I've noticed a trend whereas new black male faces in the arena of politics, tend to gravitate to the Tory party.
Somewhat intrigued..I asked a few people this evening, what they thought the Tory party stood for, and how it differs from the Labour Party, and the comments, if not surprising...were interesting
"The Tory party push the idea that if you go out and make a business...you'll have an amazing life .. whereas Labour push that if you go out and work for someone..you'll have a 'nice' life"
" The Tory Party is the party of enterprise and growth"
"Labour is more about taking care of all... often at the expense of the rich"
The current average black man tends to be very entrepreneurial
When asked, many may tell you that they prefer not to work for anyone; perhaps that's because people tended not to want them to work for them...
..who knows.
But they have become accustomed to taking care of themselves.
With many of their women tired and frustrated at having had to carrying the sole burden, in some cases for prolonged periods, they have had a few options... but little choice.
I think it's fair to say that Labour...still has a slight image/policy problem
Many people still equate the party with huge spending on welfare, socialism and soft hearted Liberals..
Labour.. the party for the working classes.. the party of the 99%
Tony Blair changed the image of the party considerably and won 3 elections as a result
Jeremy Corbyn feels to many as a step backwards, to an un-electable 'Neil Kinnock' style past
This need not be the case.. but perception in politics is stronger than facts.
I once thought the Conservative party was rooted in conservation and minimal change, yet things have certainly changed.. less so a change of universal values, but a change with regards to the focus on financial growth and a growing sense of Nationalism.
Perhaps Tory conservation, is simply to conserve the status quo...
the class system.
Interestingly, Theresa May ( our un-elected P.M.. please remember the stick Gordon Brown got folks) speaks about wanting a fairer country. A Tory party that recognizes inequality and strives to tackle those inequalities?.. all very labour-esque.
Perhaps the 'Tory' attraction for some black men is a desire to feel as though they are moving among the higher echelons of society.
Perhaps it's a desire to shake off any unwanted 'stereotypes' of a 'difficult fella' or 'rebellious/ anti system' man.
or... maybe, those men are simply fed up of caring for others.. .especially if very few actually cared about them. Preferring an easy(er) life, and are tired of fighting a seriously skewed system.
I don't know
Perhaps the warriors... have simply left the building...
I expect the easy answer is... that I should just find a black male Tory... and ask him...
Why?
Samuel Phillip Gyimah
MP Kwasi Kwarteng
Bc Labour seems like it only likes white working class northern males - it's still a private club in reality - the tories say what you like about them have had a Jewish man and two women as leaders of their party.
ReplyDelete"speaks about wanting a fairer country" this is when I head for the hills. I'm left leaning ideologically and find the Labour party more appealing. It's like this, the party that matters the most is the one that serves our Black community better, and I'll be a Tory in a flash if this meant I will have more representatives working on my behalf. Ideology doesn't keep the lights on
ReplyDeleterise of the black Tory male ey? must be a Ghanaian thing (judging from the two examples you've posted). good on them, we need more people