THE GUARDIAN: Righter than right: Tories’ hardline drift may lose the public

Press/Media: Expert comment

Period1 Aug 2022

Media contributions

1

Media contributions

  • TitleRighter than right: Tories’ hardline drift may lose the public
    Media name/outletThe Guardian
    Media typeWeb
    Country/TerritoryUnited Kingdom
    Date1/08/22
    DescriptionRob Ford, professor of politics at the University of Manchester, argues that on immigration and taxation the party also risks becoming “increasingly out of line with where the public, and even the Conservative-voting public, are”.

    He points to research led by Tim Bale, professor of politics at Queen Mary, University of London, showing that while Conservative members are, as you might expect, notably more rightwing on economic issues, Tory MPs are even more right-leaning.

    “This tax-cutting, Singapore-on-Thames Thatcherism has always been a kind of elite hobby,” Ford said. “There has never been a mass electorate for that stuff. But the people who like it, like it so intensely that they kind of project this idea on to their membership.”
    URLhttps://www.theguardian.com/politics/2022/aug/01/righter-than-right-tory-conservative-hardline-drift-public-opinion
    PersonsRobert Ford
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Keywords

  • UK politics
  • Conservative Party