The Student Room Group
Uni students - Complete our survey >>
Uni students - Complete our survey >>
Uni students - Complete our survey >>

Have Conservative ethnic minorities increased?

I'm a Punjabi but I'm Conservative; so is my family.

In the general election, 49% of Hindus voted Conservative. Same for Sikhs. To me, it seems that ethnic minorities such as Indians and Chinese voted Conservative; their economic policies in addition to traditional family values seem to mix well.

Is the ethnic minority vote changing how parties operate?
(edited 8 years ago)

Scroll to see replies

Original post by theperformer
I'm a Punjabi but I'm Conservative; so is my family.

In the general election, 49% of Hindus voted Conservative. Same for Sikhs. To me, it seems that ethnic minorities such as Indians and Chinese voted Conservative; their economic policies in addition to traditional family values seem to mix well.

Is the ethnic minority vote changing how parties operate?


You can't just say "the ethnic minority vote", and think that different ethnic groups vote the same way. Yeah, the Hindus and Sikhs are going to be more conservative, but what about the Muslim community? Solid Labour.

In which case, the ethnic vote is not changing, just that more people are emigrating from conservative nations.
Original post by HigherMinion
You can't just say "the ethnic minority vote", and think that different ethnic groups vote the same way. Yeah, the Hindus and Sikhs are going to be more conservative, but what about the Muslim community? Solid Labour.

In which case, the ethnic vote is not changing, just that more people are emigrating from conservative nations.


Actually, Muslim countries are far more Conservative than non-Muslim countries.

I'm quite surprised Labour has the Muslim vote, yet it was Labour who went to Iraq.
Original post by theperformer
Actually, Muslim countries are far more Conservative than non-Muslim countries.

I'm quite surprised Labour has the Muslim vote, yet it was Labour who went to Iraq.


In which case, have a look at the average income of Muslim men and compare with average income of the Hindu. I'd wager there will be a large gap which means the Muslim is more happy taking other people's money (see: Left wing Labour) and care less about self-reliance.

If I'm wrong about this, do let me know.
Original post by HigherMinion
In which case, have a look at the average income of Muslim men and compare with average income of the Hindu. I'd wager there will be a large gap which means the Muslim is more happy taking other people's money (see: Left wing Labour) and care less about self-reliance.

If I'm wrong about this, do let me know.


Muslims are generally poorer than Hindu's for sure; but in the USA, Muslims were originally primarily Republican - they became Democrat once Bush went to Iraq. Contrast that to the UK, there was great unrest about Iraq yet Muslims stayed faithful to Labour.

Indians also didn't start off rich, it was their hard work ethic and individualistic drive which led to their prosperity.

In fact, India performed worse under their Socialist government, once the economy changed and embraced Capitalism, more and more Indians obtained high-status jobs and the middle-classes rapidly grew.
Yes, Ethnic minorities are generally culturally and economicially Conservative. I would say to other minorities don't let the Unis which are dominated by the Left scare you into voting Labour.

I remember a professor saying it was 'cool' to be left wing. What a joke coming from an old white guy.
(edited 8 years ago)
Original post by capitalismstinks
Yes, Ethnic minorities are generally culturally and economicially Conservative. I would say to other minorities don't let the Unis which are dominated by the Left scare you into voting Labour.

I remember a professor saying it was 'cool' to be left wing. What a joke coming from an old white guy.


I'm going to Uni soon, curious but how do they do that?
Reply 7
Avatar for Rakas21
Rakas21
21
It's been well known for some time that the Indians and Chinese tend to outperform other immigrant groups academically so all that's happening here is that they are voting with their class. One could also argue that these people (Orientals anyway) tend to integrate better in the UK than for example Muslims who occupy 97% of Saville Town.

That said i worked for a Pakistani guy who was solidly Muslim (owned a clothes shop) and he was a broadly anti-immigrant Conservative.
Reply 8
Avatar for James222
James222
3
Immigrants from Pakistan largely came to the UK in the 1960s, 1970s and came to work in unskilled industries. With the poor social mobility the UK has, their children tend also to work in unskileld industries and hence more likey to vote Labour.

Immigrants from India or indians from Uganda tended to be better educated and entrepuneurs and hence more likely to vote Conservatives once the Conservatives dropped the more racist party members like the Monday Club.

Sikhs and Hindus from working class communities still vote Labour.

note in America, immigrants from pakistan tend to be more educated and wealthier than the general population because US immigration was more selective.
(edited 8 years ago)
Reply 9
Avatar for James222
James222
3
Original post by theperformer
Muslims are generally poorer than Hindu's for sure; but in the USA, Muslims were originally primarily Republican - they became Democrat once Bush went to Iraq. Contrast that to the UK, there was great unrest about Iraq yet Muslims stayed faithful to Labour.

Indians also didn't start off rich, it was their hard work ethic and individualistic drive which led to their prosperity.

In fact, India performed worse under their Socialist government, once the economy changed and embraced Capitalism, more and more Indians obtained high-status jobs and the middle-classes rapidly grew.


Original post by HigherMinion
In which case, have a look at the average income of Muslim men and compare with average income of the Hindu. I'd wager there will be a large gap which means the Muslim is more happy taking other people's money (see: Left wing Labour) and care less about self-reliance.

If I'm wrong about this, do let me know.


You cant compare Pakistanis and Indians in the UK as the minority population in the UK is just a sub section of the wider cross section of population back home its not a random sample.

Just because every nigerian in the UK is well educated doesnt mean nigeria as a country is full of well educated people or that nigerians are more hard working than jamican. African Americans in America have high levels of unemployment but first and second generation african immigrants to america have very high levels of employment.

Indians in India are a different story. Indians in the UK did start of much better than pakistanis in the UK because the Labour gap they came to fill was different.
Indians from uganda were amongst the most educated and able people in Uganda so it natural that they would prosper in the UK.

Muslims wont vote for the Conservatives because the Tories are always flirting with UKIP and banning the burkha and saying muslims are not doing enough to stop ISIS.
Original post by theperformer
I'm a Punjabi but I'm Conservative; so is my family.

In the general election, 49% of Hindus voted Conservative. Same for Sikhs. To me, it seems that ethnic minorities such as Indians and Chinese voted Conservative; their economic policies in addition to traditional family values seem to mix well.

Is the ethnic minority vote changing how parties operate?


Yes, and it's not that surprising, most people are motivated by self-interest. Therefore as ethnic minorities get richer they will generally see a shift towards the Conservatives as they will want less of their money taken away to help the poor.

Should be worth saying though that most heavily Indian areas returned a Labour MP in the last election.
(edited 8 years ago)
Original post by theperformer
I'm going to Uni soon, curious but how do they do that?


Because the atmosphere is so massively anti conservative, and especially in the soft 'sciences'
Original post by capitalismstinks
Because the atmosphere is so massively anti conservative, and especially in the soft 'sciences'


I wonder what would happen if I said I was Conservative?

Soft sciences such as Sociology are definitely Left wing....Marxism dominates that area
Original post by theperformer
I'm a Punjabi but I'm Conservative; so is my family.

In the general election, 49% of Hindus voted Conservative. Same for Sikhs. To me, it seems that ethnic minorities such as Indians and Chinese voted Conservative; their economic policies in addition to traditional family values seem to mix well.

Is the ethnic minority vote changing how parties operate?


The dataset used for that questionnaire was tiny. Also many "indians" are now wealthy and do align their views with the conservatives. However with this particular election think Ed was too far left.

If we had viable alternative to the conservatives, think labour would of done better. Sikhs have very social values in comparison to Hindus, so you would expect labour support.
Original post by theperformer
I wonder what would happen if I said I was Conservative?

Soft sciences such as Sociology are definitely Left wing....Marxism dominates that area


Your safe in things like the politics society where everybody has different views. I've heard of being lambasted on Facebook for pro-Tory posts.
Original post by Rakas21
It's been well known for some time that the Indians and Chinese tend to outperform other immigrant groups academically so all that's happening here is that they are voting with their class. One could also argue that these people (Orientals anyway) tend to integrate better in the UK than for example Muslims who occupy 97% of Saville Town.

That said i worked for a Pakistani guy who was solidly Muslim (owned a clothes shop) and he was a broadly anti-immigrant Conservative.

Savile Town has a huge Indian Gujarati Muslim population btw, the guy who blew himself this week up was himself Indian. http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-international/indianorigin-teen-is-youngest-is-suicide-bomber/article7319655.ece

And by the way there are plenty of Tory Muslims. For example, the first two ethnic minority Tory cabinet ministers - Sajid Javid and Sayeeda Warsi.
Original post by James222
Immigrants from Pakistan largely came to the UK in the 1960s, 1970s and came to work in unskilled industries. With the poor social mobility the UK has, their children tend also to work in unskileld industries and hence more likey to vote Labour.

Immigrants from India or indians from Uganda tended to be better educated and entrepuneurs and hence more likely to vote Conservatives once the Conservatives dropped the more racist party members like the Monday Club.

Sikhs and Hindus from working class communities still vote Labour.

note in America, immigrants from pakistan tend to be more educated and wealthier than the general population because US immigration was more selective.


Politics is not really just as simple as basing their voting intentions on social class. I know many wealthy indians who still vote labour, regardless of class. Even "education" does not correlate heavily with voting conservative lol, many academics are notable lefties.

I know it's an easy answer to give.
Original post by Bill_Gates
The dataset used for that questionnaire was tiny. Also many "indians" are now wealthy and do align their views with the conservatives. However with this particular election think Ed was too far left.

If we had viable alternative to the conservatives, think labour would of done better. Sikhs have very social values in comparison to Hindus, so you would expect labour support.


Sikhs actually have very similar values to Hindu's; especially the Sikhs from India. My mother is from India, and she can speak fluent Hindi/knows the religion.

There's always been a casual relationship between Sikhs and Hindu's, moreso than Sikhs and Muslims IMO.
Original post by theperformer
Sikhs actually have very similar values to Hindu's; especially the Sikhs from India. My mother is from India, and she can speak fluent Hindi/knows the religion.

There's always been a casual relationship between Sikhs and Hindu's, moreso than Sikhs and Muslims IMO.


Not necessarily, Sikhs and Hindus are largely different on their outlooks on life. Sikhs are more social and place greater emphasis on the community, Hinduism is more about the individual hence would align more to conservative values.
Original post by Ravenous
Savile Town has a huge Indian Gujarati Muslim population btw, the guy who blew himself this week up was himself Indian. http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-international/indianorigin-teen-is-youngest-is-suicide-bomber/article7319655.ece

And by the way there are plenty of Tory Muslims. For example, the first two ethnic minority Tory cabinet ministers - Sajid Javid and Sayeeda Warsi.


Interesting. The media recently has got into a habit of not saying where Muslims are from i think.

Indeed (can't stand Warsi though).

Original post by Bill_Gates
Politics is not really just as simple as basing their voting intentions on social class. I know many wealthy indians who still vote labour, regardless of class. Even "education" does not correlate heavily with voting conservative lol, many academics are notable lefties.

I know it's an easy answer to give.


While there are individual careers which stand apart from the mold (academics vote disproportionately for the Greens and Liberal Democrats and disproportionately less for Tories and Ukip), education is fairly well correlated with voting intention. Labour and Ukip pick up the non-university vote, Tories and Lib Dems pick up the graduate vote.

Quick Reply

Latest

Trending

Trending

Articles for you