[user104658]

Originally Posted by MTVN

Well the idea that the only Tories who still back Osborne are those who are not 'politically aware'.

Who said the "only" ones? What I said was, the bulk of Tory voters (because, the bulk of ALL voters, though most seem oddly hesitant to admit it) are not politically aware on a day-to-day basis. This is why election campaigning, press smearing, negative politics, etc. happens and why it works. If it's not true, then there are a lot of politicians world-wide wasting a lot of money. A LOT of money. If the majority of people were actually following politics and voting based on real policy, trustworthiness, and each party's actual record of achievements, then these campaigns would be unnecessary and ineffective.

But anyway; what I was actually saying is that there are a lot of people who take only a passing interest in politics, who believed the Tory rhetoric in the run up to 2010, and who still actively believe that Camerosborne has "sorted out the deficit" and "got the country back on the right track" with their programme of austerity and cuts, cuts, cuts. Which is false. But they believe it and voted Tory again, and will do so again next time, because "we don't want that Labour mob getting back in and spending all of the money that the Conservatives have worked so hard to save!!!".

I also think that its a straw man that people blame Labour for causing the crash - very few people actually think that. There is, however, a very strong case to say that we were very unprepared for it and unable to react accordingly.

Really? Very few? Hmm... that must be an inredibly vocal "few", then, because there are an awful lot of people still bleating it. Now, for example, I'd say it's probably true that very few people on Serious Debates and News actually think that, but by necessity the people who are here are generally interested in observing and considering politics in some depth. Not a representative example of the average voter at all. In my opinion