According to opinion polls conducted prior to the upcoming election in the United Kingdom by YouGov and Sky News, the Labour Party has a 47 percent approval rating, while the Conservative Party’s is 20 percent. The BBC has been providing aggregate data from various polls, according to which, the Labour Party’s approval rating was fluctuating between 40 and 50 percent and that of the Conservatives between 19 and 29 percent.
Clearly, if these trends continue, the Labour Party will wrest control from the Conservatives during the election in July. Actually, even without the polling data, the Conservatives are acutely aware of their situation and have been taking measures to reverse their low approval rate.
On May 26, the Conservative Party’s manifesto promised to increase pre-tax income for pensioners, obviously trying to please senior citizens who are seen as their main support group. This also shows that the Conservatives lack appeal among younger voters. The Conservative Cabinet as a whole cannot address young voters’ concerns on issues such as housing.
Unlike previous campaigns that focused on the economy and employment, this time the Labour Party is emphasizing increasing healthcare resources. Insufficient healthcare resources are reasons why elderly voters are most dissatisfied with the Conservative government’s performance.
Although the Conservatives’ decline in the polls is primarily because of economic issues and high-level scandals, the Labour Party is also bothered with similar problems. That being said, since both parties have nothing to brag about, if the majority of dissatisfied voters choose to abstain rather than gamble on Labour, the Conservatives might still have a chance.
The Conservatives’ biggest issue in recent years has been internal strife, but most of the defectors have joined the right-leaning Reform UK rather than the left-leaning Labour. If the Conservatives can reach some kind of understanding with Reform UK before the election and if internal conflicts arise within Labour Party, the Conservatives may still have a chance of winning the election.
-BEIJING NEWS