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There have been five Conservative prime ministers in Downing Street since 2010
CARLOS JASSO
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Fourteen years of Conservative Party rule in the UK have been marked by Brexit, Covid, economic turmoil and political scandals, leaving many Britons worse off and disillusioned.
During this period, the Conservatives have had five prime ministers – including three in four months in 2022 – and it seems unlikely that they will secure a fifth term on July 4.
With polls showing a 20-point lead for Labor refusing to budge, Rishi Sunak and his colleagues have begun warning voters not to give Keir Starmer's party a “supermajority” in Parliament.
But public trust in politicians has evaporated, and the campaign is doing nothing to restore it.
Tim Bale, professor of political science at Queen Mary University of London, attributes the erosion of trust to the aftermath of the 2008 global financial crisis.
“You had a government that came in 2010 that promised there would be no drastic budget cuts, just to kickstart austerity in the country, which crippled public services in the long term,” he said. declared to AFP.
Brexit – and Boris Johnson’s promise to “get Brexit done” – has been presented as an opportunity to return to “core issues” such as the economy, health, education and policing.
But Bale added: “The Conservatives… have then completely failed to deliver on any of their promises on these issues.”
The referendum on membership of the European Union in 2016 saw 52% of Britons vote “leave” and 48% “remain”.
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Brexit hangs like a shadow over the party's time in government
LEON NEAL
David Cameron, Prime Minister since 2010, resigned after the results were announced. Her successor, Theresa May, failed to gain parliamentary approval for her Brexit divorce deal. She resigned in 2018.
Boris Johnson's landslide victory in the 2019 election allowed him to press ahead with his Brexit plan, and the UK left the EU the following year.
But he was undone by Covid, with his government initially underestimating the pandemic, and revelations about lockdown-breaking parties at Downing Street contributed to his fall in July 2022.
Bale blamed the Conservatives' current “disastrous state” on Johnson and Truss, who shattered their reputation for integrity and economic credibility.
Truss spent just 49 days in office, but his plan for unfunded tax cuts to tame skyrocketing inflation spooked financial markets and sent sterling tumbling.
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Inequality has increased because of Tory austerity measures and a cost of living crisis.
BEN STANSALL
Sunak's tenure in power since October 2022 has been marked by widespread strikes in the public and private sectors triggered by the high cost of living.
Annual inflation has now slowed to 2.3 percent, but wages have not kept pace and are stuck at 2010 levels.
Sunak has tried to hide the economy, but growth and productivity are stagnating and the tax burden is at its highest level in 70 years.
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Recent years have seen widespread strikes, particularly within the state-run National Health Service.
CARLOS JASSO
He even admitted that buying a house had become more difficult, a remarkable admission for a party that has placed homeownership as a central principle since the days of Margaret Thatcher.
A major concern for an aging population is the state-run National Health Service (NHS), with millions of people awaiting treatment due to years of staff shortages and underfunding.
The gap between rich and poor has widened since 2012, making the United Kingdom one of the most unequal countries in Europe and the G7, according to the OECD.
With less than three weeks until election day, pessimism reigns. Voters want change but doubt their political leaders can deliver it, a survey shows.
More than a third (37%) think that the economic situation will continue to deteriorate, compared to just over a quarter (28%) who think the opposite, suggests the Ipsos poll.
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Immigration, particularly the crossing of the Channel by small boats, has become a major political issue
Sameer Al Doumy
Only one in five people (20%) believe that the country is moving in the right direction.
As for the national psychodrama that is Brexit, more than half (53%) believe that it has had a negative effect. Yet both major parties are reluctant to talk about it.
Sunak points to low unemployment, falling crime and top marks for UK students in international league tables as proof it's not all bad.
Others mention same-sex marriage, introduced by Cameron in 2014, and the UK's leading role in tackling global warming by using more renewable energy.
But the election is more about the NHS and the cost of living, while the Conservatives, threatened by Nigel Farage's Reform UK party, want to talk tough on immigration and promise tax cuts.
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Prime Minister Rishi Sunak looks set to lose July 4 vote
BENJAMIN CREMEL
Labor is capitalizing on the Tories' unease, but reality could soon bite, said Anand Menon of King's College London.
“There is no doubt that Keir Starmer inherits a very difficult financial and economic situation,” he said.