If your parents are Tory, did that make you a socialist?

[Bedders]

My Grandad was a socialist all his life. He was called up at 19 yrs old in 1939 during the second world war, as a full time regular who saw action in Africa, Italy, Greece & Austria, & remained in the territorial army reaching the rank of Seargant, training soldiers to drive lorries towing radar & Bofors anti-aircraft guns & also trained them to fire the Bofors gun. He was thrown on the scrap heap at 47 with nothing but a thank you.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bofors_40_mm

 

His daytime job was one in heavy engineering. He retired after paying into a private pension scheme for a short time, retiring just after the winter of discontent & start of the Tory government.

 

For all his efforts he struggled by on his state pension & very very small private pension of around £5 a week extra! (worth about £15 in todays money)

 

His brother worked 50 years for English Steel & later British Steel. Making steel for the war effort as bombs rained down on him. He also was a staunch Socialist enduring the steel strikes of the 1970s before he retired. He also retired with little more than his state pension.

 

To think of all the likes of that generation had to put up with & the reward they got whilst a Labour Socialist governement was in.....well if that's socialism you can keep it! (By the way make no mistake I'm no capitalist either! I believe in state / private equity partnerships to be the best solution. Middle of the road politics or centre if you like. I don't think extremes will, or ever have, worked! Many countries & businesses alike have fallen & failed trying to prove that it does!)

 

As a result of no 'true party' suiting my politics, I find myself voting right of centre when we been overdosed with left of centre & visa versa, trying to stop the see-saw from one side to the other.

[Stoatwobbler]

I've heard of parents taking their kids (18+) along to the polling station and making them vote Tory otherwise they'd be written out of the will.

 

There are Tories and Labour folk like that. Personally I really disapprove of people forcing their politics on their kids. At least my own parents were very keen on encouraging me to think for myself!