Tory voters have given up on the party’s ability to fix the UK’s problems, a new poll has revealed as the country goes to the polls.
The research by More in Common for the New Britain Projects shows the scale of the growing disillusionment with the government’s performance among those who backed the Conservatives at the 2019 general election.
A year ago, 40% of them believed “nothing in Britain works any more”. That figure has now soared to 61%.
And while 44% thought “the social contract in Britain is broken” 12 months ago, the number feeling the same now has grown to 65%.
The findings, based on a poll of 3,420 adults, are further evidence that the Tories are heading for a historic defeat in today’s election.
Anna McShane, director of the New Britain Project, said: “This will be deeply worrying for the Conservatives. Our latest findings show that not only has the prime minister failed to convince voters that Britain has turned the corner, but people actually believe things have continued to get worse over the past year, particularly among those who voted Tory in 2019.
“Last year, it seemed like 2019 Conservative and Labour voters were living on different planets, given how differently they responded to our poll questions.
“Today, the feeling that ‘Britain is broken’ is all-pervasive. This shift helps explain why Keir Starmer’s poll lead has been so persistent.
“Labour has said that if you want change, you need to vote for it. If people do indeed vote for that change, Starmer will need to quickly move from theoretical promises to implementing practical steps on the ground.
“Incorporating frontline voices into policymaking will be crucial to ensure these policies actually work and to prevent the same disillusionment from hitting Labour.”