Speaking to Jubilant Tory Voters About Their Election Win

This article originally appeared on VICE UK.

Many were saddened to hear of the Tories' victory in the election this morning. Jobs will be lost, lives will be ruined. The underprivileged are Indiana Jones, and Cameron's government is the giant stone ball, chasing them down a dark cobwebbed tunnel—the only difference being that Indiana Jones escaped the crushing.

But hey, someone voted for them. A lot of people, actually. More than most had anticipated. Some people are pretty pleased about the result. Luckily for us, the VICE office is right near London's commercial and financial hub, so we went out to find some happy blue bloods, work out what the result means for them, why they voted the way they did and what advice they have for people whose lives are going to be completely ruined in the next five years.

VICE: How do you feel about the result today?
Rav: I think I'm pretty pleased. I voted Conservative.

Why is that?
I think they do sensible things about the economy, and they don't just make grand statements. The alternative wasn't up to scratch. I might have considered voting differently if there was a genuine alternative, but there wasn't. These guys just know what they're talking about.

Does the result benefit you in any way personally?
I don't think so, not directly. I just think it would be the right thing for the country.

Have your political leanings changed at all over the last few years?
Last election I voted Labour, purely because I was quite impressed by the credentials of my local MP at the time, so I thought I'd vote Labour. This time I voted Conservative because the local MP seemed a lot more involved—she cared more about the local issues rather than her career progression through the political hierarchy.

Do you think David Cameron is a good leader?
Not as good as he can be. To be honest, I don't have a really strong opinion about that. You have to look at what's available to you. Who do you want in a room with Obama and Putin? Cameron, right now. There might be someone better along the way and I might change my mind.

What advice would you give to the people who are going to be adversely affected by the proposed welfare cuts?
I'm not going to lie—I'm all for working hard, so if you work hard I don't think the government will take the rug from under your feet, unless you're in a really unfortunate situation. I can't presume to know what people are going through if they're going to live off the welfare state. But if you really work hard, it will reward you. But the bottom line is you've got to work hard.

Thanks, Rav.

How do you feel about the result?
Peter: I'm pleased with it. I think it was the right decision. The Conservative party are the best party to get us out of the deficit and help the economy and get us in the right place going forward.

Do you work around here?
Yeah, at ICAP in Broadgate.

Will the result benefit you in any personal way?
Not that I can see in the immediate future, no.

Have your political leanings changed throughout any point in your life?
No, I've always been a Conservative voter.

Do you think David Cameron is a good leader?
Best of a bad bunch. I don't think any of our political leaders are great. They follow a standard format that is of an American policy. They don't take it up as a vocational career any more, in my opinion.

As a Conservative voter, do you have any advice for the people who are going to be hit quite hard by the welfare cuts?
No, because under a Labour government they would have had to do the same. The debts need to be paid now, otherwise we'll pass it onto our children and our grandchildren.

How do you feel about the result today?
Liam: I think it was inevitable. I mean, we were pretty sure the Conservatives were gonna come through. There's a high contingent of Labour supporters in the area, but, on the whole, I thought Ed Miliband was just not a safe bet, really. Most of my friends and people round here were voting Conservative. We tend to live a bit further out, and those sort of areas are predominantly dominated by Conservatives. A lot of local residents around here were voting Labour—a lot of council blocks round here, etc, lower incomes. I think it was a fair result in the end. I didn't think it was going to be so decisive; I thought it was going to be a coalition. But yeah, quite glad with the result in the end.

Does the result affect you in any personal way? I know that Foxtons shares went up by 13 percent as a product of the Conservative victory.
I wouldn't say personally, because I don't own the business. But from a personal perspective, the market is a bit more fluid now. A lot of the properties around here are over £2 million [$3 million], and there's a lot more properties coming to the market, and obviously more people are going to be buying.

Have you always voted Tory?
First time I voted was yesterday. I'm 26, and the last time I was at uni, so I didn't really care to be honest. Now that I'm working—you know, I'm not a political expert, but I started listening a bit and watching debates and thought, 'Yeah, Cameron was the man to back.'

Do you think he's a good leader?
I think he perceives himself as a good leader. I don't really know enough about the policies to give an informed opinion, but, from the surface, he scrubs up well. He's very articulate and he can get himself out of any questions, so trademarks of a good politician. Whether he's trustworthy or not remains to be seen. I think you need 10 years in government to really do anything, and I know he's put some good building blocks in, so now it's time to see if he'll actually follow through.

What advice would you have for people who are going to be adversely affected by the welfare cuts?
To be honest, I don't really know anyone who would be affected. Not saying I don't mix with those sorts of people, just that… I don't know the best way to put this without it sounding a bit risky.

Take your time.
What was the question again?

What advice would you have for people who are going to be adversely affected by the welfare cuts?
What is actually going to happen them?

Well, for instance, the proposed cutting of housing benefits for under-25s would make it very difficult for underprivileged young people in very delicate, potentially dangerous situations to get out of them.
Well, in that situation obviously they have my deepest sympathies, but I think in the overall scheme of things… my understanding is that if you work hard you will be rewarded, so as far as I can see they want to get as many people into work as possible and try to buck the trend of sitting at home and not earning money, as opposed to getting off your ass. They're trying to raise the wage, etc, so it makes it a bit more beneficial—you don't think, 'I can sit at home and earn less, but I don't have to do anything.'

Thanks, Liam.

Follow Joe on Twitter.