{"id":87133,"date":"2024-07-03T23:07:04","date_gmt":"2024-07-03T23:07:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2024\/07\/03\/thursday-briefing-whats-at-stake-in-britains-elections\/"},"modified":"2024-07-03T23:07:04","modified_gmt":"2024-07-03T23:07:04","slug":"thursday-briefing-whats-at-stake-in-britains-elections","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2024\/07\/03\/thursday-briefing-whats-at-stake-in-britains-elections\/","title":{"rendered":"Thursday Briefing: What\u2019s at Stake in Britain\u2019s Elections"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"text-align:center\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2019\/10\/22\/reader-center\/author-mark-landler\/author-mark-landler-thumbLarge-v7.png?fit=150,150&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"Thursday Briefing: What\u2019s at Stake in Britain\u2019s Elections\" title=\"Thursday Briefing: What\u2019s at Stake in Britain\u2019s Elections\" \/><\/div><p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<h2 class=\"css-13o6u42 eoo0vm40\" id=\"link-46b9d787\">Against the tide<\/h2>\n<div class=\"css-zera2v\">\n<div class=\"css-103l8m3\">\n<div class=\"css-1u5onbp epjyd6m1\">\n<div class=\"css-165eim7 ey68jwv0\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/by\/mark-landler\" class=\"css-uwwqev\"><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Britain goes to the polls today after a campaign that featured the same ingredients as other elections across Europe and the Americas: frustrated voters eager to reject the status quo, a deeply discredited government and a dash of populism \u2014 in this case, represented by the insurgent candidacy of Nigel Farage.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">But Britain is likely to emerge from the election as an outlier. While the electorates in other countries are shifting to the right, British voters are expected to evict the Conservative-led government after 14 years, in favor of the center-left Labour Party. In today\u2019s newsletter, I\u2019ll explain why Britain is zigging while others are zagging.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"css-13o6u42 eoo0vm40\" id=\"link-595a55a7\">Tory tumult<\/h2>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The Conservatives, or Tories, have presided over a tumultuous era that began with David Cameron in 2010. It included harsh budget cuts after the financial crisis of 2008, the Brexit vote of 2016, the Covid pandemic and a revolving door of prime ministers. For many, it has been a circus that now needs to leave town.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Boris Johnson was drummed out of office after serial scandals. (Among other things, he held parties during a Covid lockdown he had imposed.) Liz Truss lasted less than 50 days after the financial markets turned savagely against her proposed tax cuts. The current prime minister, Rishi Sunak, has steadied the ship but failed to give restless voters much of an argument for keeping his party in power.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Beyond the constant drama, Labour politicians claim the Conservatives have broken Britain. They say: Cuts have starved the country\u2019s revered National Health Service, leading to overcrowded emergency rooms and monthslong waits for elective surgery.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Other experts note that Britain\u2019s departure from the European Union has slowed trade and handicapped economic growth. Though its rebound after the pandemic was comparable to that of its European neighbors, its economy has since stagnated, and its public debt has ballooned. (These charts, by my colleagues Josh Holder and Ademola Bello, show <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/interactive\/2024\/07\/03\/world\/europe\/uk-election-better-worse.html\" title=\"\">how Britain has changed since the Conservatives took power in 2010<\/a>.)<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The Tories have even struggled with their own priorities: Immigration has soared since Brexit. That is partly because of refugees from Ukraine and Hong Kong. But the influx is also fueled by huge numbers of migrants from South Asia and Africa, many of whom come to study at universities or are recruited as nurses or doctors in the understaffed N.H.S. In addition to these documented arrivals, thousands of asylum seekers try to cross the English Channel in unseaworthy boats.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Conservative leaders, who sold Brexit as a tool to reduce immigration, say they will cut back the number of arrivals. Sunak has vowed to \u201cstop the boats.\u201d He spent months securing the passage in Parliament of a legally challenged policy that would put some asylum seekers on one-way flights to Rwanda. But many voters no longer think the Conservative Party has credibility on this issue.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<h2 class=\"css-13o6u42 eoo0vm40\" id=\"link-b7a21f8\">Labour\u2019s pitch<\/h2>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Labour vows to curb immigration by better policing Britain\u2019s borders. (It would mothball Rwanda flights, which it calls costly and ineffective.) Aside from that, however, the party\u2019s priorities don\u2019t seem all that different from those of the government, which is no accident.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Across a range of issues, Labour has been careful not to draw deep distinctions between itself and the Conservatives. It is not proposing big tax increases. It has vowed no major spending hikes until Britain cuts its runaway public deficit. It has scaled back its ambitious program to curb climate change. It would maintain Britain\u2019s military support for Ukraine in its war with Russia.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Labour rejects the Tories less for the substance of their policies than for their hapless governance. It hopes to win over the many voters who are fed up with Conservative rule without frightening the ones who distrusted the tax-and-spend left \u2014 and especially its former leader, Jeremy Corbyn.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Polls suggest the plan is working. Labour has led the Conservatives by double digits in polls for more than 18 months. The current Labour leader, Keir Starmer, has positioned himself as a plausible substitute for Sunak \u2014 a change agent but hardly a left-wing revolutionary.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<h2 class=\"css-13o6u42 eoo0vm40\" id=\"link-2bc9489f\">The real conceptual contest<\/h2>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">To the extent that there is an ideological struggle in this election, it is being waged on the right. Farage, a populist firebrand who campaigned on behalf of Brexit, is leading an anti-immigration party, Reform U.K., which is siphoning off votes from the Conservatives.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Under the electoral rules that govern British politics, Reform is unlikely to win many seats in Parliament. But it could split the right-wing vote, deepening the scale of the Conservative defeat to Labour and perhaps even fracturing the Tories.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Farage is an ally of Donald Trump, and his populist challenge echoes not only Trump\u2019s movement in the United States but also the gains made by far-right parties in France and Germany.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">In this respect, at least, Britain is not such an outlier.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"css-13o6u42 eoo0vm40\" id=\"link-3c1c6048\">For more<\/h2>\n<hr class=\"css-7ad88g e1mu4ftr0\"\/><\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Even if you don\u2019t know all of Beethoven\u2019s Ninth Symphony, you probably recognize its finale, the \u201cOde to Joy.\u201d Written 200 years ago, it was crafted using techniques you can hear in a Taylor Swift hit, <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/07\/02\/arts\/music\/ode-to-joy-beethoven.html\" title=\"\">but it\u2019s more than a pretty song.<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\"><strong class=\"css-8qgvsz ebyp5n10\">Lives lived:<\/strong> Robert Towne, who won an Oscar for writing Roman Polanski\u2019s \u201cChinatown,\u201d <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/07\/02\/movies\/robert-towne-dead.html\" title=\"\">died at 89<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\"><strong class=\"css-8qgvsz ebyp5n10\">CONVERSATION STARTERS <\/strong><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"css-1uuxri4 e1gnsphs0\" id=\"link-61b76e56\"><span><strong class=\"css-8qgvsz ebyp5n10\">ARTS AND IDEAS <\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<h2 class=\"css-13o6u42 eoo0vm40\" id=\"link-7543ff7b\">How competitive eaters down dozens of hot dogs<\/h2>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Today, titans of competitive eating will take part in the Nathan\u2019s Famous International Hot Dog Eating Contest, an Independence Day tradition in the U.S.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Most of these would-be champions aren\u2019t professionals, but passionate amateurs. Some have stretched their stomachs with vast quantities of food or liquid. They might use the Solomon Method \u2014 think King Solomon \u2014 which calls for snapping a dog in half before eating it. It may just come down to willpower: The body doesn\u2019t want to eat 72 hot dogs, <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/07\/03\/dining\/chestnut-kobayashi-competitive-eaters.html\" title=\"\">but victory beckons.<\/a><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"css-1uuxri4 e1gnsphs0\" id=\"link-705d9918\"><span><strong class=\"css-8qgvsz ebyp5n10\">RECOMMENDATIONS <\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<hr class=\"css-7ad88g e1mu4ftr0\"\/>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\"><strong class=\"css-8qgvsz ebyp5n10\"><em class=\"css-2fg4z9 e1gzwzxm0\">That\u2019s it for today. See you tomorrow. \u2014 Dan<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\"><em class=\"css-2fg4z9 e1gzwzxm0\">We welcome your feedback. Send us your suggestions at <\/em><a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/07\/03\/briefing\/mailto:briefing@nytimes.com?subject=Briefing%20Feedback\" title=\"\"><em class=\"css-2fg4z9 e1gzwzxm0\">briefing@nytimes.com<\/em><\/a><em class=\"css-2fg4z9 e1gzwzxm0\">.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/07\/03\/briefing\/britain-elections.html\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Against the tide Britain goes to the polls today after a campaign that featured the same ingredients as other elections across Europe and the Americas: frustrated voters eager to reject the status quo, a deeply discredited government and a dash of populism \u2014 in this case, represented by the insurgent candidacy of Nigel Farage. But [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":87134,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2019\/10\/22\/reader-center\/author-mark-landler\/author-mark-landler-thumbLarge-v7.png","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[235,8243,67,2341,9086,300],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87133"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=87133"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87133\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":87135,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87133\/revisions\/87135"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/87134"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=87133"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=87133"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=87133"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}