Really Useful Knowledge for 2022: Truss Tories move right, voters move left
Really Useful Knowledge was a term used by radicals in the 1830s and 1840s to cover information and analysis of economics and politics that was not available through official channels- this was termed really useless knowledge. In the nineteenth century the free market ideas of Adam Smith were dominant, and the idea that those who created wealth should also share in it- workers- was derided. In 2022 this is covered by trickle-down economics which Truss supports.
The Financial Times (8th October ) has published some interesting statistics which look at the electoral performance of TrussTories. Labour has of course opened a massive poll lead over the Tories. As significantly the FT reports that 1 in 6 voters who backed the Tories in 2019 will now vote Labour. More usually disillusioned Tories are to be found in the ‘don’t know’ column of polls only to vote Tory again at the Election.
At the same time the FT reports that those supporting a redistribution of wealth from the rich to the poor is at its highest since the 1990s.
Since a Starmer Government is likely to address this point only at the margins, it will be interesting to see where that mood goes.
Leave a Reply