In the lead up to the UK general election, extreme political polarisation and the mobilisation of each wing has become undeniable. It’s seemingly all about the act fast, think later mentality – prioritising the who and the what over the where, when and why. But at this time of great division, why is one wing so set on playing the villain?
Since Brexit, this country has seen an exponential growth in issue voting. Gone are the days where we rally behind political parties like football teams in droves, instead opting to choose who to vote for on their choices and not the colour of their tie (for the most part). As this very divisive catalyst, not only did Brexit split the country in half, but it similarly divided each party’s fan base. This meant a lot of would-have-been party loyalists were swimming around, without a mother goose to follow. Essentially, these voters became up for grabs. So when the time came for political parties to pick a side in the referendum, it was a lose-lose situation. They may have gained a few issue voters, but they inevitably lost many party loyalists from the decision. Brexit was a complex issue forced into a double-sided coin, just as our “first past the post” political system forces a complex political spectrum into a two-party system.
The calamity of Brexit was the watershed moment in recent UK politics. The consequences were felt by many, those familiar and those further afield on foreign lands. Simply put, it was one of the few issues that affected every single British voter – and thus was one that could not be ignored. But by picking a side, political parties inadvertently told the populus that they could ignore party loyalty and party lines, and instead should actually consider the issues at hand. The British public took this advice and ran. Shortly following the Brexit riff-raff, the pandemic reared its ugly head from the depths of a bat cave in Wuhan, and became ever uglier in the UK with the mistakes of Boris Johnson. Another indiscriminate issue, it forced us to further consider the implications of our vote – much more than had been previously advised during the trend of treating political parties like football clubs. Then along came Liz Truss’s cost-of-living crisis and Rishi Sunak’s radical Rwanda bill. If there aren’t issues at play already, you can count on the Conservatives to create some of their own.
I think there’s some inevitability at play here. The Conservatives have had 14 years at the helm, but we’ve only had three general elections; zero in the past five years. Have the Conservatives made considerable mistakes in the handling of many issues? Undoubtedly so. Have we had the chance to hold them to account? No (I cannot wait for the day we can). But if Labour was navigating these issues, would they have also made mistakes? Inevitably. We criticise the Conservatives because they’re there, and we can. My take is that if Labour had been elected in 2019, they would have cocked it up somehow. Even if you don’t agree, there’d be a good number of other Labour supporters who would find problems with Labour leadership, because that’s the consequence of issue voting. Parties cannot include every possible outcome and their proposed decision in their manifesto, so when it comes time to decide quickly in office, they have no choice but to act. There’s no phone-a-friend in Number 10; they can’t call a referendum or general election every time a national issue crops up, because that could quite easily be several times a year.
In an effort to monopolise the rise of issue voting, Nigel Farage setted up to the plate. Born from Brexit, Reform UK has been one of the most prominent manifestations of right-wing mobilisation in the UK and one of the key players in populist movements. Parties such as the UK Independence Party (UKIP) and Reform UK, led by figures like Nigel Farage, have capitalised on anti-establishment sentiments and concerns over issues such as immigration, sovereignty, and globalisation. These movements tap into discontent among sections of the population disillusioned with mainstream politics, promising to address their grievances and restore what they perceive as lost national identity and control. They were parties born from issues, rather than from centuries of loyalty.
However, when these issues become less prevalent, where do these smaller parties stand? By monopolising one side of one issue, they attract previous factions of the larger parties, but consequently cover a very narrow sub-sect of the political spectrum. Without the majority of the vote, having a leading role in Parliament is wholly unattainable. But instead of widening their messages and spreading their ideologies, they dig their ideological heels in, and fortify their beliefs.
It doesn’t help that the right wing is known to exaggerate. In order to build support for the Leave Campaign, key players like Boris Johnson and Michael Gove slapped falsified figures on the sides of buses in order to gain supporters (I must say, the Leave Campaign is labelled as a cross-party endeavour, but when the parties involved are the Tories, UKIP and one Labour MP who voted Conservative in 2019 and sits currently as an unaffiliated peer, I’m struggling to find the left wing). The further right amongst the Conservatives are quick to demonise immigrants to help instil a nationalist movement under the too-often-used slogans of “get our country back” or “make Britain great again” – which are big claims often backed with an absence of solutions. Moreover, Reform UK’s rise has not been without controversy. Critics accuse the party of promoting divisive rhetoric, exploiting fears and prejudices to advance its agenda, and undermining social cohesion. Its emphasis on deregulation and market-oriented solutions has drawn criticism from those who argue that such policies could exacerbate inequalities and undermine social welfare. Simply put, the Right wing comes across as liars who don’t really think things through.
We’re living in an incredibly divisive time. Social media echo chambers and the manipulation of political advertisements in order to radicalise is at an all time high. Thus, as a populus, we have never felt more polarised. Absolutely, issues are divisive, but the Right’s mistake is to hone in on and highlight them. Issues are not forever, but political parties want to be. If the Right can’t get their act together, they can kiss any hope of ever residing in Number 10 again goodbye.