As the UK marked the day before Thursday’s general election, there was nothing to disturb the calm of Britons in Benidorm. Yet if asked what they thought would happen in their country today, on the occasion of the election, and whether the opinion polls were correct, the answer would be yes and that Labour would win this time. It is a result that raises uncertainty among some British citizens, especially among the more conservative ones who see a very bleak future for the country.
The UK is holding an election that could be a turning point for Downing Street. Opinion polls are giving victory to Keir Starmer’s Labour Party. The image of a rejuvenated party seems to appeal to a large part of the electorate, and to the Conservatives, who are trembling. In fact, the party’s fourteen years of rule could be over, making way for its main rival. Moreover, the Conservative Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, seems to have assumed that there would be a defeat, by calling for a vote so that it would not be a disaster. Even Boris Johnson has returned to the scene to encourage the vote.
That’s what the polls say, but what do Britons who spend a few days on holiday in the tourist capital think? Phil Davies from Llansantffraid-ym-Mechain, a small town in Wales, says. Asked what will happen on Thursday and how he sees the future of the country, he says that “the polls predict a big Labour victory” which, according to this tourist, “would be an absolute disaster” for the UK. There is a lot of uncertainty because there are those who remember past times that they do not want to repeat: “In my memory, and I am 76 years old, I do not remember a good Labour government.” So, since his holiday in Benidorm, he fears that the arrival of the left will not be good. “They always spend all the money and raise taxes. They have no control over inflation and the unions,” adds this British citizen. “It would be a disaster if the government changed.”
Part of those who choose Benidorm for their holidays have a conservative image, especially the older ones. Young people at the moment do not care much about politics while enjoying the sun or the beach: “It doesn’t matter what happens, they are all equally bad”, says a young man who says he has heard about the general election. They are in a place in the English-speaking part of the city where they don’t even follow the political news on the big TVs. Yes, there is sports
Neither party nor other
For David Brown, a tourist from the small town of Ivybridge in Devon, Thursday’s result “is going to be bad” no matter what happens. Because if Labour comes in, “we’re going to lose money; if the Conservatives come in, we’re going to lose money. If Reform comes in, we’re going to lose money.” At 66, he seems to have lost faith in politics: “Everyone is bad, everyone is corrupt at the moment.” For this traveler, everyone “needs to be more honest, to make up their minds and not argue all the time, to take the country back to how it was before, in the 1970s.” Uncertainty is one of his words to describe the situation. Him too.
Karl and Wendy Wells, from Immingham, Lincolnshire (aged 64 and 57). For them, “the future is very uncertain” and they believe that a future Labour government “would be very bad” and a Conservative government “less bad”. Although they are clear that the former will win and that a change of government will come in many years: “We don’t think it will be for the best.”
The younger, less interested, have a different view. When asked about a group of these tourists, who prefer not to comment on politics when they are “on holiday,” one of them believes that with Labour “many things would improve, like health care.” The message, which is more centrist than left-wing, seems to be convincing the younger generation rather than the older, more conservative ones. In short, the polls will show who will be responsible for leading the political future of the United Kingdom and with what support.
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