Life Worse Under The Tories But Johnson Will Sort Brexit Logjam, Undecided Voters Say
Undecided voters think Britain has got worse under the Tories, but are prepared to back Boris Johnson because their lives are “on hold” until Brexit is delivered, a focus group run by HuffPost UK and Edelman has found.
Both Leavers and Remainers in the key Tory-Labour marginal of Watford said they viewed Johnson as a “scruffy clown”, yet believed he was the leader best placed to end the Brexit uncertainty and focus on their priorities like health, education and crime.
The group, floating voters who have supported all three main political parties in the past, overwhelmingly distrusted Jeremy Corbyn and simply didn’t believe his main election claim that the Conservatives would “sell off” the NHS to Donald Trump.
They also reacted badly to Corbyn’s plan for a four-day week, claiming it would put a cap on their aspiration and ability to provide for their families, and said young voters supported the Labour leader because they were “bone idle”.
Even though many of the focus group had voted Liberal Democrat in the past, and the party was known for its local mayor in the town, most of them had a negative opinion of Jo Swinson, with one participant saying she was “deceitful”.
The group, part of HuffPost UK’s ‘The People’s Election’ series, was made up of undecided voters from so-called ‘C1/C2’ backgrounds, with jobs ranging from an electrician to a GP’s receptionist, from a sales rep to a motoring trade worker. Others worked in property management, finance and customer service. All described themselves as working class.
Asked about news stories they’d noticed in the past week, most mentioned Prince Harry and Meghan not staying with the Queen over the Christmas holiday, ITV’s ‘I’m A Celebrity’ cast list, the England footballers bust-up and the flooding in Yorkshire.
On the election, most mentioned Corbyn’s NHS sell off claim and his 4-day week plan, Johnson’s claim to get Brexit ‘done’, a row over Labour’s spending plans and Nigel Farage’s talk about pacts.
Their personal priorities
The issues most important to the group ranged from local crime to the NHS being stretched, the poor state of the roads and the cost of living.
Jo said: “My son is the most important thing to me. We just want to know that he has got a good future. That he can afford to have his own house, that he will have a job and he won’t live in an area totally bombarded by the complete concrete jungle.
“There’s far too much youth crime. I was in the town and a guy had mental issues. He was happy, he was singing, then a group of teenagers smacked him in the face. They said: ‘I’m going to throw acid in your face, mate.’ It’s so scary.”
Georgia said: “Crime. I’m terrified of going to London because I just feel like you are going to see something happen. It’s spreading out to Hertfordshire, all over the country. They need to put more into the police force. My friends’ kids need to be in schools where they don’t have metal detectors.”
Steve added: “For me, crime is a big thing. I’ve lived in Watford most of my life. Definitely the area has got worse. We consider moving somewhere quieter but then my business is in Watford. My main priority is providing for my family.”
Lewis said: “What bugs me day to day is the state of the roads in this country. I’ve been across Europe and the US and the state of our roads is appalling. It affects me on a daily basis.”
Keeley said: “What affects me most is the NHS. We are very lucky to have that in our country but it gets abused massively. I do think they need to pump money into it but I do think they need to look at access by people who don’t pay into the national health.
“Another things is property. When my children get older I’d like to know they can have the option to buy and have help.”
Paul said: “My wife works for the NHS and they are massively stretched. The NHS is the most important. There’s just no help for them.”
David said: “Whoever’s in charge of spending our cash is incompetent. They spend our money on things we shouldn’t, supporting people we shouldn’t be, then they cut back on the public services schools, education, NHS. Benefits, foreign aid, paying India for a space programme.”
Barry said: “Public services, education, NHS, everything is on the decline. It’s demoralising. And at the end of the day you end up with less in your pocket – that’s the bottom line.”