UK Conservative Mistakes Accumulate: Election Perspectives

UK Conservative Mistakes Accumulate: Election Perspectives

On July 4, the UK will hold elections, where if things go as they seem, Labour will be the clear winner, due to the weakness of the Conservative Party. Dolores Rubio, Professor of International Relations at UCM, and Sergio Castaño, Professor of International Relations, analyze the reality of this electoral event in the Wall Street close.

Castagno points to the Conservative Party’s nonsense, the first of which was the Scottish referendum called by David Cameron, although the result was favourable to the unity of the United Kingdom, and opened the door to future internal divisions. This continued with the Brexit referendum, which led to Cameron’s resignation, and he highlights that he “used it to strengthen his position”.

Followed by Theresa May, who failed to craft a satisfactory Brexit deal. To Boris Johnson, with his disastrous management of the Covid-19 pandemic and the parties in Downing Street during the lockdown. Likewise, Liz Truss, with her short mandate full of disastrous decisions, and finally Rishi Sunak, who was the hope for resolving the economic situation.

For his part, Rubio claimed that the United Kingdom does not agree to leave the European Union, because at this time it “faces similar problems”. Moreover, he stresses that “the negative consequences for the British are now clear”. At the moment, we can see the full extent of the consequences of Brexit, after the pandemic, as the country faces major economic and social challenges.

However, both agree that London has not fully integrated into the EU, with exceptions such as not participating in the euro, among many others. Rubio recalls how Margaret Thatcher secured many exemptions for the UK during the initial negotiations with the EU, a strategy that has been maintained throughout this period.

Castagno stressed that although populism in the UK has not taken hold as much as in France or Italy, figures like Nigel Farage are gaining ground. He warned that future results could show a similar development to what happened in other European countries, where “populism has had a significant impact.”