by Rab Bruce’s Spider

I have several friends and acquaintances who are quite open about their support for the Tory Party. They aren’t members of the Party, but they do vote Tory at most elections because they firmly believe in such things as the benefits of a free market economy and that trickle-down economics works. They also tend to believe that addiction to alcohol, tobacco and drugs are causes of poverty rather than symptoms.

Naturally, I argue with them on issues like this, but it doesn’t make much difference. They have voted Tory for years and continue to do so because they believe that the Tory Party best reflects their personal views.

Now, that is a perfectly valid stance; we should all vote for whichever Party best represents our personal values and which offers policies which we broadly support.

This, of course, is where the Tory support reveals the insidious nature of Party politics. My Tory pals are ordinary people who enjoy a good pint, like a bit of a laugh and are genuinely friendly and generous in nature. They would not, for example, shout abuse at someone because they are disabled or have a different colour of skin, nor would they discriminate against a person who is gay.

So why on earth do they continue to vote for a Party which ranks xenophobia as its driving policy? Why do they condone the racist and homophobic comments from elected representatives of their preferred Party? Why do they simply shrug and say all politicians are the same when you challenge them on why Colonel Davidson refuses to condemn such racist comments?

The simple truth is that the Tory Party these individuals grew up with is not the same Tory Party as we have now. You may have thought Margaret Thatcher was bad but, for all her many faults, she did not go nearly as far as the current Tories have done since 2010. She opened the door for greed and selfishness to become the driving forces in the UK economy and society, but the current Tories, driven by UKIP, have gone so far to the Right that they should have left most people behind. That they have, instead, dragged a sizeable portion of the public along with them is a testament to the power of the media in normalising such behaviour. We witness this every day as the media attempts to normalise Brexit, to normalise hatred of foreigners and to normalise the growing gulf in inequality in the UK.

I really wish my Tory pals would take a good look at the policies they are supporting, compare them with their own values and realise that, when a political Party moves away from your core beliefs, it is time for you to abandon that Party.

Sadly, their response is generally that "The alternative would be worse". Again, media support for the status quo means that they genuinely fear change while not realising that change is happening all around them. It can be difficult to admit you were in the wrong and to change your mind, but it is especially hard when the media are telling you that you are right. Let’s hope a few of them begin to realise just what sort of country they have voted for.