According to John Burn-Murdoch in the FT “The Tories have become unmoored from the British people“. The charts are very telling and worth looking at. You can see them here but best to go to the FT itself.
From the FT this morning. The Tories are now the most right-wing ruling party in the developed world and are completely out of step even with their own voters https://t.co/rkPAbJzOcE pic.twitter.com/uBoxC7d6H3
— Richard Murphy (@RichardJMurphy) September 30, 2022
Through the mini-Budget Liz Truss has moved the Conservatives to the right of Brothers of Italy and US Republicans, and even to the right of Bolsonaro’s party in Brazil.
This is set alongside a chart showing the position of British voters on the two axes of social and economic values. Even the most right wing of Conservative voters are not in sympathy with Trussonomics. Lib Dem and Labour voters lie even further to the left, of course. In numerical terms, the Truss Government scores 9.4 out of 10 (far right), whereas Conservative voters average 4.2, and British voters overall have an average score of 3.2.
The Tories have plotted a course to the very edge of the economic map, and when they scan the horizon there is nobody to be seen.
* Mary Reid is a contributing editor on Lib Dem Voice. She was a councillor in Kingston upon Thames, where she is still very active with the local party, and is the Hon President of Kingston Lib Dems.
6 Comments
Over the last 12 Years all 3 major British Parties have tried to destroy themselves, first Us, then Labour & now The Tories. All 3 took the same approach of ignoring what their loyal Voters actually wanted.
Perhaps Truss will be the first Kamikaze Leader to go all the way ?
I notice the emphasis on Conservative VOTERS. She was elected by Conservative party members, who will have known who and what they were voting for. The Daily Express newspaper hailed the budget as at long last a truly Tory budget.
It is important therefore to challenge people to question seriously those who are members of the Conservative party, especially if out of mistaken loyalty they are not prepared to publicly speak against this new government. We and the public generally also need to challenge the right wing media who are leading people astray. We should not suggest they have no right to exist, but they need to be constantly challenged and contradicted.
Have you also noticed the language of deception, so popular with Boris ? Yesterday Liz Truss gave people the impression she had stopped their energy bills from going beyond £2500, put all the blame on Putin for the economic crisis, said she was working with the Bank of England, (when until today she had not done so) and claimed that politicians had nothing to do with interest rates; all of this is wrong.
We can blame a majority of Conservative members for deception too, because she and the former defence secretary said at the start of her campaign very clearly that Boris should have remained as PM and Rishi Sunak was a traitor for bringing him down. People wanted a change in government attitude and working, not more of the same deception and incompetence.
Theres a Petition calling for an Election asap, could we not help publicise it, as well as signing of course.
This is, to my mind the biggest Political crisis since 1945. Its worth reminding ourselves how bizarre it is that The Government are Averaging 24% support over the latest five Polls.
John Sopel, podcast “News Agents” and previously “Americast” today tweeted:
“In other words:
The poorest in society need to make do with less
So that the wealthy few can have more thru tax cuts.
That’s quite the message to go into an election with”
Details do reveal some small differences, but this is very much description of austerity politics. Liz Truss is doing an exaggerated version but public services have been cut to the bone and now, pundits are suggesting, they’re going to be cut further in order for the “have yachts” to have even more…again.
Simon Clarke, the levelling up minister has told the ‘Times’ that, “Britain should prepare for new age of austerity”.. It looks like we’ll be using the promised unicorns in stews
I’m not sure if this is a quiet strategy, but recent LibDem appearances in the media have not offered a cig paper between positions on headline issues with newly moderate Labour. With Labour shooting up in polls, an implied “I agree with Kier” would be great for tactical voting.
The great political divide is with the Tories, as acknowledged by Mark Drayford, as well it should be.
Hopefully the recent dip in LibDem polls to Labour would not last and a GE campaign would offer a much fairer coverage. The BBC have treated the party as almost a fringe since 2015, which may be explained by a top Tory donor as Chair and another on the board in charge of fair coverage.