Can someone explain, please. (Spring Statement)

Honestly I think it is as simple as Sunak’s and Tories belief in a small state.

Individuality and looking after yourself regardless of life’s brick bats is a strong belief.

They are slowly but very surely bringing this about with their policies.

Just this week I read that the National Grid has been sold off.

We know that the NHS is being hollowed out.

So Sunak will be guided by his ideology of liberalism and laissez faire.

He has failed to acknowledge that the majority of recipients of UC are working people.

Hard working families.

That very phrase speaks volumes about his underlying ideology.

I wonder about the mind set of a man of unbelievable wealth deciding to go into politics, become a MP for a party which makes life so much harder for the majority of people. I am not talking about Sunak's in laws, that is their business, but Sunak made a decision some time ago that the best way to spend his time is to join a party where he will accumulate even more wealth, at the expense of others. I just cannot get my head around that.

Some of you voted Conservative; some intend to vote Conservative next time. Could you please explain the thinking behind his explanation to the Committee?

I think the tory voters have gone into hiding, DaisyAnne.

I think they are either relishing the cruelty of this tory government or are too ashamed of it to try to defend it...

Or digging around in back stories in Daily Mail online to throw a bit of whataboutery in to the mix. I fully expect a comment about Angela Rayner's 'scum' comment soon.

This Conservative voter is not in hiding.

This Conservative voter feels that the so called safety net for those at the lower end of income, pensioners, disabled and those on UC needs to be increased.

Inflation will in all probability be 10% at some point in the next 12 months. Energy cap rises on 1/04/22 (which is as you know is not a cap on overall bills, just standing charge and price per unit) are also expected again in 10/22

There are going to be many 1,000’s of people in both fuel and food poverty, which is unacceptable in a civilised society.

This Conservative voter is politically homeless.

Yes there are thousands like you GG13, but regrettably many will still vote for them.

GrannyGravy I’ll budge up and you can join me in the political wilderness. At the last couple of elections we had a brilliant local woman who stood as an Independent and won my vote, but she’s now withdrawn and I fear that in the next election I may have to spoil my ballot paper. There are core issues, such as those you mentioned, that will keep me from voting Tory, but also issues within the Labour Party that I can’t get past either. ?

I have a feeling that the voter identifying as Conservative is Conservative not New Right Tory as this government is though GrannyGravy

I've always seen you as an honourable exception, GG13.

Now where are the rest who exalted at a tory victory in 2019?

We could start a "No One Wants Extremists" Party

DaisyAnne

We could start a "No One Wants Extremists" Party

A centrist party with a social conscience, forward looking, upholding family values (I know ?), reasonable taxation.

Any ideas where to find it?

GrannyGravy13

DaisyAnne

We could start a "No One Wants Extremists" Party

A centrist party with a social conscience, forward looking, upholding family values (I know ?), reasonable taxation.

Any ideas where to find it?

Plenty of them have come and gone over the years.

The British don't vote in any significant number for new parties.

(Though, I'm ashamed to say, UKIP might have been an exception)

MaizieD yep, which is why the U.K. lurches from left to right to left to right. Which is detrimental to its infrastructure (NHS, Education, Policing etc)

I completely recognise the quandary described, this Tory party is not the party my parents voted for, this is an extreme right wing party with little plan other than to perpetuate it's own existence. The jeering, economically illiterate and cruel bunch on the Tory benches are sneering at the electorate and sadly, few recognise this and even fewer admit they hate what the Tory party has become and so most will continue to vote for a party who will make their lives worse.

GrannyGravy13

MaizieD yep, which is why the U.K. lurches from left to right to left to right. Which is detrimental to its infrastructure (NHS, Education, Policing etc)

I don't consider the Labour Party to be particularly 'left', GG13. It really never has been and its record in government is perfectly respectable.

At least Labour has regard for all the citizens of the UK, not just the wealthy ones and, compared with what we have in government now, is decidedly honest...

I don't think your average 'so-far-Conservative' voter does think the LP "has regard for all the citizens of the UK". If they feel like this at a time when the Tory Government are happy to watch while another 1.3 million pulled below the poverty line, including half a million children, they are unpersuadable. The Labour Party will not convince this group to vote for them. Facts will not convince them.

Governments behave differently during the Parliament to the run-up to elections. Johnson is always in a run-up to an election. He won because he bought the votes of those who might just vote for him, in the areas where he could win seats. In FPTP seats matter, individual votes dont.

Writing this I have realised the answer to the question I posted. Why did Rishi Sunak prioritise the working population and not do anything for the poor? It was because it is no good trying to bring the 'never vote' voter on board (sadly). The poor rarely vote and even less rarely vote for the Conservatives so Johnson will do as little as possible for them. If the working people still don't think they got enough, Johnson can persuade them by setting up another culture war against the sinful poor. Some money will always go to buying the voter who is more persuadable, to enable most to go to Britain's Oligarchs - a growing breed.

I had a council election leaflet delivered the other day by a very sweet Conservative lady.

When challenged (I now regret I might have been a bit too challenging because she seemed a very nice old lady) she did admit that she was not happy with our Conservative government. but would always vote conservative because "there is no alternative"

In our area we have had a very good Liberal Democrat District Council for more that thirty five years.

Last year the County Council, currently under Conservative control, proposed to create a unitary authority and a questionnaire was sent to voters asking whether they wanted one county council or two for the East and West of the county. Two thirds of the respondants voted for two councils.

The County Council ignored the result of the ballot and set up a single council.

We will on May 5th be given the chance to vote for our representatives on this Council.

I hope that we can restore the Liberal Democrat control to this council, as it has been in the past.

The Conservatives have been hopelessly incompetent in running the county to the extent that it was almost made bankrupt. For instance, they have failed to provide services for adult social care. Their performance has been an utter disgrace.

Yet this nice old lady who delivered the Tory leaflet to me will still vote for them.

What do we have to do to make these brainwashed Telegraph readers see sense?

Sadly, I think the fault also lies with the Labour party who have frankly been given it on a plate and seem unable to tackle things head on and challenge Johnson's crew. I appreciate that during the covid19 crisis it was necessary to be united in tackling it, but this cooperation has been forgotten by Johnson who now accuses the LP of opposing a lot of the lockdown measures when in fact they did in general agree. Why let truth get in the way of a good soundbite to get your backbenchers baying?

You still think people will vote because you give them facts Gill. The entrenched ones will not. I would guess that Varian's nice, old lady probably made her mind up during Thatcher's reign.

The people dragged into poverty are different from those who have always been poor. You can understand why the 'always poor' will have given up voting. Those who are being tipped into new poverty will be making different decisions. Labour may be able to attract them. The young are not as set in their ways either.

Don't get me wrong, I think we all need to tell the truth and challenge the lies but that will not necessarily win votes.

If there really were “no alternatives “ then we’d be a one party state , is that what people want? Maybe they do if they are supporters of the new Tory-UKIP party which has lurched to the right. As for the PMs answer to the question about poverty saying they are “getting people into high paid jobs rather than focus on benefits” - really? Is he getting me into a high paid job? Or all those care workers / nurses etc etc

It didn't help many voters that that choice seemed to be between far-right and far-left at the last election vegansrock. I imagine there was much nose holding on both sides.

As for a one-party state, I rather think that is exactly what the extremists on both sides want and stand for, although I doubt they would admit it. Even if we do a simplified guess at numbers there could be 25% who actually want one of each the two extremes but that leaves 50% somewhere in the middle. They are not being allowed to be a majority because of our voting system.

In my view, and it is only my view, the PM is not interested in any way in your well being. He holds the job he has because he was seen as someone who could win elections. That is what he is attempting to do again. So the poor will get poorer - no real numbers of votes there. The rich and poor who are working will be given more - more of this group vote and if he can (as Sunak has) give money to those who don't need it as well as those who do that will bring in Conservative votes - including, they will hope, in the upcoming local elections.

My guess would be that they will try and ensure that any other money now goes disproportionately (as it has in the past) to specific areas where he needs votes. He has been fighting this election since the day after the last one. He has been fighting it with money meant to be used to govern the country. That should mean there is more than there would have been in the Conservative coffers that can be used and used, if we go on past behaviour, both legally and illegally.

I wish that those Tories who say they don't like the current govt and won't vote for them would seriously consider holding their noses and voting for either the Libs or the LP at the next GE. Who knows, they might get a pleasant surprise.

The Tory's have been in power for 12 years and the country could not be in a worse state. Everything seems to be going wrong and I don't think that another party could make it worse.

Please don't mention the pandemic as an example of something that Johnson has got right. All European countries have had covid too and generally are coming out of it in a better state. As for Brexit it seems to me that the UK is the only country that is suffering because of leaving the EU.