The Extreme and Identity Campaign of British Conservatives

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In the United Kingdom, the vote has begun with the approximately 160,000 members of the British Conservative Party choosing who will be the country’s next party leader and prime minister, between Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak. Truss or Sunak, the foreign minister and former economy minister respectively, would replace Boris Johnson, who resigned in early July after months of scandals and pressure from both the opposition and his own party: the result of the vote in early September. I will know.

The election campaign among British conservatives has been aggressive for weeks: that between Truss and Sunak, in particular, characterized by extreme tone and aim of very identity-oriented political proposals according to various commentators. Conservative’s Radical Voters.

It depends partly on the moment of economic and political crisis in which the UK finds itself, and partly on how this election works. Truss and Sunak are addressing conservative voters only, more so than the entire United Kingdom, and furthermore party members who correspond to the most radical voters: to convince them, they are emphasizing more traditional themes and values. of this area.

truss, date In encompassing manner The Favourite, or Fad, will hold the position of Britain’s fourth consecutive Conservative prime minister since 2010, after David Cameron, Theresa May and Boris Johnson.

Under these 12 years of Conservative leadership, the UK has changed a lot: today it is in the midst of a Economic Crisis Where the cost of living has risen dramatically, many families have been hit hard, and where inflation has also risen, an estimated 9.4 percent (this was estimated in Italy in June 9.1 percentFrom a political point of view, however, exiting the European Union is creating another set of problems, including the strengthening of nationalism in Scotland and Northern Ireland.

– Also read: The “Dirty Campaign” among British Conservatives

Addressing conservative voters, writing tom mactag onthe Atlantic, Truss and Sunak must persuade them to represent change in order to restore strength and prestige to the country, but at the same time be able to embrace the party’s traditional values ​​in as authentic a way as possible. The result, according to various analyses, is an election campaign that is quite poor in content, with identity propositions, at times extreme, and unsuitable for solving the country’s problems.

The truce is placing great emphasis on tax cuts, a very popular topic among the so-called Tories, British Conservatives. Some British newspapers have even coined a term to describe their proposals on economic policy: trussonomics,

The Truss has proposed tax cuts of around £30 billion annually. Among other things, it proposed to cancel the 1.25 per cent increase in contribution introduced last year april Tax increases for corporate profits which are expected to start next year, along with more funding for the NHS and some social services. Truss also proposed, but then be deniedMajor cuts in salaries of certain categories of public servants.

His proposals on tax cuts are so aggressive that many newspapers have compared him to Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher from 1979 to 1990: his policies of neoliberal conservatism, including privatization and tax cuts, aimed at reducing the role of the state in economic life. Reducing as much of the country’s public services as possible often has dire consequences.

According to some commentators, if implemented, the economic policies proposed by the truss would risk having the same effect: cutbacks from the cuts, according to the Resolve Foundation, a British study center that deals with people on middle and small incomes. Only 15 percent of earnings. The taxes proposed by the truss would benefit the poorest section of the population. other, including some of Thatcher’s former government aidesThe belief is that without implementing such large tax cuts in times of high inflation, along with cuts in public spending, the country’s economy risks further damage.

Truss certainly also made populist proposals, such as when he stated (later followed by Sunak) that British farms should be used for farming, not farming. to install solar panels,

– Also read: Margaret Thatcher’s legacy

Sunak, for his part, has placed great emphasis on issues such as security and immigration that are so dear to conservative voters, in this case even with exorbitant proposals.

For example, Sunak expressed his support for the much talked-about agreement between the United Kingdom and Rwanda for the transfer of some asylum seekers to the African country illegally entering the United Kingdom. The agreement set by Boris Johnson’s government is heavily criticized by activists and human rights organizations, as it also provides that migrants themselves remain in Rwanda if their asylum application is accepted.

Sunak then proposed expanding the definition of “extremism” to those who take “outrageous” actions against the country, and to consider these people for enrollment in a “prevention” program, approved by the British government for the people. was established to keep Control at the risk of radicalization. Sunak did not specify what he meant by “abusive” actions, and his proposal has been heavily criticized for posing risks to freedom of expression.

Sunak’s proposals also include a temporary tax of £10 for people who miss two or more appointments with their GP: the measure, according to Sunak, would discourage people from doing so. The proposal has been criticized by many representatives of the National Health Service, who believe that the cost of management will exceed the income collected and that it will be more important to address the reasons why people cancel their doctor’s appointments, perhaps. By encouraging home visits or evening appointments.

Some commentators, such as Tom McTag Onthe Atlantic either Eleni Kauria on well behavedBelieve that is a part of the aggressive and somewhat extremist rhetoric that characterizes Truss and Sunak’s election campaigns identity crisis of the British Conservative Party: “After 12 years in power, [il partito] He is surrounded, he no longer knows what he is and what he represents, what his mission is and how he should accomplish it”, writes McTeague.

and in times of crisis and internal divisions (which also emerged very clearly during Johnson’s leadership), resorting to strong vocals and extreme propositions, such as that characteristic of Thatcherism, “used to fill in the gaps in their profiles with primary colors”. There may be a way. », as pointed out by A. well behaved Historian Robert Saunders of Queen Mary University in London.