Elections in Britain / Polls show victory for the opposition

2024-07-03 15:32:54, Kosova & Bota CNA

Elections in Britain / Polls show victory for the opposition

Source, Reuters

Britain's general election will be held on July 4, with polls suggesting that Keir Starmer's Labor Party is likely to win convincingly against the Conservatives. However, as "Voice of America" ??correspondent Henry Ridgewell reports, if the opposition wins, British policies towards major global issues such as Russian aggression in Ukraine, or the war in the Middle East, are not expected to change much.

The town of Dartford, east of London, is a constituency where, since 1967, the party that has won there has won the entire country. The result in this constituency is seen as an indicator of where Britain will go.

14 years after the government of the conservatives, there is dissatisfaction among the voters. But there is also a lack of enthusiasm for alternatives.

"It is not only the people of England who decide what will happen in the country", says Yasmine Nicholls for "Voice of America".

"I don't trust any of the candidates. Even more so when our former Prime Minister Boris Johnson lied", says Mr. Hilmi.

Boris Johnson resigned after a series of scandals, including breaking rules during the COVID pandemic. He is one of five Conservative prime ministers over the past eight years, which have been characterized by frequent changes of Conservative leaders.

Analysts say that the current prime minister, Rishi Sunak, has found it difficult to overcome the problems of his predecessors.

"The main issue is the cost of living, but also the many scandals," Ursula Hacket, a political analyst from the University of London, told VOA.

The opposition Labor Party, under the leadership of Keir Starmer, is about 20 percent ahead of the Conservatives according to most polls. But if he wins, Mr Starmer would inherit a weak economy.

"One of the main questions that a new government of Mr. Starmer will face will be, where will it find the funds to improve our crumbling public services?" says analyst Anand Menon for "Voice of America". from King's College London.

According to him, if Mr Starmer's Labor Party were to win, Britain would not change its policies while the wars in Ukraine, the Middle East and global political uncertainty continue.

"On the two major crises, Gaza and Ukraine, there are very few, if any, differences between the positions of the two major parties. I don't think there will be much change," says Mr. Menon.

Smaller parties can play a big role in determining the winner. The centre-left Liberal Democrats are likely to push the Conservatives into third place.

The anti-immigration Reform party could also get right-leaning conservative voters.

The leader of the Reform party, Nigel Farage, has been widely criticized by other parties after he said that the West provoked Russia to attack Ukraine./ VOA