By Tom Fowdy
On July 4th, the United Kingdom will hold a General Election. All polls point undisputedly towards the Conservative Party facing a colossal, if not historic defeat, with Keir Starmer's Labour to be elected in a landslide. I sympathize with public opinion on the matter, the government is quite rightfully seen as an absolute shambles and its record of governing has been nothing short of catastrophic. Rishi Sunak has attempted to replace serious policies with hollow populist right-wing talking points, all while the economy has effectively crumbled and the cost of living has surged.
Moreover, credibility, as well as public trust of the government, has never recovered from the fiasco of Boris Johnson's partygate scandal, or Liz Truss's disastrous one-month tenure in office. In British politics there is a long-running trend that when a given party spends too much time in government, particularly over a decade, they become politically complacent and the public eventually decides "enough is enough", opting for change on a large scale. Historical precedents of this include the Conservative government from 1951-1964, the Thatcher-Major era of 1979-1997, and of course the New Labour era of 1997-2010.
While this likely means Keir Starmer is going to sweep into Ten Downing Street, what nonetheless puts him apart from these historical examples is that he seems to land the position by default rather than by any serious merit of his own. Starmer is to put it mildly, an uncharismatic, uninspiring, and dull Labour leader who isn't popular with the British public either. Owing to the "virtues" of the British electoral system, he's merely seen as the only feasible alternative to Rishi Sunak's surface therefore it is simply the prerogative of many people to vote Labour, because who else is there to vote for? He is set to win by a landslide purely because of the incompetence of his opponents than by his own merit.
I for one, even if I fly back to the UK to do so, will not be voting for the Labour Party under his leadership. In fact, I do not know who I would even vote for. Keir Starmer is, after all, the most right-wing Labour leader in my lifetime (even more so than Tony Blair), having aggressively purged the left-wing, anti-war faction of his party and effectively imitated the Conservatives on many issues. In doing so, he has also adopted an extremely hawkish foreign policy stance, typical of Blairite era NeoConservatism, and thus silenced criticism of Israel's war in Gaza across his party. For me at the least, I do not see any "change" whatsoever in opting for Keir Starmer's Labour Party from the status quo.
This is of course a sign of the times; British politics has over the past decade comprehensively shifted to the right, one might describe this as a "consensus" that crystalized with Brexit. While Labour under Jeremy Corbyn initially pushed leftwards, the party was for this period comprehensively demonized by the right-wing media, giving us insight that it was not just the Conservative Party but the entire structure of British politics undertaking the right-wing shift, which of course has paved the way for Keir's right-wing coup over the party. It goes without saying that the Conservatives aren't being rejected because they're hammering right-wing issues such as immigration, but simply because they aren't seen as credible or even serious anymore.
Because of this, I would describe this election as an "inconsequential and inevitable landslide". Keir Starmer's Labour may hopefully be marginally better in areas such as the NHS and public services, which have crumbled to ruin under Conservative mismanagement (going back to the UK has been a shock for me because I can't even get a GP appointment) but on many things, it will ultimately be just more of the same. I observe in the North Durham Constituency next to my hometown, that Keir has parachuted in one of the most ardent supporters of Israel imaginable, while the pro-Palestine MP of one of my hometown constituencies also quit before she was pushed. This really does not ring out optimism for me.
In this case, I will be thoroughly happy to adopt a "neutral" stance on the UK general election and simply observe it from afar as a non-participant. It's better that way than to be embroiled in contentious political arguments. I have nobody to vote for and I am effectively a disenfranchised voter. I would never accept the farce of the current government, never vote for a right-wing leaning Labour Party, rightfully do not take Reform UK seriously, see the Green Party as NeoConservatives with environmentalist characteristics and the Liberal Democrats as pointless. Irrespective of contentious foreign policy issues, I do nonetheless hope somehow things improve in Britain, because all I see is my own country in decline, with deteriorating public services, a stagnant economy, shrinking incomes, rising crime and youth disorder. We need real change; nobody is offering it.
The author is a well-seasoned writer and analyst with a large portfolio related to China topics, especially in the field of politics, international relations and more. He graduated with an Msc. in Chinese Studies from Oxford University in 2018.
The views do not necessarily reflect those of DotDotNews.
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