The UK has voted the Conservatives out of power. Many British voters have gradually lost faith in the so-called Tories over the last 14 years. But the data suggests there’s a specific incident which may have sealed their fate. CGTN’s Michael Marillier explains.
#election #uk #vote #sunak #starmer #conservatives #labour #truss
#election #uk #vote #sunak #starmer #conservatives #labour #truss
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00:00When did things go wrong for the Conservatives?
00:04Well, there are some clues when you look at opinion polls.
00:08This is data from research firm YouGov.
00:11The blue line shows support for the Conservatives,
00:14the red line support for Labour.
00:16Now, the Conservatives lost their lead in late 2021,
00:20but let's focus on this date, September 22nd, 2022.
00:25This was the day before Prime Minister Liz Truss
00:28proposed drastic tax cuts, a move which spooked the markets.
00:33At this stage, Labour were eight points ahead.
00:37Truss came under fire as the market reacted to those shock cuts.
00:41The value of the pound fell,
00:43while economists warned that mortgage rates could go up.
00:48Fast forward to October 21st.
00:51This is the day after Truss resigned.
00:54Support for the Conservatives had been dropping for weeks,
00:57and by the time she quit, it was just 19%.
01:01Meanwhile, Labour had surged to 56%.
01:05The Conservatives have never really recovered.
01:08The party got 20% in YouGov's latest poll,
01:11conducted a week before the election.
01:14Labour dropped below 40%, but was still 17 points ahead.
01:21So, why were people so angry?
01:24Well, the chaos on the market came at precisely the wrong time.
01:28Let's not forget, the UK was facing
01:30the highest levels of inflation in 40 years.
01:34The fact is, many people were struggling to survive.
01:38The crisis cost Truss her job.
01:41Now, it seems, the Conservatives are paying the price as well.