I thought this would be an interesting poll to add! I've gone for a number of different options to try and capture all possible eventualities. Yes, I'm aware some might overlap but also people might feel they better fall into one category than another even if there is some crossover.

I've made the poll anonymous & obviously there's no need to elaborate in a comment, but naturally you can if you like.

Think I would put left wing. I’ve never been anything other than that and don’t I ever will be

Sadly I grew up in an environment with lots of right wing peers and I think I learned early on that I wasn’t the same. I went out and learned about the world, whereas most of those I grew up did not. Being queer probably helped form my politics. I do not and will not ever understand how someone in the queer community can be anything other than left/centrist at worst

Would be really interesting to hear from people why they choose where they identify themselves. In a self-justification sense, I think this is somewhat personal even if it does tend to define how you approach political issues so I wouldn't judge anyone for how they arrived at the point they choose.

Left-wing for myself, with a dislike of any hierarchies built in by the system or by aspiring leaders and a vision of politics as a way to enact egalitarian policies to fix systematic injustices and ensure everyone has a meaningful and free life. I don't think there's any major issues where I see the right-wing answer as the correct one, their solutions tend to be too punitive even on issues (like the importance of personal responsibility) where I agree on the problem.

I chose the middle one because I dislike the term centrist because all too often it means fake or fence sitter, or shy rightwinger.

I suppose if pushed I would say largely left-wing socially because to me it is logical, and more right wing economically, which is pretty much polar opposite to most of the UK political major forces. I have some authoritarian views and I don't believe a number of things that far left wing actors and/or activists do are helpful, or they are short-sighted. But, I am open to discussion and changing my views based on updated information. I am firmly against the current far right more than anything because they are liars and grifters. If they only believed certain things and stuck by them and were open about it, and could explain in clear language how their policies otherwise would benefit the population, I'd be able to respect that. But they don't.

Wouldn’t be able to define. Very fluid. Depends on multiple factors. Using free speech as an example there was a time where conservatives were known to be prudes and pretty much the enemy of free speech as time evolved you had left wing word policing out of control then you can have certain groups using free speech for nefarious purposes. So as an issue I very much like free speech on a big extreme level it can be fluid where that sits on a spectrum and whether it may need to be watered down if you had ISIS inspiring terror attacks via such methods for example. I think everything else can be fluid too like that so I don’t really subscribe to the spectrum on a personal level

I would say left wing, nothing less and nothing more than that. There are some issues where I at times shift towards the centre but my personal politics are typically progressive and anti-establishment.

My main core values are ensuring that the system can benefit all and not just those privileged enough, that a diverse group of people can live the life they want to without discrimination and that we respect the Earth we live on and it's flora and fauna. I would say left-wing caters to those values the most, because I do believe the vast majority want to make the world a better place and recognises that there are flaws in our current system. Dishonesty, corruption, reactionary politics and discrimination are pet hates and the current representatives of the right wing are too entrenched in favouring misinformation and populism over evidence for me to support their arguments.

But I am also a fan of nuance and listening to other sides to the argument, so it's sad that this is almost completely impossible these days, but it is an inevitability in a world entrenched in a system that favours the wealthy and is dictated by the media.

I see myself as a right of centre libertarian but I tend to have nuanced views in all things and rarely see issues as black and white. I believe in government being a safety net but not controlling too much beyond that, and that people are at their best when they’re given freedom.

I feel like the traditional left and right is almost going out of the window now - everything’s becoming much more about the somewheres vs the anywheres. While I’m very much an anywhere by background I recognise that this comes from my middle class privilege. I do think it’s important to listen to the somewheres more.

I'd say I am left wing but I sometimes have centrist views that I hate myself for. 😆

I put leaning left, but not on every issue. Definitely more left than Centrist though.

I'd say that my general outlook is progressive and compassionate. Ended up choosing 'left wing' here

I’ve semi-jokingly called myself a “Catholic Centrist” a few times on here, and probably is still as good a descriptor of where I generally sit on the spectrum, in that I’m largely centre-left on economics (in favour of decent state spending, expansion of social housing, and a supportive welfare state that acts as a trampoline rather than a safety net), and would be considered more conservative on social issues (although I could make left-wing arguments for some of them). It doesn’t slot me easily into the usual left/right political spectrum, but I’m somewhere around the middle.

It’s interesting how a lot of people describe themselves as left wing but it’d be interesting to see if they mean social/cultural issues whereas when it comes to economic issues the question is more blurred.

9 hours ago, Steve201 said:

It’s interesting how a lot of people describe themselves as left wing but it’d be interesting to see if they mean social/cultural issues whereas when it comes to economic issues the question is more blurred.

Egalitarian social issues and egalitarian economics IMO go hand-in-hand. Of course people who consider one more important than the other exist but my argument is that if you aren't aiming to fix both in favour of the greatest number of people, you're still left with injustices, just of different kinds.

Or in other words:

I obviously tend to agree but the divisions in society today with culture wars stem from what is a lot of the time (not all of the time though) people who are economically left wing while socially right wing and the other way round depending a lot of the time (though again not all of the time) on ages.

Definitely left but possibly a little more towards centre than I was on some issues. I think the big one for me is benefits, people who can work really should and I think the rise of Reform has informed that. So so many people in my area/where I work have the most to say about immigrants and whoever, yet don’t contribute to society by working Who on earth are they to decide where our tax goes. I’d rather support someone who’s moved here and wants to better their life personally.

That’s just a generalisation of my personal experience mostly, but it has been a big thing that has shaped my views alongside all these cuts proposed for disabled people, the people that need support won’t get it and those that could survive without it will as always be fine, it’s just messed up. I mean really though everyone should just have enough money to live on, a UBI type thing, I don’t think anyone should be left or starve or anything but I think what’s happening with disability cuts is just disgusting and we should be helping the people who need it most not the ones who could actually work but don’t.

Whilst this is another tangent, I do think it all just comes down to there being no political education, no chances for advancing their lives thanks to Tory cuts, it is very complex, but I can sadly see how Reform have grabbed these types of people. If we have a more fair world socially and economically all of these people would be in a better position and not be kind of stuck in a welfare trap. And that’s the same for me with say crime and punishment, we should be educating people and reforming them, not just sticking them in a loop and being done with it.

56 minutes ago, Iz 🌟 said:

Egalitarian social issues and egalitarian economics IMO go hand-in-hand. Of course people who consider one more important than the other exist but my argument is that if you aren't aiming to fix both in favour of the greatest number of people, you're still left with injustices, just of different kinds.

Or in other words:

I would argue that total equality in every aspect leads to the kinds of conditions that we've seen lately because it essentially dunning-kreuger over-empowers people that don't have the mental ability to handle it or comprehend that some decisions are irreversible.

I'm happy with a more hierarchical society if it means we avoid the scenario of the prisoners running the jail.

55 minutes ago, J00prstar said:

I would argue that total equality in every aspect leads to the kinds of conditions that we've seen lately because it essentially dunning-kreuger over-empowers people that don't have the mental ability to handle it or comprehend that some decisions are irreversible.

I'm happy with a more hierarchical society if it means we avoid the scenario of the prisoners running the jail.

Is your meaning that low-information voters damage society by voting for self-harming policies? I don't entirely disagree but I don't see that as an outcome of total equality, just a side-effect of universal franchise with a portion of the franchise below a certain level of political/socio-economic education. Which idealistically is something I would see as coming with total equality, an educated society should be something to strive for.

9 hours ago, Iz 🌟 said:

Is your meaning that low-information voters damage society by voting for self-harming policies? I don't entirely disagree but I don't see that as an outcome of total equality, just a side-effect of universal franchise with a portion of the franchise below a certain level of political/socio-economic education. Which idealistically is something I would see as coming with total equality, an educated society should be something to strive for.

I don't see it happening and the concept also makes me uneasy. That's just my hierarchies mindset though :3

I generally consider myself to be in the social democratic camp and so Centre-Left.

Mostly I do lean left, especially on fiscal policy and state intervention. There are some times i lean more centrist or lightly center-right. but its a little rarer and my overall picture id say is predominantly on the left