Quote:
Originally Posted by Eric
This is quite a crock ... nice insult to the folks in Barnsley: "blinkered"  And does it surprise anyone that voting Labour is a "tradition" in a traditionally working class area? And why was the crap kicking that the governing parties got "a forgone conclusion"? If the voters in Barnsley had any confidence in the policies of the current government, there would not have been such a wild swing away from them. They may not have won, but at least they might have had the satisfaction of holding onto their vote. Not losing votes, and face, in a strong Labour constituency could have been counted a minor victory. And from what source did you get the information that those who supported the government parties in the General Election fled to the UKIP and to other fringe parties? |
I quite agree. I don't think there's such a thing as traditional voters anymore.
You only have to see Thatcher's appeal to many who were seen as traditionally working class Labour voters, and Blair's massive '97 victory, when he convinced the middle classes of middle England that New Labour were the best choice, to witness this.
Historically this area was seen as traditionally a Labour seat, but we had a Conservative MP from 1983-1992.
People vote for a number of reasons. Though only a tiny minority vote the way they do because their parents did, or because they see themselves as a particular class, and therefore have to vote in a certain way.