Why'd my dad vote leave?

My dad used to go into farmers’ fields at night and rip up all the Tory posters and billboards, and then store them in our bin shed. He wasn’t always the calmest and he made a fair few mistakes, but he stuck around, changed his ways and is a wise man and a super grandad. And voted Remain.

2 Likes

I’ve mentioned before, but my Dad is a cliche. Used to be a member of the communist party, fully committed hippy idealist.

Now he is pre-Brexit, pro-Tory. I assumed he would be voting remain last summer, but when I spoke to him, he voted leave because of a story about a one-legged Albanian drug dealer on benefits living in a mansion. Once we leave we can kick him out apparently.

Hmmmm. I have a suspicion it’s very similar to that book/article about someone in the US who saw their dad transformed from a nice person into an old reactionary by Fox News/Talk Radio. In my case the Daily Mail is probably to blame.

He is no way as bad as this in the article. He’s very thoughtful generally and loving. Just a bit of a twat when it comes to politics.

My dad complains about Brexit whenever I go home to visit and described both the Daily Mail and UKIP as “totally bonkers”. I guess that makes him part of the Metropolitan Elite or something.

My dad switched from Guardian → Mail about 6 years ago. And everything else that goes with that.


Finding it harder and harder to like him these days :disappointed:

We used to have loads of phone calls on Sunday helping each other out with the Observer crossword.

Does the Mail have crosswords? Answers are probably all ROYALTY, TERRORIST, LEFTIE, etc

1 Like

My dad is the son of a coal miner. He joined the army and ‘escaped’ Merthyr Tydfil. Thatcher repeatedly gave the armed forces pay increases in the 1980s and so bought his loyalty for all time.

He loves a political argument whenever I visit my parents. I outfoxed him last time by saying ‘you and me are not that different’, even though I don’t believe it myself. It completely put him off his rhythm, thankfully.

He voted remain, doesn’t read newspapers but is very much a small ‘c’ conservative – a product of the armed forces.

Probably - never looked. They’re not going to be as much fun as the observer because mail readers are joyless people.

Yes I did say “fun”.

Such strange logic.

I’m going to slam my old boy in the door to teach all my exes a lesson.

Yeah I know. I’m particularly mad because when I tried to reason with him before the vote he’d just say ‘I don’t care, I won’t be around to see all the consequences’ (he’s only 67). When I point out the effect it will have on his children and grandchildren he just shrugs and says it’s not his problem. It’s completely weird because he’s otherwise great and would do absolutely anything for us, so I just don’t get it.

I bet he actually regrets it but doesn’t have the balls to say it right now.

We don’t all necessarily mature with age.

2 Likes

I blame it all on him reading the Daily Mail tbh.

It’s such a poisonous rag. There’s not a shred of merit in it. I just don’t get why decent people read it.

1 Like

did we find out why?

My Dad - swing voter. Voted remain.

Voted Tory at the last election mainly because of their EU referendum pledge though. He’s been banging on about the country being asked about it for the last 20 years. Thought it was really important for some reason.

Since I’ve been old enough to vote he’s voted Lib Dem, Green and Tory.

^this, but Daily Telegraph rather than Mail.

My dad’s fallen for the ‘unelected eurocrats’ stuff hook line and sinker.

My dad has the most bizarre and bitter ideas about life in general, getting increasing awful in the last ten years. He’s gone from a mildly out of touch middle aged man to a full on daily mail calibre turd. I thought I’d wind him up by saying baby boomer landlords were parasite scum, worse than the most devious benefits fraudster. Nothing. Asked him if he’d watched something on bbc one, fuck me. Hour long rant about how they’re destroying the country.

My first memory of anything party political was my Dad telling me about The Referendum Party in like 1995 or something, safe to say we didn’t agree on last year’s outcome.

The Referendum Party did at least rid of us of David Mellor. There’s that.