process of engaging with them and having power becomes corrupted. Althogh socialists want to help the working class they also tend to despise ignorance, lack of ambitions and lack of political awareness and the working class sense of permenance and tradition which are coservative vaues. Socialists want to make working class people middle class.

**Mussels** · 12-04-12, 19:16

What qualifies one as a working class Tory? Would it include higher rate taxpayers as the numbers of people in that bracket keep rising despite them not being well off.

**Yarbles** · 12-04-12, 19:18

Originally Posted by Tomcat

Because of a slick advertising campaign that told them all the problems were somebody else's fault and that nice chap Call Me Dave was going to come in on his white charger and make it all right. I wonder how many newly-unemployed Tory voters are questioning their decision.

Agreed but its a perenial problem and without working class supoport the torries would never get elected.

**Yarbles** · 12-04-12, 19:19

Originally Posted by Mussels

What qualifies one as a working class Tory? Would it include higher rate taxpayers as the numbers of people in that bracket keep rising despite them not being well off.

They are relatively well off.

**Tomcat** · 12-04-12, 19:20

Originally Posted by melons

Or maybe some of them felt that the previous Labour government were aloof, patronising, corrupt, incompetent and nannying ?

Well if they did they certainly should feel right at home now. And of course a lot more are at home all day now because of how they voted

**Yambo** · 12-04-12, 19:23

I've been a Conservative voter all my life and the reason is very simple. It is irrelevant how much you earn and your 'class', I simply believe in more of the Conservative principles than the socialist ones. Things like smaller government, less of the 'tax and spend' attitude, that sort of thing; and as has been shown with the last lot they tend to be better at running the economy. I also think that people should work for what they get rather than having it handed to them on a 'socialist' plate.

I may not like everything the Conservatives do but I sure as hell like more than the shower of incompetents that are and have been Labour have done over the years.

**melons** · 12-04-12, 19:24

Originally Posted by Tomcat

Well if they did they certainly should feel right at home now. And of course a lot more are at home all day now because of how they voted

....Rather than committing suicide like the Greeks

**abssorb** · 12-04-12, 19:26

Originally Posted by Yarbles

Why do/would people on lower incomes vote conservative

Perhaps they are the ones who were educated that life is not all about money?

There's more to life than how much beer, fags and benidorm holidays you get for your graft.

**Tomcat** · 12-04-12, 19:34

Originally Posted by melons

....Rather than committing suicide like the Greeks

You are aware I take it that the Greek sovereign debt crisis caused by chronic government overspending and failure to curb tax evasion is fundamentally different from the banking crash caused by UK (and other) banks packaging up junk as valuable securities and denuding their asset books in return of illusory profits, and that the UK budget deficit was no different in the years running up to the crash than it had been for many years under a variety of governments (including Tory ones)?