I was brought up for my first 10 years in the former colonies living a pleasant life with a number of nannies and maids at the main houses but also in mud huts with remote tribes when necessary. After that we returned to the UK as there was some unpleasantness in Uganda. Settling in to society into the Tory Henley on Thames I was sowly indoctrinated with UK politics.

It was the start of the Thatcher ME generation. This seemed so wrong and remote to everything I knew. I have believed in equality and solcilaism ever since. I would prefer communism but it doesn’t work when you add human nature, greed and envy into the equation so settle for narrowing the gap rather than removing it.

My economic circumstances have changed for better and (much) worse but my politics have remained pretty static.

I once heard that we spend the first 25 years forming our political views and the rest of our lives defending them .

Anyone switched from Tory* to Labour or visa versa?

* other parties are available

I’ve always been basically a leftie but I’ve changed a lot within that. Though, I think mostly as a reaction to surroundings- I was never pro scottish independence til UK politics turned into 2 indistinguishable tory parties frinstance, I was on track to be a lifelong labour voter back when there was a labour party.

Mine switch weekly, what’s the point in dogma? Try out a different opinion, see how it fits, keep it or try another.

have voted for candidates of different parties at different times especially between local/parish and national elections, and tactical voting. but I’ve always had one single mainstream party that has always been my preferred vote.

voted for the Lib Dem candidate on my 18th birthday (she was a neighbour, but I also knew the conservative and labour candidates personally, too). but have never voted Lib Dem since.

my right to vote runs out in June. Might have to come back to UK to vote in the EU referendum, which I find slightly ironic. or say **** it and become german to get an ability to vote again.

When I was 15, my journey to school took me past Parkside colliary. Here, daily, I witnessed lines of police vans, all bussed in from the south east on premium overtime, to beat the living shit out of blokes who’s only crime was to want to keep their jobs. Then when I arrived at school I got to see the poverty and hardship that this created.

Then I’d go home, turn on the telly and see more of the same, all ove the north, But also the strange juxtoposition of people in red braces guffawing into champagne flutes, toasting the newly deregulated ‘City’, who didn’t seem overly concerned about the kids in Earlstown on free school meals, going home to unheated houses.

Being possessed with a certain amount of logic, this all didn’t seem very fair to my innocent young mind. And that formed my still unchanged political views.

I could go into a swear-filter overloading tirade about my opinion of the Tory party. But I don’t really think I need to. We all know what they are.

My opinion of the present labour party isn’t much better 🙁

I’ve always voted Green. These days I’m increasingly aware of how naive and unattractive many of the policies actually are. It would also hit me in the pocket hard, and I know I wouldn’t actually like that at all. I still vote Green, safe in the knowledge I’ll never have contributed to actually electing someone.

I hope the fractious nature of politics post-coalition will enable them to get a few more people into the Commons, then some of the ideology might be tempered by some reality.

I’m still firmly convinced the world is fecked, and the overriding concern of all developed countries should be to do something about that pronto, before our own concerns. Climate change is going to make the petty nonsense that the established parties dribble on about, and UKIP get all frothy over, look decided paltry and insignificant. I respect a party that faces reality and takes it at face value, rather than subverting it for electability.

My politics haven’t changed. The voting options available to me that fit my politics have however decreased greatly. I am now only able to vote for the national party.

Btw I agree the big parties have moved closer. It this because society has too?

Yes, there is still poverty and massive wealth but have these extremes become smaller and the Middle 80% become closer.

The top few and bottom few feel unaffected by politics. The ones in the middle may feel more affected so these are the ones the parties appeal to.

Once the majority of people are housed, able to feed themselves and have the basic conveniences of life* so the idle will gradually move down the scale, the average will maintainposition and the industries will enhance their position how do you get their support?

*conveniences vary but things like TVs microwaves, mobile phones etc are simple examples of things that in the 70s were either not there or aspirational that are now considered basic

I found that having been a member of the FCS (whilst at poly) and also the TRG (and having worked for both Alan Clark and Nick Budgen), that currently my political views are now so far off to the left of those of the current political parties that I’m rather at a loss to work out which one I despise least.

Before I was 25 I thought all politicians were self serving semi corrupt aholes.
Now I’m 40 odd I now know all politicians are self serving semi corrupt aholes.
Because that’s how democracy works.

Politics, in the traditional sense, doesn’t really exist any more. The 2 main parties really are 2 cheeks of the same arse. They’ll both plough on resolutely with the same neo-liberal consensus, regardless of the consequences, and carry out the wishes of their corporate and banking paymasters. The only difference in the two is that the labour party won’t look like they’re actively enjoying punishing the poor and disadvantaged.

You can see this in the fact that both the tories and labours electoral strategy is to try and limp over the line as the largest party with 33% of the vote. Its absolutely tragic really, that democracy has been reduced to this

Btw I agree the big parties have moved closer. It this because society has too?

One of the reasons is although the electorate is fairly evenly balanced between support for parties (traditionally) of the left and right -it only takes small changes in voter patterns to have a big change of government- our media is very heavily biased to the right

70 percent of newspaper sales are papers with right wing editorial. They shape opinion and drive the political agenda and the result is that left wing voters are consuming a largely rightwing filtered view of events. A paper like the Mail, for instance – roughly half their readership vote labour or liberal but the views they choose are framed by the rightwing.

Same as Binners – same tales of woe – then you get a t**t like Sting making a musical about the destruction of a shipbuilding community on Tyneside so he can make a few quid, interesting to see him defend that one in Newcastle pub and don’t get me started on Blair. They will all betray their old community’s for a few quid. We have a shocking political and media class in this country and no one gives a s**t?

Have always voted labour or green. I grew up in a single parent family in the 80’s I’d never vote Tory.

Worldclassaccident – we have the worst social mobility since before the First World War? I was a kid in the 70s wandering about South Shields (it’s up North) Bedlington (further North) and Ashington let me tell you there were no food banks or loads of folk on benefits that’s because they had jobs that paid good money (shipyards Mines Trawlers) not the minimum wage zero hours contracts of today, don’t confuse the real cost reductions on white goods as a measure of comparative wealth.

Oldmanmtb – Happily Stings musical closed after about a fortnight, on account of being turgid shite penned by a preening stroker – and he lost a packet!

What a shame 😀

Hopefully some similar good fortune is due to come Blairs way

I’ve largely been non-political but I’ve become far more left as time has gone on. Voted labour the last few elections, will go green this one.

Born and brought up in a very working class shipbuilding town in the west of Scotland. Witnessed at first hand the class hate attitude of “us and them” and that you should never try and better yourself.

The people in general were great, but the ones who got involved with left wing politics generally seemed rather embittered. Not all of them, but enough to edge my political views towards the right, where they’ve remained to this day.

No single party covers all my views (some are actually left wing, others definitely right wing). I’ve read various bits of party literature and to be honest every party, from Communist to BNP and everything inbetween, has had at least something I agree with. However overall I’d see myself as old school Tory if anything.

My french familiy are mosty rather right wing with the exception of my excellent railway working allotment tending step-grand-pere. Very difficult to discuss politics with them.

My english family were Tory upper-middle class (grandparents ran their own prep school in Tunbridge Wells no less) and they produced three kids with three political outlooks, my dad being the middle child and the liberal party voter/member. I felt mostly lib dem by the time i was of voting age (the lib dems if the 90’s that is!) but objectively, i am probably quite far left of that point many years on, and even further left if you consider where the lib dems are now compared to 20 years ago.
As mentioned earlier though the parties have changed. i would have been comfy with 80’s or even John Smith labour and find myself horrified by them now. I still giggle a bit at single-issue parties, yet find the greens and even the nhsa the least unappealing in many ways.

Political views and ‘party politics’ are generally two different things, especially now – certainly my political view has shifted immensely as I’ve got older. Ironically it used to be usual to shift to the right as one accumulated both wealth and wisdom but these days with the way capitalism max has screwed the poor in a way not seen since the early 19th century, I and most intelligent right thinking individuals are becoming rabid socialists in our old age

Started life pretty left, was branch secretary of the NUJ for a while but it was in the closed shop days, of the NGA, NATSOPA et al and if all seemed a bit counter productive, I ended up being a supporter of the gang of four David Owen & the Social Democrats, so had voted Lib Dem right up until we got stiffed by that made for TV Godless Philandering careerist lying scumbag that has totally killed us. Can’t bring myself to even speak its name.

I am disenfranchised, have voted Green but they are just tree hugging nutters with no idea how to run anything, so I shall probably not bother this go round.

I’m old enough to remember the days when Labour and Tory had quite different policies – and between them managed to continually wreck any advance made by the other. Typically I flirted with Marxism as a student, but that was largely due to youthful ignorance. It didn’t long after starting work to drift rightwards.

Now as binners so eloquently put it we have 2 cheeks of the same arse. The advantage to this over what I remember from my youth is (believe it or not young people) relative economic stability and unbelievably low interest rates (my first mortgage was at 14%). The downside is no one is really offering any real alternatives. There is no desire for radical politics.

I have for many many years voted Lib Dem and despite their recent alignment with the dark side, I shall probably continue to do so. If I can be bothered at all.

Generally brought up as a conservative believing in a meritocratic system. Have voted conservative, liberal and labour in the past. Still mulling over the next election. There are some real choices this time. Greens – hippies and communists or UKIP – closet racists.

No real change for me then!

If you believe in a meritocracy, then that’s not an option you can presently vote for. The Tory’s are contemptuous of the very idea. But a Labour Party also stuffed with privately educated career politicians are equally as opposed to it. They just try to say they are in favour of a more just society…. Blah, blah, blah…. in the most insipid, unconvincing way imaginable. Social mobility got way worse under them. They’ve still all got their eye on highly paid directorships above all else, a la Blair, and all his former front bench

I’d love to have a Labour Party worthy of the name. Who actually represented the workers. But they’re just a bunch of corporate sock puppets. Same as the Tories, just with a dash of self-loathing. Though not enough to actually change any policies in favour of the people they’re meant to represent.

Anyone switched from Tory* to Labour or visa versa?

But that is not the question in your title:

“anyone had their political views changed [after the age of 25]”

Indeed I read recently an article commenting on the (mis)fortunes of Scottish Labour and how people in inner city Scotland were no longer showing their traditional loyalty to the Labour party. The article actually missed the point, a politics where the people blindly follow a party because they always have (or worse their parents / grandparents always did) is pointless. However its not the Scottish voters that have lost their allegiance, it is the political party that have lost their allegiance – and as a result people who political views (with a small p) have not changed are voting for a different party which better represents their desires.

If you want to see people who over the age of 25 have switched party come to Scotland. The shift is phenomenal. I can introduce you to people who were avid Conservatives, and dedicated trade unionist who never considered voting for anyone other than Labour who now, not only vote for, but actively campaign for the SNP! I can also introduce you to people who weren’t even sure the 1997 devolution was a good idea who voted YES for independence!

I’ve never met anyone though who radically switched their personal political direction if you bother to listen to the issues that matter to them, but that is not the same as them not changing the party they believe best represents their particular flavour of values.

A mate of mine who I’ve known since our early 20’s (early 40’s now) set up and runs his own design agency about 10 years ago. He told me he was totally left of centre till he took the risk and put all his own effort into setting up this agency and saw how much of his hard work disappeared in taxes and moved sharply rightwards! I have a lot of sympathy for this – it’s all been off his own back, no government help but still sees a chunk of his self-created income disappear. I don’t think he has a problem with taxes per se, just the %.

As for myself I’ve always believed that the Tories were the party most trustworthy in running the economy but looking at the games and lies being bandied around by the current lot: pensioner bonds, subsidising an already over-valued housing market, claiming our wages are rising and today’s command to business to pay higher wages – as opposed to honestly admitting that the economy is still incredibly weak and setting out evidence-based plans for generating future growth – I really don’t want to give them my vote – more for the dishonesty than for the failure to produce any real growth. No idea who to vote for this time – no way Miliband and Balls are any more competent on proper, technocratic plans for keeping us afloat

Hated what the Tories did under thatcher , the destruction of communities and the destruction of society in favour of everyone thinking about themselves first and the collective good second [ if at all] Hated the greed is good notion and the inequity of the current system. I would still man the barricades as we outnumber the **** and yet we let them get away with it.

Our politics leave few options I always just vote for whomever is most likely to beat the Tories where I live. Given free choice or PR I would vote Green or Socialist.

No basically

I grew up in a Conservative environment. Now I’m stumped who to vote for because I don’t trust the Conservatives to look after the less fortunate, I don’t trust faux Labour to not screw up the economy, I don’t trust UKIP not to be racist and screw up the economy by leaving Europe, I don’t trust the Greens to not massively screw up everything by being the far left party not the actual Green party, etc etc.

Worrying I appear to have forgotten the Lib Dems…

On the Discworld, in the far flung country of XXXX (a parody of Australia), they place the politicians in prison as soon as they’re elected “because it saves time later”.

so had voted Lib Dem right up until we got stiffed

That was quite an interesting episode. I think life-long or long term voters for either of the big two parties are used to the idea that some of the time you have a government you mandated that often takes actions you don’t agree with, and for some of the time theres a government you didn’t mandate being a government you didn’t mandate.

Long term liberal voters never had to deal with that cognitive dissonance, theres a comfort in always being in opposition in that everything you dislike about the governments actions or choices happens without your blessing – and perhaps even can feel that everything could be better if people just listened to you. Which you know they won’t, but it would be.

When the liberals joined the coalition there was this immediate revulsion from their own supporters – before the party had really said or done anything. And it almost seemed a revulsion dissonance of having your vote suddenly count in a way it never had before. My mum was a life-long liberal activist – tore up her membership card the day -the very day- she saw the little hand-hold scene in the garden. So I think its going to be really interesting to see how those voters act this time.

I’ve pretty much always been an anarchist, til I met a guy in my laate 20s who asked me what I really thought would happen after ‘the revolution’

From then I was a simple non-conformist, I chose to get on with my life in a consciously oblivious manner, safe in the knowledge that whatever the elite got up to in the big world of economics and power, in reality it wouldn’t make an iota of difference to me, a simple man on the street, barring a few pence lost or gained here and there, which is meaningless at best.. our country’s infrastructure will always remain utterly mediocre so there’s nothing to think about there..

Now I choose to vote green, to stand up and be counted and let the big boys know that one more person out there wants real change.. And I hope more find the motivation to do the same

voting against a party that you don’t like is childish and irresponsible

When the liberals joined the coalition there was this immediate revulsion from their own supporters

Not from this one. I’ve never been under the illusion that they would form a majority government on their own and I’ve always believed in coalition anyway.

No lib dem can be proud of those first few weeks in govt where he displayed neither backbone nor principle

I used to like the idea of the SNP 😉

No point blaming the parties – they merely reflect the societies they belong to. So neither correct to say that politics doesn’t exist nor meritocracy.

What planet do you inhabit if you actually believe we live in a meritocracy? I mean… Seriously?

There was more social mobility in 1910 🙄

There was more social mobility in 1910

Go on then, let’s see some evidence for that.

I treat all political views with equal fairness regardless of skin colour, gender, race, left, right and centre … I treat them all as ZM.

The older I get the more ZMs I see in them and everyone.

🙄

I was brought up in the Thatcher years. My direct family were not affected by her policies. I’m naturally predisposed to hating state intervention, so I’ve always been right wing.

But 17 years showed how power corrupts, and things had to change. So I voted in Bliar in 97. Sorry.

Have to say that I’m undecided for the next election. So far the only plan I’ve liked the sound of is the LibDems tax policy. Which is worrying.

Planet earth Binners! away from the fairies 😉

One of the problems with modern politics is the flip flopping around focus groups and the latest fads. Politicians are held to account and scrutiny through many forms and forums. Information is much more readily available for those who chose to read it (although AS was still able to get away with a lot). The downside of the accountability is the fadism and short termism. Little conviction or insight.

We would be better off with far fewer and much less gov interference.

Growing up in the 70s was no holiday……

That’s one thing that strikes me as funny, people throw around “ideologically driven” as a criticism of the Tories. Now fair enough, they’re pretty dishonest about it but ideology isn’t a bad thing! Even if it’s the ideology of being a ****, it’s better than “let’s do whatever the polls say will get us elected” We have Tories that remember how to be Tories at least. Be the party you want to be and persuade people to vote for you.

talking about politics and feigning an interest in it is no more constructive or intelligent than talking about football..

You’re watching a load of cosseted effeminate overpaid numpties kicking a pigs bladder around occasionally scoring a meaningless goal every four years or so..

Bloody hooligans the lot of you