That last line is a really useful myth for the Conservatives, isn't it? Without turning this into another B-word thread, what riskier strategy is there than the current one? Beyond that, they are not more conservative spenders than Labour, they just have different priorities. Priorities that impede progress.

Wouldn't be so quick to dismiss the influence of mainstream media, because it is more conservative and consumed more exclusively by older people. This particular cohort of younger voters are more online and are therefore on average, exposed to more views, as well as more theory, which lessens the impact of believing the mainstream narrative. And that same line of younger voters being more susceptible also means they're more open to change, to adjust their political views as becomes sensible.

And really this thread is just about how acceptable you find individual conservative policies versus collective social policies and whether it's okay to ignore the harmful effects of austerity-laden right-wing governments because one is voting for the party that personally benefits them a little more.

One thing that can be dismissed as a major factor is the mainstream media, since everyone has equal exposure to it, and in any case, the young are more susceptible to influence than older people.

I basically agree with the mainstream theory, that greater responsibilities moderate your choices - e.g. you can't risk being as profligate with your money when you have families to raise, and mortgages to pay, and therefore the Conservatives usually offer greater financial stability than Labour, whose political strategies tend to be riskier.

Brainwashed by a hard right one party state media. There. Solved. The end. Next right wing talking point please x

Brainwashed by a hard right one party state media. Old people are far more susceptible to influence than young forward-thinking people

Then why do dictatorships concentrate their propaganda on the young...

Brainwashed by a hard right one party state media. Old people are far more susceptible to influence than young forward-thinking people in education getting trained to think and analyse critically and not gobble down hard right lies. There. Solved. The end. Next right wing talking point please x

Then why do dictatorships concentrate their propaganda on the young...

Then why do dictatorships concentrate their propaganda on the young...

We're not talking adolescent young, we're talking voting age young correct? Of course adolescents and children are easily influenced, but not so easy for people in their 20s and late teens. They're perfectly capable of forming their own opinions. One thing I have found is with occasional young conservatives (#notall) along this line of thought is they think they're so special and go "oh you'll all think this way when we're older, I'm just ahead of the curve"- lil twats. x

The fact is situations have changed, age isn't the determining factor, it's life experience and life experience has just been different for the current demographic of older people. One of the reasons older voters tend to be more conservative is they have more money. Boomers took advantage of a booming economy (which is now nowhere near as great, thanks for that x) and now they're more likely to vote for parties that tax them less. They may have been more left wing when they were young and turned more right wing when it benefited them more but economically the situation isn't going improve for the current generation in the same way it did for boomers, hence voting patterns are less likely to change in the same way.

Can't you give it a rest. You're honestly so boring and like a broken record. You respond to any topic with a Tory bashing post. Seriously, get a grip.

Three things are shown to have a big effect on becoming more conservative as you get older - owning a house, marriage & having children. Margaret Thatcher created a generation of Tories when she allowed people to buy their council houses in the 80s (which later led to a shortage of council housing & regular housing when the houses were subsequently bought up by businesses, but that's another story). That's why the housing shortage is disastrous for the Tories and why they should make it their #1 priority if they want the young to ever consider them - how the heck can you expect the younger generation to embrace capitalism when they don't have any capital? Plus, the latter two are likely to fall into place once the first happens.