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This article is referring to the November 2019 UK General Election which has now passed.
Let me start by saying that I do not view conservative voters as ‘evil’, nor do I believe that who one votes for dictates their moral standpoint. That would go against my general rational pragmatic outlook. I have met good-hearted Tory voters and nasty Labour voters. Moreover, we live in a democracy, so obviously no one can tell anyone who they can and can’t vote for.
This post is simply going to outline why I believe voting for the Conservatives in next month’s general election is a bad idea for the United Kingdom. You can read it, scoff at it, ignore it or share it. That’s up to you.
Brexit’s financial impact. No one can deny that the Conservative party have handled Brexit really poorly. Not to mention that leaving the EU is already having negative consequences for the British public. The value of the pound has fallen dramatically this year as a result. I notice this whenever I’ve made purchases in pounds converted to dollars; I’m paying more than I did last year.
I grew up in London, and when I was a child, I remember being told that the pound was almost twice the dollar. In recent years it’s decreased to about two thirds. Now they are almost equal, with £1 = $1.29. If Brexit continues, the pound could fall to become worth less than the dollar. I’m no economist, and that may not seem like a big deal to many, but in our capitalist-driven world, money is power. A country worth less financially loses its overall power.
NHS Privatization. The NHS is one of the most important facets of this country, and the conservative party have slashed funding due to the lie of ‘austerity.’ As a consequence, waiting lists for mental health services are astounding (I’ve been waiting nearly two years), standards of services have declined over the last decade, and staff shortages have increased. Prescription charges have also increased and with the fall of the pound and thus, the UK economy (thanks to Brexit), further cuts will likely occur.
This will create more overall unrest among the mentally ill and the lower classes, which will only increase crime and civil unrest.
(Watching Joker made me wonder if this was a sad foreshadow of events to come.)
Homelessness and overall poverty. Statistically, homelessness in the UK has steadily increased since 2010. Articles like this provide stats. But on a personal level, nearly every time I’ve gone outside in the past year, I’ve had somebody come up to me in the street asking me for money, and there’s a new person on every tube ride begging and asking for money. Everybody I talk to says the same thing.
This wasn’t the case five years ago. Yes, there have always been people begging and sleeping rough, particularly in London, but now it’s visibly widespread. It’s the norm. I can’t remember the last time I went on the tube and didn’t see someone saying ‘excuse me, I need some money so I don’t sleep rough tonight’ etc. This is a direct result of the Tories neglecting public spending and cuts to benefits.
If you support the National Health Service that has provided for, protected and cared for citizens since the 1950s, DO NOT vote Tory. If you don’t want to see an increase in poverty and homelessness, and in turn an increase in crime and untreated mental illnesses, DO NOT vote Tory. If you don’t want a poorly handled Hard Brexit that has no economical or sociological benefits, DO NOT vote Tory.
The Labour Party are not perfect, but they prioritize the NHS, soft Brexit, and the working people. The wealthy will be fine regardless of who is in power. The middle and working classes will not benefit from another five years of Conservative rule.
If you typically vote Tory, I urge you to instead vote for the Liberal Democrats. Don’t do it for me, or for ‘woke lefties.’ Do it for the future of Britain.
