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A quick thread on this current election. A very dear friend who has minimal interest in politics recently said to me “but, doesn’t Labour just want to take all my money? You know, because they want equality for all?” (1/9)
Now I don’t mind people with different views. A lot of friends differ politically to me, but being ill informed (from a privileged position) really gets to me. This is someone whose family have always voted Conservative, and that’s as deep as the conversation has ever gone. (2/9)
This friend (recently out of uni) thinks they will do better under a Tory government because “they don’t want to take my money”. Having shown them this chart (credit to @jolyonmaugham) I explained that they probably should reconsider this viewpoint from their c18k salary. (3/9)
We then began discussing the issue of taxation. Again, the incredible @monachalabi made it quite simple to demonstrate how taxes work. From there, we could discuss Labour’s taxation plans from a more informed start point. (4/9)
The conversation then moved onto climate change (I think I moved it there to be honest...) and they were shocked to hear that Boris Johnson hadn’t accepted an invitation to @channel4news ‘ #ClimateChangeDebate . “But why? Climate change is so important?” Ain’t it just... (5/9)
We ended up discussing a lot in quite a short space of time. No arrogance, nothing misleading. I introduced them to @fullfact . We laughed at @nickymorgan01 ‘s GMB interview, at @matthancock transforming before our eyes into Hannibal Lector... (6/9)
It was great just to introduce them to the people running our government. Finally I was asked how I would vote. The truth is, I still don’t know. There are serious problems with both main parties, but in my constituency I don’t want the Conservatives to get in again. (7/9)
Twitter has been simultaneously a sanctuary and a scary cesspit of ‘fact versus fiction’ during this election period. In this instance, it was a particularly useful platform to help inform an inquisitive friend without placing too much emphasis on my own opinions. (8/9)
I’ll refer to this particular tweet by @davidschneider when I say I am not an expert in economics, nor do I understand what on earth is occurring politically right now. But at a base level I care about people, and, for as long as I remember, I don’t feel as if those in power do.
