"Before the 2015 UK election, the Australian political expert Lynton Crosby devised a strategy for the Tories that became known as scraping the barnacles off the boat shedding unpopular policies that hindered the party's electoral appeal. Instead, the party focused on core issues it believed would help win over floating voters: the economy, welfare, the strength of David Cameron (and weakness of Ed Miliband) and immigration."
"Keir Starmer now appears to be doing the same, talking relentlessly about cost of living in cabinet meetings, with Labour MPs and in the media, despite international events from Venezuela to Iran regularly pulling him in. The prime minister has also sanctioned a series of policy reversals on issues that have become lightning rods for the government's unpopularity. The most recent of these is digital ID cards, which faced a loud and angry campaign on social media and tanked in polling."
A campaign strategy of abandoning unpopular policies and concentrating on a few core voter issues has proven electorally effective. The Conservatives used this approach in 2015 by focusing on the economy, welfare, leadership contrast and immigration while sidelining other topics. The current prime minister is adopting a similar tactic, emphasising cost of living across government and media while reversing several contentious policies. Mandatory digital ID plans have been dropped after social media backlash and poor polling. Other U-turns include farmers' inheritance tax and likely business rates relief for pubs, while proposals such as jury trial limits face potential dilution.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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