How Have You Changed Politically In The Past 10 Years?

[David]

Having read this thread during a recent browse of the Gold section I found it quite interesting reading the political opinions of forum members almost ten years ago, and it made me realise how much Britain had changed over the past ten years or so.

 

So, for those who are old enough of course, how would you say your political opinions and views have changed over the past ten years? Have they even changed at all?

[SpursRiot2012]

Well, I was 15 when I was posting in that thread, so yes they've changed pretty dramatically, I'd say.

[King Coconut]

Yep. It's the biggest reason that the voting age should never be reduced. I knew absolutely fuck all at 16 and chose my politics based on the girl I was currently trying to squirrel. I even went to the Poll Tax riots on a bus full of Sheridanites just to get my nut away.

[Loki]

I've got a lot less "party politics" driven and find myself picking policies that seem to make sense to me regardless of which party is proposing them. This makes it much more difficult to choose which way to vote.

 

In fact, particularly since the referendum on voting reform, I've become increasingly disengaged. Everyone in this country seems wary of the Big Party politics, but as a nation we rejected an opportunity to open our system up to smaller, more concentrated parties with real influence. We seem as a people to be big whingers, but incapable of actually doing anything about it.

 

People get what they vote for, and people seem generally to vote for the status quo.

[Vice]

As I've become more informed, I've become more and more liberal. I really do believe that once reasonable people have adequate and fair information and actual facts, they end up on the left.

[Dead Mike]

I think I've lost any youthful sense of hope I may have once had with the British political system. Given all our major parties seem to offer little difference the whole thing seems redundant. In my experience the British public are so apathetic or disinterested in politics anyway, even if someone did seemingly offer an alternative the actual voting public in this country have mostly decided who they're going to vote for before any politcians even uttered a word. The fact there's such thing as a 'safe seat' tells you all you need to know.

[Scott Malbranque]

I still listen to Rage Against The Machine. My political footing remains firmly to the left in 1992.

Free Leonard Peltier!

[King Coconut]

I really do believe that once reasonable people have adequate and fair information and actual facts, they end up on the left.

That's a wildly sweeping and demonstrably inaccurate statement.

[Dead Mike]

I really do believe that once reasonable people have adequate and fair information and actual facts, they end up on the left.

That's a wildly sweeping and demonstrably inaccurate statement.

Go on then

[PowerButchi]

When I was doing my Politics A-Level they taught us that people tend to become more right wing as they get older, hence why a lot of people swing Tory. For whatever reason I've gone completely the opposite well, going from a Lib Dem symathiser to being somewhere left of Lenin these days.

[King Coconut]

I really do believe that once reasonable people have adequate and fair information and actual facts, they end up on the left.

That's a wildly sweeping and demonstrably inaccurate statement.

Go on then

Are you genuinely saying that all members of the Conservative party are unreasonable people with no access to fair information and actual facts?

[Lefty]

As I've become more informed, I've become more and more liberal. I really do believe that once reasonable people have adequate and fair information and actual facts, they end up on the left.

 

I'll echo this. Without hopefully sounding like a knob I've always thought that the only reason (especially in my neck of the woods) that working class folk vote BNP or Conservative is entirely due to a lack of fair, unbiased information and education.

 

I'd say right now as it stands I'm probably not going to vote at the next election. I'm totally disillusioned with mainstream politics to the point where I'll never vote Lib Dem again (my usual vote), can't buy in to Milliband to vote Labour and would rather chop off my cock than vote for the Tory or UKIP. I'd vote Green but they don't have a candidate in my area.

[Dead Mike]

Are you genuinely saying that all members of the Conservative party are unreasonable people with no access to fair information and actual facts?

 

Not at all. You said you could demonstrate how his post was incorrect but didn't. I do believe however that most people choose an allegiance to a political party based on who their parents voted for or where they choose to get their news from. If people actually had access (and ideally a willingness & ability to understand) to balanced views & true figures surrounding issues then we'd be closer to an evidence based political system, that I long for, as opposed to the current ideological system that panders to peoples fears & prejudices in order to benefit a minority.

[King Pitcos]

Realised that self-righteous, one-sided, left-wing nonsense was no better than its right-wing equivalent. Basically, grew out of being a sixth former.

 

In my experience the British public are so apathetic or disinterested in politics anyway, even if someone did seemingly offer an alternative the actual voting public in this country have mostly decided who they're going to vote for before any politcians even uttered a word.

That's because, despite how much someone bangs on about racism or sexism or bankers or MP expenses or too many immigrants or Muslim rape gangs, we live very comfortable lives on the whole here in lovely England. We're not really seeking radical change, we just say we are sometimes for the sake of argument and grandstanding. Though political issues might seem more important, discussion of them on forums/Twitter/wherever is no different than discussing wrestling, football, telly, grammar, religion, etc etc... It's just human nature to get tribal over things and argue, and choose hate figures and moan. It fills our day and entertains us. Our political system lets us choose between vanilla with a splash of raspberry or vanilla with a splash of strawberry, and we've got things so good that that's all we need. If things ever get bad enough for us to actually want change, change will come.

[Sergio Mendacious]

As I've become more informed, I've become more and more liberal. I really do believe that once reasonable people have adequate and fair information and actual facts, they end up on the left.

 

I'd add "should" in between "they" and "up".

 

I would say that I was extremely politically apathetic ten years ago - I was just out of uni, and burned out on stewdents, communists, and Palestine. However, since moving to the USA, I've taken a hard turn to the left. The political landscape over here is fascinating and terrifying at the same time, and I try not to stay in the "bubble" that so many on the left and the right get caught in, linking from your salon article to think progress, via right wing watch. However, reading The Blaze, and following plenty of right wingers on twitter, just makes me more informed and angrier.