Interesting question, Pam! I used to vote the same way as my parents, which was understandable, I suppose, given that I was brought up in a household and atmosphere in which one of the main political parties in Ireland was regarded as a manifestation of the devil.
I knew which party's candidates to shut the door on before I was eight.
So, yes, when I first had the vote and was still living with my parents I voted just as they did.
Then I moved out - well, moved to another country, in fact.
And by then, as a young adult, I'd been exposed to other political views - as a student, by lecturers and other students. By the time I moved to the UK for work, I voted a very different way - not for the devil party,
but for a party which was and still is a minority party in Ireland but for which I would never have imagined voting at the age of 18.
I think the same is true of my husband: having been brought up to believe that one of the UK's main parties was evil incarnate, he always voted the way his parents did, and continued to do so for some time after moving out. Now, he would never vote for that party. Disillusionment... or just forming his own views as he grew older?
Wendy
