Wednesday, February 10, 2016

#neverkissedaTory

Slightly depressing story this.
The proportion of parents who would be “very upset” if their offspring married someone of a different political persuasion has more than doubled in eight years, a YouGov survey shows. Among Labour parents it is up from 4 per cent to 10 per cent while Tory supporters expressing horror at the prospect of a Labour son or daughter-in-law has risen from 2 to 6 per cent. Twenty-eight per cent of Labour supporters say they would be unhappy if their son or daughter married a Tory.
I guess this is partly just another sign that British politics is getting more like the States but, God the intolerance is dismal. Here are two MPs on this subject. It's fair to say that I find one position considerably more attractive than the other:
The Labour MP Stephen Pound told The Times: “I am the least sectarian of people but if my daughter came home with a Tory I’d disown her.” 
The Tory MP Jacob Rees-Mogg said: “My eldest is eight but if they were to grow up and marry a socialist I should be absolutely fine with that. Of course during dinner discussions it is very unlikely they would ever be right, but you might convert them — and there is more joy in heaven over the one sinner who repents than the 99 that do not.”