Is it socially acceptable to be right wing in the UK?

We are a more tolerant nation than Sweden on these matters, it is perfectly acceptable to hold right wing views in the UK. So long as you are not a total ideologue or extremist who tries to shove your politics down everybody's throats all the time, nobody really cares what political views you hold.

This tolerance does not neccessarily extend to our universities, but they can go **** themselves, university has become a joke anyway.

If you think it's difficult being a Tory voter you should maybe try being an Anarchist.

The amount of people who seem to be completely incapable of comprehending a society in which one is not constantly being told what to do by an amorphous human slime in a nice suit really is astounding.

I am from Sweden

Clearly not in general, given almost 50% of the electorate voted either Conservative or UKIP at the election.

Ultimately it depends who you are around. There are settings in which it would be socially unacceptable to express right wing views, and settings in which it would be to express left wing views.

Well, around younger people?

What kind of settings? In Sweden, at least the people I know seem to be more tolerant whereas (because of economic problems?) my UK friends from both sides are much less tolerant these days. I have heard Tories labelled evil, Corbyn supporters lunatics and out of touch, etc.

Especially among young people? For example if someone at university said they were a Tory would they be looked down on for it?

I am from Sweden which is very liberal, however I am wondering if the UK, being more conservative than us, is more accepting of right wingers. I heard that young people in the UK are mostly left wing though

In my view it isn't; if you oppose immigration or if you show any kind of patriotic or nationalist comment you're branded a racist. I'm no Conservative, I'd never vote for them. Some of the people I know at school do support the Tories and that seems to be fairly acceptable, but from what I've seen most people my age are very liberal.

I wouldn't call TSR right wing. It's far from it.

Students are left-wing because they have just left the safety net of free shelter and money from their parents and now have to borrow from the government to fund their university education.

When they graduate they and begin their journey on the career ladder, earning their keep and paying bills, they start moving right towards the centre and even maybe past it. This is largely because they realise now how crippling taxation and National Insurance contributions are, and how more government is not necessarily the best solution to problems.

I would say Sweden is quite tolerant of right wing people even if we are more left wing.

Why do you say that?

If you think it's difficult being a Tory voter you should maybe try being an Anarchist.


The amount of people who seem to be completely incapable of comprehending a society in which one is not constantly being told what to do by an amorphous human slime in a nice suit really is astounding.

Actually, there is often also a move in the opposite direction (which I myself experienced). I was a sound money, gold bug libertarian from around age 15 to 21. Then my experience of real life, a much stronger sense of empathy for other people, and a better practical understanding of the role the state plays in the lives of vulnerable people, and finally travel to third world countries crystallised my understanding of government as a civilising force... these things led me to adopt Fabian socailism.

We only live once, and with that in mind I'd rather do all in my power to have a society where we help one another and do right by each other, and make each others' lives as good as they can be (and to mitigate pain and suffering as much as possible). I'd much rather have a little bit of inefficiency, a little bit of fraud, against a solid welfare system, than to shut the system down, massively increase suffering on the basis that it's better to do that to avoid the small amount of fraud or benefit cheats, or to save the relatively small amount of money the system costs.

it seems rather... small... to be frenetically obsessed with the tiny minority that might play the welfare system to the detriment of the many poor, vulnerable people who rely on it. They are real people, they have real lives and real problems. It is petty to crucify them on a cross of gold