Sam Ashworth-Hayes Sam Ashworth-Hayes

Who would vote for the Conservatives now?

The party has alienated nearly every potential group of voters

As the Labour party’s lead reaches 27 per cent or more, it would be easy to place the entirety of the blame on Liz Truss. That doesn’t mean it would be fair; the effort to alienate all but the most hardline tribal Conservative supporters has been a joint effort across 12 years and multiple prime ministers.

Markets hated the mini-Budget; cutting taxes while making massive spending pledges to subsidise energy demand during a critical shortage was not a winning formula. Apparently, blackouts are not looked on kindly; who could have guessed? Voters, meanwhile, hated it because it offered more to those who are better off. In particular, the 45p tax cut – while economically one of the least significant measures – alienated large chunks of the population who felt that it was unfair, particularly when combined with the scrapping of the bonus cap; the Conservative party was back to its old tricks, looking out for its rich mates.

They’re the party of the economically inactive pensioner, for whom government exists to pump up asset prices

Taken in isolation, it would be easy to say that this, and this alone, has driven the sudden nosedive in the polls.

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