Do you have the same Politics as your friend

[gbsmith]

Do you find it easier to get on with people with the same political beliefs as you?
I live in the south or England at the moment in an affluent little village where the majority of people vote conservative who are the current government in England.
I am not conservative - I voted liberal but as they have joined a coalition with the government I will not be voting them again.
I find it difficult to get on with people who vote conservative as I hate them so much and don't at all understand how anyone with any social conscience at all could possibly vote for them.
One of the main problems with the south of england is that they remain unaffected by a lot of the decisions of the government, cuts and job losses don't effect them the same as it does the north but I just don't understand how people can not care about others - it's a small world and Britain is a very small country - don't they care about their very close neighbors?

[lissaharrison]

I find it easier to be friends with people no matter what their political opinions as long as they care. It is the ones that do not care I find difficult
I enjoy the debate with friends and it has to be said we have changed our views on some points.
As long as you don't support the BNP I don't care, if someone does then they are certainly no longer a friend of mine.

[johnny]

I'd agree a bit with Lissa. I find apathetic people the most frustrating. I have an acquaintance who didn't even know that the leader of the opposition of our country died yesterday. It has been on every single news cast on every radio station, website, newspaper, tv station, etc. etc. etc. I have a hard time really respecting someone whose head is buried that far up their ass. She is very sweet, but to me, that level of self-absorbtion is exceedingly obnoxious.

I would also say that I would struggle to be close to someone with very racist, anti-poor, or other particularly extreme right wing views. I have an uncle like this, and while I love him, I'm not sure I could say I like him. He has lost two female partners over politics. He is so extremely right-wing conservative (fiscally, not so much socially) that they could not put up with it anymore. They had some empathy in their bones and it was hard to love someone that hateful.

[Toni M]

I don't make a habit on picking my friends due to politics, the exceptions being extreme political groups such as BNP because even though they claim to be not racist they blatantly are. For everyone else I find the ideals of the main parties within the UK are pretty similar in that they no longer swing too far from the centre, we no longer have left and right for the main parties. So it doesn't really indicate too much about a person if they vote for any of the major parties.

I live in an area that has been very affected by the financial and social climate in the UK, yet I still feel that the conservatives had the edge, it was a really close call for the liberals though, in the end the thing that swayed it for me was that I felt a vote for the libs would be a 'wasted' vote. So I was extremely pleased when the tori's and the libs joined the coalition government and I unlike many feel it has been good for the UK (whoever got into power would have difficult cuts to make).

Although I voted conservative (and have many times in the past), that doesn't mean I don't care about society or how something like the government affects society, I care deeply about society and feel that my vote was the right one for me to make when I made it, I researched the policies and read up on the oppositions stances and came to an educated decision.

[gbsmith]

Did your parents vote Torie by any chance Toni?

Yes maybe everyone would have had to make cuts but at least Labour tried to take care of the people not just the bloody banks!!!

The poor are going to be poorer - the middle group are going to be worse off and just as always under the Tories the rich are going to be fine.

Young people with no hope, no future, an no light at the end of the tunnel no wonder there was riots - only ever happens under the Tories - they really don't care!

[Toni M]

My parents leave who I vote for up to me, I have never even discussed politics with my parents until after this last election so I couldn't tell you who they have voted for in the past.

I completely disagree that labour tried to take care of the people, it is partly their fault we're in the mess financially now, people seem to forget that. Labour made agreements with the banks before the election so I don't see how that means the Tories are only looking after the banks because labour did too, there's a bigger picture with the banks because if they go under it starts a downwards chain of events meaning more people out of work, more people losing their homes etc etc so it makes sense to 'look after' the banks.

The poor get poorer, not true the truly poor are still entitled to their benefits, all the government ask is that if your able o work you at least try to geta job, labour did the same, they are cutting back on benefits because society is demanding that happen not because they just decidedon a whim, people are fed up with healthy people just not working and getting money given to them. There are still schemes to help those who need help, just as always you need to know who to go to.

The middle of society suffers the worse, I agree with that, the cuts are affecting those of us in the middle the worst. There were things o would have been entitled to under labour that I'm not now because the funding has been cut but they had to happen somebody had to be affected. Again I agree that the rich stay rich but I don't agree that has anything to do with the Tories, the rich stayed rich under labour too, just loo at the bank execs!

The riots aren't down to the Tories they were down to mindless thugs, many of those don't want legitimate jobs anyway. Yes the young have been affected but that again began under labour power, that began when our country went into recession under labour so how you can blame that on the Tories I don't know. I realise that they have put tuition feesup for university but hopefully that should make university degrees worthwhile again, because it will make people consider whether one they need the degree and two if they really want to go to uni, hopefully it'll stop people going just because they don't want a job for a few years or because they don't know what they want, thus making people with degrees once again standout from the crowd.