“It’s the economy, stupid!”
The catchphrase made famous by Bill Clinton’s 1992 presidential campaign springs to mind when considering the instability that seems to have become a feature of Britain’s political life.
The United Kingdom is on course for its sixth prime minister in some seven years, as one political leader after another proves no match for a stubbornly weak economy, which has weighed on incomes and living standards, wearing down the electorate.
Outgoing Prime Minister and Labour Party leader Keir Starmer, who is stepping down after just two years in the role, is in good company. His four predecessors — Rishi Sunak, Liz Truss, Boris Johnson and Theresa May — faced many of the same thorny challenges, and abided similarly brief terms.
Truss’ spell in the hot seat lasted less than two months, after the bond market told her in no uncertain terms where to get off following a plan for unfunded tax cuts that nearly sent UK financial markets into meltdown.
Bond market vigilantes aside, Clinton’s campaign catchphrase neatly summarizes that it is almost always voters’ experience of the economy — felt mostly by what they can and can’t afford — that determines how satisfied they are with political leaders.
“It’s the economy, stupid!”
The catchphrase made famous by Bill Clinton’s 1992 presidential campaign springs to mind when considering the instability that seems to have become a feature of Britain’s political life.
The United Kingdom is on course for its sixth prime minister in some seven years, as one political leader after another proves no match for a stubbornly weak economy, which has weighed on incomes and living standards, wearing down the electorate.
Outgoing Prime Minister and Labour Party leader Keir Starmer, who is stepping down after just two years in the role, is in good company. His four predecessors — Rishi Sunak, Liz Truss, Boris Johnson and Theresa May — faced many of the same thorny challenges, and abided similarly brief terms.
Truss’ spell in the hot seat lasted less than two months, after the bond market told her in no uncertain terms where to get off following a plan for unfunded tax cuts that nearly sent UK financial markets into meltdown.
Bond market vigilantes aside, Clinton’s campaign catchphrase neatly summarizes that it is almost always voters’ experience of the economy — felt mostly by what they can and can’t afford — that determines how satisfied they are with political leaders.
In Britain, politicians are paying dearly for the pervasive sense that life is only getting harder and more expensive.
Salaries have barely kept pace with rising consumer prices, meaning people don’t feel substantively better off. Since the Labour Party took office in 2024, average weekly pay, adjusted for inflation and excluding bonuses, has inched up less than 1% to £494 ($651), according to the UK statistics office — hardly better than the growth since 2019.
Taxes, meanwhile, are at multi-decade highs.
.jpg)
.jpg)
0 ความคิดเห็น:
แสดงความคิดเห็น