Fourteen years of Conservative Party rule in the UK has seen Brexit, Covid, economic turmoil and political strife, leaving many Britons devastated.
In that time, the Tories have had five prime ministers, including three in four months in 2022 – a fifth term on July 4 is unlikely.
With opinion polls showing Labour’s 20-point gap to growth, Rishi Sunak and colleagues are starting to warn voters not to give Keir Starmer’s party a “supermajority” in parliament.
But public trust in politicians has eroded, and the campaign has done nothing to restore it.
Tim Bale, professor of politics at Queen Mary University of London, attributes the loss of confidence to the aftermath of the 2008 global financial crisis.
“You had a government in 2010 that promised no cuts in the short term, only increased austerity in the country that undermined public services in the long term,” he told AFP.
Brexit and Boris Johnson’s promise to “Deliver Brexit” is designed to return to the “bread and butter issues” of the economy, health, education and policing.
But Bale added: “The Conservatives … then failed to fulfill one of the promises they made in this matter.”
In the 2016 referendum on European Union membership, 52 percent of Britons voted to “leave” and 48 percent to “remain.”
Since 2010, Prime Minister David Cameron has resigned following the results. His deputy, Theresa May, failed to get parliamentary approval for her Brexit divorce deal. He resigned in 2018.
Boris Johnson’s election victory in 2019 allowed him to implement his Brexit plan, with the UK leaving the UK the following year.
But the government initially underestimated the pandemic and the opening of the Downing Street party led to its downfall in July 2022.
Bale attributes the current Tory “predicament” to Johnson and Truss, who have damaged their reputation for integrity and economic integrity.
Truss has been in power for just 49 days, but his plan to cut unpaid taxes to ease sky-high inflation sent shock waves through financial markets and sent the pound crashing.
During Sunak’s rule since October 2022, there have been public and private sector strikes over the cost of living.
Annual inflation has now fallen to 2.3 percent, but wages have not kept pace and remain at 2010 levels.
The government has tried to keep the economy sparkling, but growth and productivity are stagnant and the tax burden is at its highest level in 70 years.
Even he admitted that since the time of Margaret Thatcher it has become more difficult to buy houses to accommodate parties with centralized ownership.
A major concern for the aging population is the National Health Service (NHS), where millions of people are waiting for care due to staff and funding shortages.
According to the OECD, the gap between rich and poor has widened since 2012, making the UK one of the most unequal countries in Europe and the G7.
With less than three weeks to go before Election Day, there’s an atmosphere. Some voters say they want change but doubt their political leaders can deliver it.
More than a third (37 percent) believe the economy will get worse, compared to a quarter (28 percent) who say the opposite, according to Ipsos.
Only one in five (20 percent) said the country was moving in the right direction.
When it comes to national psychodrama, more than half (53 per cent) say Brexit has had a negative impact. However, the two main parties are shy about talking about it.
Surveys show that unemployment is low, crime is down and British students score high for their studies in international rankings, which isn’t all bad.
Others talked about gay marriage, introduced by Cameron in 2014, and Britain’s role in combating global warming through greater use of renewable resources.
But the election was largely fought over the NHS and the cost of living, with the Tories under threat from Nigel Farage’s Reform UK keen to talk tough on immigration and promise tax cuts.
Labor is enjoying the Tory’s discomfort, but the reality is that the pressure may be inflating, said Anand Menon of King’s College London.
“There is no doubt that Keir Starmer inherited a difficult financial and economic situation,” he said. APPLICATIONS
UK election picks over 14 years of Conservative rule
