Why the Tories Won

lisyloo

I'm not criticising anyone for not voting

I wasn't criticising anyone here, just a general rant as a carer who has a lot higher priority tasks :-) and I've heard it said quite a lot.

but it is interesting what the gap is between the proportion of As and Bs that vote versus Ds and Es

Could one reason be that the latter contains a lot of pensioners?
Sure there are some elderly As & Bs but I would of thought it's a minority for those in their 80's and 90's as many couldn't afford to contribute to pensions in the 1940's - 1970's.

Generali

lisyloo wrote: »

I wasn't criticising anyone here, just a general rant as a carer who has a lot higher priority tasks :-) and I've heard it said quite a lot.



Could one reason be that the latter contains a lot of pensioners?
Sure there are some elderly As & Bs but I would of thought it's a minority for those in their 80's and 90's as many couldn't afford to contribute to pensions in the 1940's - 1970's.

Well of course many didn't have to contribute to pensions during that era as they were in defined benefit schemes.

I suspect there will be a lot more Es in twenty years time when people retire who have contributed f all to their defined contribution schemes.

gadgetmind

Looks like the CDEs should instead be called the CBAs!

vivatifosi

cepheus wrote: »

So a great propaganda victory against the working class by encouraging them not to vote, through wall to wall media coverage of the greatest Scottish invasion scare since the Jacobites marched into Derby.

Of course Russell Brand did his bit, as did the new registration system. Any news on those on those who didn't think they could vote or or really couldn't? I don't think my Brother voted because he wasn't sent a polling card which didn't necessarily matter of course. It's all been engineered before, remember the poll tax?

If Labour really wants to win again, rather than wining, they need to address their issues.

1. Find a credible, capable, centrist leader who can get more of the country on-side.

2. Stop recruiting identikit middle class candidates that have nothing in common with those who they expect to vote for them. Preferably with a bit of life experience too.

HAMISH_MCTAVISH

vivatifosi wrote: »

1. Find a credible, capable, centrist leader who can get more of the country on-side.

Agreed, but...

2. Stop recruiting identikit middle class candidates that have nothing in common with those who they expect to vote for them. Preferably with a bit of life experience too.

Isn't that more than a bit contradictory with (1)?

Labour's most successful period in recent history was under Blair, a leader so middle class that even the middle classes felt safe voting Labour.

If the goal is to win, then they have to retake the middle, and that can only be done by winning over the middle classes.

michaels

HAMISH_MCTAVISH wrote: »

But I think that's a unique situation as a result of a 2 year campaign driving mass engagement on a once in a lifetime political question.

You wish

HAMISH_MCTAVISH wrote: »

Agreed, but...



Isn't that more than a bit contradictory with (1)?

Labour's most successful period in recent history was under Blair, a leader so middle class that even the middle classes felt safe voting Labour.

If the goal is to win, then they have to retake the middle, and that can only be done by winning over the middle classes.

Except that possibly if you could engage the precariat through an issue (Europe?) you could then get them to vote as well a short time later as per the SNP? The far left of Labour is also anti-eu in a protectionsit way I believe (Toni Ben).

I note no one has uncharitably suggested that if you can't be bothered to get a job then it is not surprising you can't be bothered to vote either.....especially as you suspect being being on any official list might make it easier for the DSS to check up on you or for the police to find you....

missbiggles1

lisyloo wrote: »

Our parents are in their late 80's so would have trouble getting dressed and getting in a taxi without a carer to assist them.
Yes sure, someone could have got them a postal vote if they weren't too busy cleaning, doing laundry, shopping etc.

I wonder how many elderly people don't vote because it's simply too difficult for them and bottom of the list for their family carers too. I would execpt it to be the majority of those in nursing/residential homes.

Really annoys me when people used the "can't be ar**ed" phrase.
For some people it really is geuinely difficult to get out of the house.

But you'd expect that people of that age would be a distinct minority in the early 60s upwards group.

Just checked, out of 14.7 million over 60s, only 3 million are over 80.

It's also really simple to apply for a postal vote.

gadgetmind

michaels wrote: »

I note no one has uncharitably suggested that if you can't be bothered to get a job then it is not surprising you can't be bothered to vote either.

The statistics certainly suggested that. Naughty statistics!

HAMISH_MCTAVISH

michaels wrote: »

Except that possibly if you could engage the precariat through an issue (Europe?) you could then get them to vote as well a short time later as per the SNP?

That lesson appears to have been learned, with current rumblings of an early Europe referendum, but regardless even a 2017 euroref leaves enough time until a 2020 GE for things to settle down a lot.

vivatifosi

HAMISH_MCTAVISH wrote: »

Agreed, but...



Isn't that more than a bit contradictory with (1)?

Labour's most successful period in recent history was under Blair, a leader so middle class that even the middle classes felt safe voting Labour.

If the goal is to win, then they have to retake the middle, and that can only be done by winning over the middle classes.

No, not particularly. My local Tory MP is from fairly humble roots and had other jobs before coming into politics. Didn't stop him becoming a minister. You don't have to be a radical firebrand (in the Michael Foot mode) for people to be able to relate to you more.

Plus have a bit of life experience so you can relate to people outside of the Westminster bubble.

Whatever else we think of Blair in hindsight, he did understand Joe Public in a way that neither Brown nor Miliband did.