I don't like Starmer. He doesn't represent my lefty politics. That said, I totally agree that he is competent and, right now, that is all I am asking for.
The Labour Party. We have to face that there is absolutely no way this country is going to jump straight from the current government and 14 years of Tory rule to a party that fully and truly aligns with a true “genuine” left position. It’s too big of a shift. It needs to be incremental in absence of a revolution that I am not calling for and will not be likely to happen (at least from the left).
I am historically just right of centre and I cannot bring myself to vote Tory (even with a Saints loving Indian PM), but am struggling with Labour. I want to vote for them, but there is a voice in my head wondering. There is no middle vote that wont help the Tories IMO, so I am a bit stuck. I re-iterate (as I will get slammed on here), morally I cannot vote for the Tories, so am a bit stuck.
This is your Labour. There has never been a Labour so firmly stamped into middle ground ideological territory. The left has been pushed aside. The people we vote in will be Tory Lite - selected for adherence to Starmer's philosophy. Don't get hung up on a few old lefties. When the paliamentary party doubles in size, as it will, my part of the party will shrink to insignificance. Right now a vote for Labour is a vote for consistency, competence and centrism. Sadly
Exactly my position. I cannot vote for Labour and Starmer as I don't like Starmer and I don't agree with their policies. I'm leaning towards a protest vote TBH. Or not voting at all. I hate not voting as I feel it's my democratic duty but I find it harder and harder to justify voting as we inch towards the next GE.
https://tactical.vote/ to get the tories out and hopefully get electoral reform on the agenda for the next parliament. https://www.electoral-reform.org.uk/ "The Electoral Reform Society is an independent campaigning organisation based in the United Kingdom which promotes electoral reform. It seeks to replace first-past-the-post voting with proportional representation, advocating the single transferable vote, and replacing the House of Lords",
TBF being in Winchester voting Labour would be a waste of time. They are loathed in my area - it's always been a Tory or Lib Dem area.
Open the tactical vote site and put in your postcode. What does it come up with? Leading on from the ERS part it's worth noting the government used the Elections Act 2022 to change the way we elect our mayors so that we have to use First Past the Post. Previously Mayors used to be elected via the Supplementary Vote. With the Supplementary Vote, you mark down your first and second choice for Mayor. If no candidate gets over 50% of the vote, the top two candidates continue to a run-off and all other candidates are eliminated. If your favourite candidate gets through, your vote is counted for them in the run-off. If they didn’t, but your second choice did, your vote goes to them. The run-off candidate with the most votes is declared the winner. This will have a bearing on the upcoming London Mayor elections and will apply nationwide. A step backwards for diplomacy and, to my mind, gerrymandering.
I am so confused by this. Here is their current strategic mission regarding the economy: For Labour, sound finances and economic stability are non-negotiable. We will never play fast and loose with the economy. All our plans are fully costed and fully funded. We will root out waste, corruption and those abusing taxpayers money. Labour will: Stick to tough fiscal rules with economic stability at their heart. Introduce a new fiscal lock to bring economic security back to family finances by empowering the Office of Budget Responsibility. Never again will we allow a repeat of the devastation of Liz Truss and the Conservatives’ mini-budget that crashed the economy and left working people worse off. Set up a new Office for Value for Money to ensure all taxpayers’ money is spent wisely. Halve government consultancy spending, by bringing in proper spending controls and having a long term staffing strategy. Appoint a Covid Corruption Commissioner, equipped with the powers they need to chase down those who have ripped off the taxpayer, take them to court, and claw back every penny of taxpayer’s money that they can. End VIP ‘fast lane’ procurement processes that allow party political cronies to make money out of contracts from their political friends. It is nothing like a Labour set of policies. It reads like old fashioned conservatism. What here exactly are you against?
Tom, that is how elections work. You pledge things and then you try to enact them. These policies you don't like are the very ones you are now saying aren't true. You have parents who hate Labour and so you hate Labour. Admit it.
FYI, my parents historically voted for Labour. Well, my dad did until we invaded Iraq. Look, Labour will get in with or without my vote. They'll have an opportunity to earn my vote going forwards if they deliver on their pledges. I won't vote for them until they do. Labour tanked the economy last time they were in power. Now I accept that was a long time ago but surely you can see why historic Tory voters won't vote for Labour just because the Tories have made a complete **** up of things?
Labour didn't tank the economy last time they were in power. There was a global economic collapse. We had been run incredibly well until that point. Gordon Brown is cited by economists and political historians as one of the great chancellors due to his reform of our fiscal policy hierarchy. Under that government we spent on the country and the people and quality of life was higher than before or after. The "Labour tanked the economy" lie is so tired. Find me any evidence it is true!
No they most certainly did not tank the economy last time. That, my friend is a blatant piece of Tory propaganda right there. The people who tanked the economy in 2008, and who made fortunes out of doing so, were hedge fund managers like *checks notes* oh yes, Rishi Sunak and his pals in the City.
Thanks for those replies. I agree that labour would still cover those interests but there seems to be a real fanatical anti-labour movement. I think social media amplifies it. Also this is exactly how I feel. There are a couple of very specific labour policies that would have quite negative impacts for me personally. But I don’t think I can vote Tory.
