Have you ever changed political allegiance?

Page may contain affiliate links. Please see terms for details.

Beebo

Veteran
I have voted for many parties in various elections. The big 2 plus liberals and Green.
I even voted for Count Binface in the recent London Mayoral election.
Never voted for anything at either extreme of the spectrum.
In hindsight voting for Johnson as London Mayor was probably my biggest mistake.
 
My instincts are unchanging Croslandite Labour.

I have though voted tactically for Liberals and SDP and Green as a protest in a Westminster seat where a pig with a blue rosette could be (and arguably was!) elected.
 
I’ve only been a member of an actual political party for a few years, and have voted for four different parties, so allegiance doesn't really describe my general approach to politics. I have what you could call a leaning but my views have shifted over time and I think I’m still open to persuasion on particular issues.
 

Milkfloat

Active Member
I have voted tactically wherever I have lived, so have voted Blue, Yellow and Red. I always vote for the least worst option.
 

Rusty Nails

Country Member
I have an allegiance to my political principles and my party allegiance almost always goes to the Party that closest meets them at the time, or not if voting for a different party stops the party that stands furthest from my political principles from winning.
 

Slick

New Member
Probably like most of us, I followed my parents political beliefs and still hold their basic principles at heart. I was still very young when I realised that a Labour vote was a wasted vote in the Tory stronghold of farming country, so switched along with a number of others to finally bring years of a Tory MP to an end. I also started out in the last referendum as a no voter to Scottish Independence, but switched pretty rapidly when it became clear it was fear holding us back, and still is.
 

Ian H

Guru
I'm rather fond of AJP Taylor's story, he was accused of holding strong political opinions: "Oh no... extreme opinions, but weakly held".
My parents were small 'c' conservatives. I'm not.
 

mjr

Active Member
I have an allegiance to my political principles and my party allegiance almost always goes to the Party that closest meets them at the time, or not if voting for a different party stops the party that stands furthest from my political principles from winning.
This is closest to me. As a result, I think I've voted independent and most parties available in the leafy shires except for the most extreme at both ends.
 

stowie

Active Member
I have voted for a number of different parties - mostly centre or left, but have voted Tory in my past on occasion where I considered that candidate was the best option .

The trajectory of the Conservatives post 2015 and certainly post Johnson means I cannot imagine considering a Tory vote again. I may be becoming older and more grumpy but a party that felt Johnson was the right person would need a lot of rehabilitation to get my vote.

Interestingly, I am good friends with dyed-in-the-wool Tories who feel utterly at sea currently. One has moved over to Starmer's Labour, one is utterly undecided and another one, in quite a move, has gone over to the Greens and become very environmentally aware. All three have made far more monumental changes in their political outlook than me, probably on a similar scale to those Red Wall voters changing lifetime allegiances to Johnson at the last election.

I would say changing political allegiance at the moment is far more common than previously. It isn't just voters changing their minds in the face of big domestic and international changes but the parties themselves shifting political outlook in a big way as well.
 
Top Bottom