this post was submitted on 11 Sep 2023
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UK Politics

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A majority of British people believe that Britain’s best days are behind it, according to an exclusive new poll which finds that voters believe “nothing in Britain really works any more” under Rishi Sunak’s Conservative Government.

The poll, conducted by pollsters We Think, found that 52% of voters agree with the statement that “Britain’s best days are behind it”, with 58% also agreeing that “nothing in Britain really works any more”, with just 13% disagreeing.

The overwhelming public dissatisfaction with the state of the country, is mirrored in perceptions of the Conservative Government’s handling of public services over the past 13 years.

61% of voters say that, overall, public services have got worse under the Conservatives, with just 7% saying they have got better.

This includes 67% who say the NHS has got worse and 54% who say schools have got worse.

The finding also suggest that voters disbelieve Rishi Sunak’s claim to have brought down crime, with 49% saying it has actually increased, compared to just 8% who believe it has come down. Government claims to have brought down crime since 2010 are based on excluding fraud and online crimes from the data.

Public perceptions of the Government’s handling of the economy is also low, according to our poll. 53% say the UK is doing worse than other similar countries economically, compared to just 9% who believe claims that Britain is doing better than comparable nations.

The overall perception of the Government’s poor performance appears to have also worsened public opinion of the Prime Minister himself. According to our poll 48% of voters say their impression of Rishi Sunak has gone downhill since he first became PM, compared to just 10% who say their impression of him has improved.

Even some remaining Conservative voters appear to be losing faith in the PM with one-in-five (18%) saying their view of him has got worse since he entered Downing Street.

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[–] Oneeightnine@feddit.uk 42 points 1 year ago (2 children)

I've got to assume the people in the 7% who think services have improved don't actually have to interact with those services?

[–] PupBiru@kbin.social 15 points 1 year ago

services have improved because muh taxes don’t pay for them any more!

Or don't realise that polls don't register their sarcasm.

[–] Emperor@feddit.uk 33 points 1 year ago

The top 1% have never had it so good, so everything is working as planned. Thatcher espoused Victorian Values and this recent batch of shysters have taken that ball and run with it leaving many of us in Victorian Living Conditions - skipping meals and only being able to heat one room (if we're lucky). I don't think they've got enough time for a full Bonfire of Red Tape (one prime reason they wanted to leave the EU) but with zero hours contracts and the like we aren't far off Victorian Working Conditions and that worked out so well for my family (it killed one of my Dad's grandfather's and three of his great-grandfathers).

[–] Mojojojo1993@lemmy.world 32 points 1 year ago

Stop fucking voting them in.

[–] DessertStorms@kbin.social 28 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (2 children)

Don't be mistaken - this is all deliberate.

Not just the enshitification of the services that meant life here was slightly less shit than in the other capitalist "superpowers", but also the lamenting of the "good old days" which will 100% move in to a "Make Britain Great Again" type campaign for the sleaziest tory to pick up and run with, and easily win, because they'll talk about how the NHS needs to be restored to its former glory, but in reality they just want marginalised people to be ignorable (if not punishable for existing) again.
Remember the NHS bus? It's going to happen again.

And sure, some people will vote for it because they see through it and to them the cruelty (and racism, queerphobia, ableism and so on) are the point, but most others will vote for it because they either fall for the co-opting of leftist ideas and/or buy in to whatever the media tells them because we're not taught critical thinking skills at school making our general population extremely easy to manipulate.

And don't even get me started on the impotent "opposition" we supposedly have to replace them.

There is no voting or reforming ourselves out of this, the system is designed to make you think you're only allowed to play by its rules, because those rules ensure its existence. The only way to free ourselves is by abolishing the systems that keep us down for the benefit and enrichment of a handful of people.

[–] tenebrisnox@feddit.uk 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Absolutely correct.

I often wonder whether the UK is used as a petri dish for neoliberal macroeconomic experimentation in the West (in the same way China does with certain megacities and provinces). How far you can cut taxes, how low you can drop living standards, how well you can use the media to manipulate the way that a population behaves.

[–] literallydogshit@lemmy.world 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

That would be the US. Wealthy conservatives here have discovered they can go so far as to even kill or maim large numbers of us for no reason other than amusement. What's the worst that'll happen? A strongly worded opinion piece on the news, a peaceful protest or two, maybe even a riot that destroys the working class part of town. All easily ignored by people who can jump on a private jet and fly to any corner of the world at a moments notice.

[–] tenebrisnox@feddit.uk 1 points 1 year ago

My fear is the rise of fascism. Just saw a poll this morning that showed a large number of young people have no interest in democracy and would welcome a strong military take over.

Frightening when you consider yesterday was the anniversary of Pinochet’s seizure of power in Chile.

[–] Syldon@feddit.uk 1 points 1 year ago

Make Britain Great Again

You phrasing is very wrong - "MAKE UK GREAT AGAIN!". We want MUGAing all over again.

[–] mannycalavera@feddit.uk 28 points 1 year ago (1 children)

A majority...... 52%

Oh gawd... it's the numbers again. Not again. Not like theeese. Not like theeese.

[–] snacks@feddit.uk 30 points 1 year ago

its a good thing we dont decide generational issues on such tight margins

[–] Aliktren@kbin.social 17 points 1 year ago

I mean, good, but stop fucking voting for them then... also I would consider myself lower middle class but the upper middle class I expect have barely even noticed any of the issues plaguing the rest of us and thats a good chunk of the country judging by all the new BMWs and Mercedes swanning about- they'll still vote Tory.

[–] 9point6@lemmy.world 13 points 1 year ago (1 children)

based on excluding fraud and online crimes from the data.

Hahahahaha what.

Funny they're both things that have gotten dramatically worse over their time.

Not least of all, when we also had 2 years where that was pretty much some of the only crime possible?

[–] Syldon@feddit.uk 4 points 1 year ago

People use digital money more and more as time goes by. The only way you can steal digital money is by fraud. You can hardly mug someone and say "sign over some money to me or else!".

[–] octoperson@sh.itjust.works 12 points 1 year ago (1 children)

'Britain's best days are behind us' is, like, a key tenet of British Conservatism

[–] LSNLDN 6 points 1 year ago

And apparently their goal too

[–] onionbaggage@lemmynsfw.com 11 points 1 year ago

Yeah. That's what you get when you vote Conservative.

[–] paulcdb@kbin.social 8 points 1 year ago

Oh look, hoovering up all the money makes for a shitty country, who’d have guessed it?

Its like the whole “we need to privatise x so private companies invest in those services… “ except the only thing private companies invest in is cost cutting and bigger hoovers to suck the profits off to there tax havens! 🙄

But the bigger question is, how has no other party stood up and capitalised on the current shitshow? I mean, it really makes you wonder who runs the puppet show?

But also, how can the rich continue thinking the way the do and watching the decline as it becomes harder to suck up the money up because treating people like shit drastically lowers productivity… which effects there income because clearly all they want is to stuff there ego’s with money to counter that “I’m a shitty rich moron” feeling every morning! 🙄🤦‍♂️

Things really need a massive reset! 😞

[–] Jaysyn@kbin.social 7 points 1 year ago (1 children)

That's what happens when a political party takes orders & money from Russia.

[–] Syldon@feddit.uk 1 points 1 year ago

And donations lets not forget those donations.

[–] Powerpoint@lemmy.ca 7 points 1 year ago

Crime goes up under conservatives as there's less help and resources for people and they get desperate. It's a disgusting circle they create which makes it look like they're doing something when they hire more police rather than deal with the issues at hand.

[–] I_Has_A_Hat@lemmy.ml 6 points 1 year ago

Weren't Britain's best days like 100 years ago?

[–] mobyduck648@beehaw.org 5 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (2 children)

I genuinely am starting to think 2024 will be to the Tories what 1979 was for Labour in that it’s not just going to hurt the party but the assumptions that underlie it. Labour when they returned in 1997 were a very different party after their time in the wilderness.

The neoliberal consensus has had forty years to do its thing and the state of the country is testament to its failure. Who would have thought reviving ideas from classical liberalism that fell out of favour literally because they contributed to causing the Great Depression might cause economic instability in the long run?

[–] snacks@feddit.uk 4 points 1 year ago (2 children)

There’s a really good podcast episode in the new statesman’s channel called the Trappings of Western hyper liberalism, which is a discussion with John Gray whos done a book on it. I followed it almost, it covers so much ground but the jist of it is basically the liberal west is eating itself in the same way that Russian liberalism is crumbling and being consumed by the same forces which created it. The Russian tradition is basically to challenge the difficult issues of humanity, and the western one is to allow for them and come to some way of moving forward. But both are really struggling. It was a good listen

[–] mobyduck648@beehaw.org 2 points 1 year ago

That sounds really interesting, I’ll have a listen!

[–] Syldon@feddit.uk 1 points 1 year ago (2 children)

I have quit halfway through the last few videos from them. The arguments they have presented are just bat shit crazy with a ton of holes in them. I have seen a couple of sensible videos on the platform though so it isn't all bad. Can you link the video? It is not showing in a search.

[–] snacks@feddit.uk 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

sorry, here is the podcast episode. I thought you were replying to the original post not the new statesman one https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-trappings-of-western-hyper-liberalism-conversation/id630596898?i=1000626694587

[–] Syldon@feddit.uk 2 points 1 year ago

Every time the Tories come back they learn new lessons. Labour is just the maintenance crew to tidy up their shit.

[–] shiveyarbles@beehaw.org 2 points 1 year ago

When you vote conservative, you get what you deserve