After five turbulent years of Conservative governance, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has set July 4th as the date for the election, months ahead of when it was expected. In fact, he had until December to call an election that could have happened as late as Jan. 28, 2025.
The UK’s first election in five years appears to be a contest for the soul of the country.
The Conservatives are considered by some to be Islamophobes, while Labour is still tarred by some as being antisemitic – a perception that has festered since the ignoble term in office of former extreme-leftist and pro-Hamas leader Jeremy Corbyn.
The new Labour leader, Sir Kier Starmer, has set out five key policies his party will implement should Labour be elected: get Britain building; switch on British energy; get the National Health Service back on its feet; take back the streets from criminal gangs; and break down the barriers to individuals by enhancing child-care, improving education standards, and by harnessing advances in science.
Conservative leader Rishi Sunak has set out his party’s priorities: mandatory national service, either twelve months in the military or monthly weekend community service for a year; tax cuts; reduced immigration; regulate artificial intelligence; and, redefine the use of green belts to address the housing shortage.
Regardless of these policy proposals, Labour leads Conservatives by 20 points, and is expected to win the election. However, much can happen between now and July 4.
Both parties bring baggage to the electoral contest.
The Conservatives have been in power for 14 years and voter fatigue has set in. They have governed through Brexit, Boris Johnson’s tumultuous term in office (although he won a majority in the last election against the hapless Corbyn), and the various leaders in between.
Labour has lived through the extreme leftist and antisemitic leadership of Jeremy Corbyn and still reeks of these elements.
While the Conservatives want to reduce immigration, especially of those groups who refuse to assimilate to British society and respect its culture, Labour seeks to accept tens of thousands of Gazans quickly.
Indeed, many Labour candidates are outright Hamas supporters. The mayors of the UK’s top eleven cities are Muslims who also appear to support this terrorist organization and have allowed pro-Hamas and antisemitic demonstrations and occupations to take place unhindered by hapless police forces.
Many Labour candidates seem to be running on the issue of Gaza exclusively to harness the Muslim vote rather than on British economic and social issues.
The BBC reports that Labour's national election co-ordinator Pat McFadden told the network that the situation in the Middle East was a "high foreign policy priority" for Labour, if it was elected.
"The better lives that people want for the Palestinian people is something the Labour leadership shares," he said.
He acknowledged that in some parts of the country, the conflict was proving a problem for Labour and said: "There will be some people who maybe voted Labour in the past who haven't in the local elections because of this issue and where that's the case we'll work to get people's support back."
While most Brits are not single-issue voters, Labour will have a few weeks to turn around the image of wanting to dilute British society further by proposing an influx of thousands of Gazan Muslims, many of whom espouse violence and will bring their prejudices and hatred with them, including the goal of universal jihad and their obsession with imposing sharia in the UK. Recent polls in Gaza indicate that up to 90% of Gazans support Hamas and its terrorist activities.
The economy shows some signs of improvement, but is it enough to make a dent on voter concerns about the high cost of living and interest rates? The coffers are empty, and Labour will find it difficult to implement its expensive social policies without adequate funds.
This leaves voters wondering about the additional costs of a Labour victory. In addition, voters will also question how the Conservative proposal to reduce taxes will increase the flow of funds necessary to implement their program.
As is the case in many countries elsewhere, the center is weak.
The Liberal Democrats have little pull among voters, who are polarized between Labour and the Conservatives. This party, perhaps the party of common sense, shows few signs of growth.
Thus, many British voters will find themselves either holding their noses and voting for one of the two major parties in the hope of keeping the other from winning, or staying at home as a form of protest.
In my view, neither party holds the key to a prosperous and united Britain.
British society suffers from divisive multiculturalism and rigid social stratification. The disaffected are many, especially among the youth who see no future in terms of jobs and opportunities and turn to crime and the politics of hate for something to do.
Charismatic leadership and policies that resonate are essential to rally a troubled electorate, and neither leader brings them to the table.
In my view, regardless of who wins, the malaise may well continue since neither leader has demonstrated the ability to connect with and motivate voters and provide a real vision for the U.K.
I think I’ll stop buying British products given their vile views.
I think you are misapplying your own prejudices here. The suggestion that Labour Mayors support Hamas because they are Muslims is unfounded and ignoble of you. The Gaza War is a very minor issue in this election...although most Brits, while certainly Antisemitic are appalled at the Israeli Government for the horrors it is bringing to civilians in Gaza and for its general disproportionate response to the appalling Hamas acts of October 7th.
Moreover, you mischaracterise why Labour are polling so strongly. While I agree it has little to do with an enthusiasm for Kier Starmer and his policies (which many wish were MORE radical and progressive, not less), neither is it just "voter fatigue"! Here is a list off the top of my head why the vast majority of people here are not going to vote for the Tories this time...or possibly ever again:
• Economic stagnation following a disastrous austerity programme
• Growing inequality
• Tax breaks for the richest instead of wealth taxes to invest for growth
• Massive increase in poverty levels, fuelled by cruel cuts in benefits to the poor
• Cutting overseas aid from the promise of 0.7% GNI…and using the shrunken budget for refugees in the UK rather than overseas development
• And then crashing the economy in 2023 creating a cost of living crisis
• Failure to deliver on social care promise
• Lack of investment in our crumbling infrastructure - railways, schools etc.
• Misspending our military budget)…so we now have brand new aircraft carriers without the planes to protect them!
• Public services, across health, education and the criminal justice system on the brink of collapse
• Undermining institutions - judges, teachers and schools, the BBC etc etc
• Failure to build the houses we desperately need
• Failure to support better insulation of existing housing
• Failure to invest in renewables…and banning of inland wind turbines!
• And now rowing back on net zero promises, starting new oil and coal exploitation
• Pollution of our lakes and rivers
• Clinging to our unfair first past the post electoral system
• Stoking a culture war, yet failing to call out blatant racism and Islamophobia - indeed taking money from those guilty. (Incidentally, multiculturalism in the UK is not the failure that you suggest)
• PartyGate…the hypocrisy of Boris partying against his own lockdown rules while the Queen mourned alone her dead husband
• Undermining democracy by proroguing Parliament and now gerrymandering of constituency boundaries
• Brexit lies
• Needless Covid death levels after locking down too late
• Procurement corruption during Covid and cronyism throughout their tenure
• Failing to sort out the post office and infected blood national scandals
• Cruel, expensive and ineffective Rwanda policy
• Threatening to ignore or leave ECHR…because they wanted to break international law unhindered.
In fact, I am amazed that 20% of the British people say they will vote Tory despite this extraordinary record of Government failure. I guess that the Murdoch and other foreign-owned and controlled propaganda rags we euphemistically call "newspapers" still have some sway!