When you think of your 'typical' Conservative voter you might think of a rich, chubby, white guy with too much money and a disregard for the working classes. Well, if only rich people voted for them then they wouldn't keep winning elections. Of course, lots of people who vote Conservative are normal, working class people like you and me. They aren't absurdly rich; they work hard, have money worries and want life to be a bit easier for hard working people like them.
I have seen/heard some people express the view that a party like Labour only want to reward people who are unemployed, live here illegally or have thirteen children, don't work and drive Porches, drink Champagne for breakfast and enjoy twice-yearly holidays ON OUR MONEY (said angrily by a bald, white bloke who spits when he talks). They believe that the Conservative party is a party who want to stop money going to these 'undeserving scroungers' and instead give it to good, honest, hard working people like themselves.
Well, here are a few ways that Conservative leadership has affected ordinary, working class people in this country.
#1 - Fall in value of real wages.
UK wages have dropped 10% which is literally worse than anywhere else in Europe apart from Greece. Numbers from the OECD's (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) showed that only three countries have seen wage declines since the financial crisis and those are Portugal, Greece and the UK. It is the longest and steepest decline in real wages since 1830.
#2 - Austerity hasn't helped working people.
If you Google austerity it says 'difficult economic conditions created by government measures to reduce public expenditure'. This is what happened after the financial crisis. The Conservatives pointed at what happened in Greece and said that we needed to make severe cuts in order to protect the economy so the same thing doesn't happen to ordinary people here that happened to ordinary people there. So, how have these harsh austerity measures benefited ordinary, working class people like you and me? They haven't. Research has actually shown that more austere countries have a lower rate of GDP growth!
#3 - Cuts to important job sectors.
Most sane people can probably agree that nurses and firefighters are ordinary people who work hard, aren't generally super rich and provide an invaluable service to our country. How have they fared under a conservative leadership that rewards hard working people? Well, the number of mental health nurses has been cut by 15% and the number of firefighters has been cut by 6,700.
#4 - Benefit cuts have cost workers money.
A common argument for support of a party such as the Conservatives is that they will cut benefits to save taxpayers money. However, the National Audit Office have said that fining claimants for failing to meet certain conditions has actually cost the government almost twice what it gained. The Department of Work and Pensions said that £30-50 million a year was spent applying sanctions and £200 million monitoring the new terms but in 2015 had saved just £132 million. That means that even even if think all those benefit cuts are fair and justified, they have actually cost you more money than they have saved!
In conclusion, don't just believe Conservative politicians when they tell you they want to punish 'lazy' people and reward hard working people like yourself. Look at the facts and figures and see whether ordinary, working class people like you and me have actually benefited from living under a Conservative government.
"How can you trust Jeremy Corbyn? I mean, he looks so scruffy!"
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