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Can you name any left-wing Conservative polices?

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Original post by Steevee
Ahh I see :P

Although....Radical Femenist :colonhash:

Personally I'm all over the spectrum too really. Highly Liber in some aspects, highly Autho in others. But certainly mostly economically Right.


Hey, radical feminism is awesome!

And economically (what little I know) to the left...Keynes :smile:
Reply 21
Original post by pinkfreekyfrog
I know supposedly we are a liberal country, but can you name any left-wing policies the Torries have propounded? To me they mostly seem to center around their 'Pillars of Society'. Plus it is not so clear who's policy is who's when the are in a coalition.

Thank you :smile:


Ha! Is this a joke or something? I think what you meant, and if you didn't, should be asking is: 'can you name any RIGHT-wing policies the Tories have?'
That's why they got hammered in the elections last week, they abandoned their traditional, core base to appease the lib dems they are in coalition with.
As someone noted above, its unfair that if you say 'I'm a radical socialist liberal progressive' blah blah that's cool and ok. But if one says 'Im a traditional conservative who believes in low immigration, traditional values and strong law and order' ect, you are immediately castigated as a backward, rascist virulent Nazi...
That's political correctness from our liberal-elite for you.
Reply 22
Some commentators feel that the Big Society is a left wing policy.
Original post by antimilitarist
Which is under threat of privatisation


Absolute tosh. Old people love the NHS, and the tories need old poeple to vote for them. Go figure...


Which has been undermined by the academies scheme and the quality of which is generally in decline.


Wrong again. State education is always crap for the fundamental reason that the state is a monolithic monopoly supplier of education. The free schools policy is actually good because it will introduce some competition.

Being cut


Pensioners have been protected from cuts. That is because they are a large part of the Tory voting base. Most welfare spending is basically taking from the young and giving to the old.


Which is also being cut.


Investment has been cut, rather than do goodery social justice bull****.
(edited 11 years ago)
Original post by Harbour
Ha! Is this a joke or something? I think what you meant, and if you didn't, should be asking is: 'can you name any RIGHT-wing policies the Tories have?'
That's why they got hammered in the elections last week, they abandoned their traditional, core base to appease the lib dems they are in coalition with.
As someone noted above, its unfair that if you say 'I'm a radical socialist liberal progressive' blah blah that's cool and ok. But if one says 'Im a traditional conservative who believes in low immigration, traditional values and strong law and order' ect, you are immediately castigated as a backward, rascist virulent Nazi...
That's political correctness from our liberal-elite for you.


Well then, can you name me some leftie policies please? :smile:
Reply 25


I mean one that's as popular as UKIP seems to be becoming.
Reply 26
Any area where the state is involved in the economy, and there is nationalisation/a public sector.

They aren't a liberal party, even though they are economically liberal/right wing, they aren't socially, though they are moving that way.
Reply 27
Original post by pinkfreekyfrog
And they are not happy to obey Brussels, remember votes for prisoners debacle?
Gay marriage, well they have'nt made up their minds on that one


Don't kid yourself. Cameron fully supports EU dictatorship and will adopt votes for prisoners because the EU says he must. He has no choice in the matter, the will of Brussels matters.

Gay marriage: Just because proper Tories oppose it. Officially the party supports it. Cameron will abandon conservative principles and ram it through parliament with a 3 line whip. (just like he did to stop an EU referendum).

PROPER TORIES PREFER UKIP.
Reply 28
They kind of care more about 'social justice' more than they used to. Also some people say being supportive of gay marriage is a 'left-wing' policy.
It's interesting that if you look at p.6 of the latest GDP estimate http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/dcp171778_263578.pdf that the only sector that has grown every quarter is "government".
Original post by Classical Liberal
Absolute tosh. Old people love the NHS, and the tories need old poeple to vote for them. Go figure...


Then what exactly was the Health and Social Care Bill?

Original post by Classical Liberal
Wrong again. State education is always crap for the fundamental reason that the state is a monolithic monopoly supplier of education. The free schools policy is actually good because it will introduce some competition.


I refuse to believe that state education will always be crap, in this country it requires some fundamental changes if it is going to improve and introducing competition into education will only increase inequality and make it worse, perhaps not for ruling class families but definitely for working class children.

Original post by Classical Liberal
Pensioners have been protected from cuts. That is because they are a large part of the Tory voting base. Most welfare spending is basically taking from the young and giving to the old.


But peoples future pensions haven't been protected from cuts and how is taking from the young and giving to the old a left wing policy?

Original post by Classical Liberal
Investment has been cut, rather than do goodery social justice bull****.


Investment in what can I ask? Because they have made sure to invest another £20 billion in the trident missile programme.
Original post by ukip72
Oppose grammar schools
0.7% of GDP on foreign aid
Happy to obey Brussels
Gay marriage.

The Tories are centre left. Any Conservatives who think otherwise are kidding themselves. UKIP is the real conservative party.


Last time I checked it was the Tories who signed us up to that godawful entity whilst Old Labour until the mid 80s were all for us leaving :wink: The left (and by that I mean the actual left which Labour were in the 1980s, not social democratic whingers) are eurosceptics of varying degrees.

I'm with antimilitarist on this one.
Reply 32
Original post by antimilitarist
Which is under threat of privatisation

Which has been undermined by the academies scheme and the quality of which is generally in decline.

Being cut

Which is also being cut.

The conservatives cannot be considered left in any aspect OP.


Well that's simply not true. The conservatives have not reversed the welfare state etc, which shows at the very least that they are centrist. The NHS reforms are merely to prevent its bankruptcy or in other words to keep the system. They have embarked on constitutional reform, with the fixed term parliament, HOL reforms, AV referendum. David Cameron advocates the 'big society' a traditionally left leaning ideology. They have reduced taxes for the very poor while maintaining higher rates for the very rich, albeit slightly lower than the past rates. Their educational reforms mean that parents have more input in schooling, and oxbridge etc have to take more disadvantaged students. David Cameron and Kenneth Clarke are well known as being liberal within the party and the only reason they don't follow their hearts more is due to the backlash they would recieve from the old skool conservatives, who are grumbling as it is. If you don't believe that the conservatives are becoming more and more left wing, invite me into power for a month and I shall show you what right wing is for comparison :biggrin:
Reply 33
Original post by Tedaus
Funny how people on the right think Conservative are central left and people on the left think Labour are central right.

I wish there was a UKIP version of a left wing party - ie, further to the left than Labour. But populist opinion means we won't get that for a long time.

In answer to the question though, no I can't. Although far right people will think most of them are left wing, since their political spectrums are skewed.


Respect?
Reply 34
Original post by detinus
Respect?


Respect is a ridiculous party. It's less the equivalent of UKIP, than it is to the Tea Party in USA.
Original post by quattro94
Well that's simply not true. The conservatives have not reversed the welfare state etc, which shows at the very least that they are centrist. The NHS reforms are merely to prevent its bankruptcy or in other words to keep the system. They have embarked on constitutional reform, with the fixed term parliament, HOL reforms, AV referendum. David Cameron advocates the 'big society' a traditionally left leaning ideology. They have reduced taxes for the very poor while maintaining higher rates for the very rich, albeit slightly lower than the past rates. Their educational reforms mean that parents have more input in schooling, and oxbridge etc have to take more disadvantaged students. David Cameron and Kenneth Clarke are well known as being liberal within the party and the only reason they don't follow their hearts more is due to the backlash they would recieve from the old skool conservatives, who are grumbling as it is. If you don't believe that the conservatives are becoming more and more left wing, invite me into power for a month and I shall show you what right wing is for comparison :biggrin:


How is this "Simply not true"? The cuts to public services expose their desire to wither away the welfare state and privatising aspects of the NHS is hardly left wing - why not cut spending on war and nuclear weapons to prevent its bankruptcy? I'm not sure why you're referring to the AV referendum when they campaigned extensively against it as they will always be against electoral reform since they well know the only thing that is keeping them in power is the first past the post system and their educational reforms are in reality cuts to state education. If they are maintaining higher tax rates for the rich then why did they cut the 50p tax rate and why are they letting company bosses receive giant salary bonuses while their employees wages are decreasing? Cameron apparently advocates a "Big Society" and he also said he wouldn't make any cuts to the NHS. Just because he says it does it mean it's true? The Conservatives are not even remotely left wing.
The opposition of Grammar schools, in fact most of their attitude to the education system is fairly lefty, just efficient
Original post by Moleman1996
The opposition of Grammar schools, in fact most of their attitude to the education system is fairly lefty, just efficient


You tell me how tripleling university tuition fees and allowing private companies to sponsor state schools is lefty.
Reply 38
Original post by pinkfreekyfrog
Hey, radical feminism is awesome!

And economically (what little I know) to the left...Keynes :smile:


Nope. Nope it's not :tongue:

Nahh, s'all about Supply-Side :wink:
Reply 39
Original post by antimilitarist
How is this "Simply not true"? The cuts to public services expose their desire to wither away the welfare state and privatising aspects of the NHS is hardly left wing - why not cut spending on war and nuclear weapons to prevent its bankruptcy? I'm not sure why you're referring to the AV referendum when they campaigned extensively against it as they will always be against electoral reform since they well know the only thing that is keeping them in power is the first past the post system and their educational reforms are in reality cuts to state education. If they are maintaining higher tax rates for the rich then why did they cut the 50p tax rate and why are they letting company bosses receive giant salary bonuses while their employees wages are decreasing? Cameron apparently advocates a "Big Society" and he also said he wouldn't make any cuts to the NHS. Just because he says it does it mean it's true? The Conservatives are not even remotely left wing.


you are missing the point. They haven't removed the NHS, real terms NHS spending has actually increased. The cuts are to make the system work for the more deserving case example- my dad can barely walk 100 yards. Next door there is a guy with a blue badge in his car that spends most of his time messing with said car and spending his job seekers. Are you seriously going to tell me that we should pay for him to do that, and deny people like my dad? Funding is NOT infinite. The fact that they allowed a referendum puts them as more left that labour who quietly forgot that pledge. Education can deal with cuts it needs reform. Another example- my high school, the head spent over £30,000 on computer monitors, £150,000 on new windows and £50,000 on thumbprint doors but refused to hire a second physics teacher. We had one physics teacher for 600 pupils. That needs correcting, and this isn't an isolated case either. I know of similar ones within the county I live in so I can only imagine what it is like in some places. Yet again you are simple wrong on tax. government reports indicate that a top rate of 36% would be most efficient. Rich people aren't stupid, if you tax them too much, they go, taking their money with them. People like yourself mean that the government is losing revenue due to political perceptions. As for the NHS cuts there haven't been any. Honestly, look beyond the headlines for yourself. The NHS is being reformed and it is about time too. People always defend it for just existing. The NHS ought to provide universal care first before it should even be considered to be doing its job and that at the moment is certainly not the case.

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