Our out of touch conservative elites need to stop living in their online bubbles and talk to real, mostly liberal voters.
In the United States, an outright majority of people have just voted for President-elect Joe Biden, rejecting the conservative populism of Donald Trump. But what is even more interesting is that when looking at economic class, the only constituency of Trump-supporting voters was those in the economic elite, earning over $100,000 per year. The poorest groups all backed Biden overwhelmingly.
And returning to Britain, even at an election which was viewed as a major victory for the Conservative Party, a majority of voters (more than 52%) supported parties which belong broadly to the liberal left, thwarted only by the hopeless distortions of our broken first-past-the-post political system.
And yet, instead of dealing with the genuine concerns of the ordinary voter – such as COVID-19, the NHS, schools, and the economy – Tory elites are busy harping on about things which only matter to their online bubbles.
In the Telegraph this morning, a group of hopelessly out-of-touch Tories decided that their efforts would be best spent not funding our NHS properly, or making the lives of our carers easier, but rather griping about so-called “cultural Marxism”, something made-up which this author has never heard a real voter talk about anywhere in the country.
And Tory outriders such as Darren Grimes devote their social media feeds not to supporting hardworking Brits, but to things like opposing self-ID for trans people – something which the public backs by 2:1 – one of the biggest margins for any public policy issue.
It is clear that our conservative elites are hopelessly out-of-touch. They have become obsessed with issues which are never brought up on the doorstep, in an attempt to appease their far-right followers on social media and other internet forums.
The truth is that the majority of voters in this country are liberals. Our bourgeois conservative elites don’t seem to care a jot, and don’t seem even remotely interested in listening to their genuine concerns.
So, if conservatives won’t, liberals will. We will make sure that hardworking families get support during these difficult times. We will campaign for better funding for our NHS and schools, including proper pay for our heroic nurses and teachers. We will make sure our carers get the recognition they deserve when they look after our loved ones. And we will make sure we promote the fundamental British value that everyone should get to live with dignity and respect, including by supporting the overwhelmingly popular policy of self-identification for trans people.
The US election has proven what the UK election had begun to demonstrate. The majority of ordinary voters in this country are liberals. If our out-of-touch, internet-obsessed conservative elites won’t pay attention, then it is no wonder that the people are turning against them.
Image credit: The Independent