LONDON (AP) — Nathaniel Dye believes he probably won’t live to see Britain’s next election. But the music teacher diagnosed with stage 4 bowel cancer is doing everything he can to make sure the Labour Party wins this one.

Dismayed by delays in his diagnosis by the National Health Service, the 38-year-old says he feels let down by the Conservative-led government, which health policy experts say has failed to adequately fund the NHS. As a result, he played a central role in the launch of Labour’s election platform earlier this month, going on national television to urge voters to back the party.

“I’ve seen underfunding of the NHS and mismanagement of the NHS cause real problems in the way I’ve been treated,” he told The Associated Press. “And I suppose I consider it the most natural thing in the world to talk to people on a personal level and say, ‘What can we do to improve things?’”

Dye’s story illustrates voters’ frustration with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s Conservative Party, which opinion polls show is significantly trailing in parliamentary elections set for July 4.

After 14 years of Conservative-led government, voters blame the party for the litany of problems facing Britain, from sewage spills and unreliable train service to the cost-of-living crisis, crime and the rise in migrants entering the country illegally after crossing the English Channel on inflatable boats.

But no public service is as central to life in the United Kingdom as the NHS, and it is failing to deliver on its promise to provide free health care to everyone.

The NHS is creaking under the weight of an aging and growing population, years of funding constraints, and fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic. That means people are waiting longer for everything from primary care appointments to elective surgery and cancer treatment. Some 52% of people were dissatisfied with the NHS last year, 29 percentage points higher than in 2020, according to the British Social Attitudes Survey, conducted annually since 1983.

That is good news for Labour, according to Tim Bale, a professor of politics at Queen Mary University of London.

Advertisement

“The Conservatives have got nothing to crow about,” he said. “People’s lived experience of the NHS is very, very negative at the moment. However, they retain a great deal of faith in the NHS, and they want to elect a government that they think is going to rescue it.”

Founded by a Labour government in 1947 to fulfill the Conservatives’ wartime pledge to build a fairer society for the men and women who fought to preserve democracy during World War II, the NHS has virtually untouchable status.

If you are British, chances are you were born in an NHS hospital and got your childhood vaccines from a doctor paid by the NHS. If you have a heart attack, you call NHS paramedics and are transported to the hospital in an NHS ambulance. Should you be diagnosed with cancer or any other disease, NHS specialists will likely treat you. And you will never receive a bill.

But because the NHS is so much a part of people’s daily lives, it is also the most glaring example of how the social contract in Britain is fraying.

Since the Conservatives came to power in 2010, the U.K. budget has been buffeted by the global financial crisis, the COVID-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine and inflation, all of which increased government expenditures, slowed economic growth and curtailed revenue.

As a result, the health care budget has grown by an average of 2.8% annually over the past eight years, compared with 3.6% over the previous 50 years.

Advertisement

That has squeezed the NHS at a time when demand for its services is rising. On top of that, the NHS is still recovering from the pandemic, which forced many people to defer treatment as doctors and hospitals focused on COVID-19.

In March, more than 7.54 million people in England were waiting for elective surgery such as cataract removals or hip replacements, 65% more than before the pandemic.

But the problems extend far beyond elective surgery.

Newspapers are filled with stories of people waiting weeks to get appointments with their family doctors, children being hospitalized for emergency tooth extractions because they weren’t able to get preventive dental care, and patients who spend hours in the back of ambulances waiting for emergency room backups to clear.

All of that translates to higher avoidable mortality rates than in other major developed nations except the United States, driven by below-average survival rates for many types of cancer, heart attacks and strokes, according to The King’s Fund, an independent think tank devoted to improving health care.

Reversing those trends is the top priority for most voters, said Charlotte Wickens, a policy adviser at the fund.

“And it’s because everyone experiences ill health and everyone needs NHS services,” she said. “Whoever forms the next government will have to do something to change the situation that the health service finds itself in.”

The Conservatives say many of the pressures on the NHS are out of their control and have promised to build 50 diagnostic hubs around the country and boost funding by more than inflation during each year of the next government. Labour plans to tackle the backlogs by spending 1 billion pounds ($1.27 billion) to fund 40,000 more operations, scans and appointments each week, while pledging to train thousands of new general practitioners.

But fixing the NHS will take more than money.

It needs to rethink the way it provides care, making better use of technology and focusing on keeping people healthy, rather than treating them once they get sick, according to The King’s Fund.

Without such changes, more people will have stories like Dye’s.

Dye, who used to run ultramarathons, first sought medical help after he noticed that he was getting slower and slower for no apparent reason.

After blood tests and a stool sample that revealed he might have cancer, Dye experienced several delays before he began chemotherapy.

“Amongst all that is this quiet, uneasy truth that I waited over 100 days in total, from GP contact to having chemotherapy … and the target is 62,’’ he said. “And it’s possible that that wait will shorten my life.”

Tests this week found that Dye was tumor free. But he considers it a temporary reprieve because chances are high that his cancer will return. Doctors say only about 10% of patients in this situation survive for five years.

“I don’t know exactly what needs to happen to give people better outcomes, but I can certainly use my example to say we really need to push for that as soon as possible,” he said.

Dye hopes to do that by telling his story with dark humor that softens the ugly details.

Before becoming an advocate for Labour, Dye focused on raising money for cancer charities, including running the London Marathon while using a colostomy bag and playing a green trombone. He took requests along the route.

His playlist included “Livin’ on a Prayer.”

Outdoing many healthy people who weren’t encumbered by musical instruments, he completed the 26.2-mile course.

“You could say that … there’s no point in me getting politically involved, I’m not going to see the result,” he said. “But I don’t care because I think it comes down to hope.”

• Iranians began voting on Friday for a new president after Ebrahim Raisi’s death in a helicopter crash.
• More than 61 million Iranians were eligible to vote, with polling stations showing queues across several cities.
• Final results are expected after two days, with a potential runoff if no candidate secures a majority.

Iranians started voting on Friday for a new president following the death of Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash, choosing from a tightly controlled group of four candidates loyal to the supreme leader at a time of growing public frustration.

State television showed queues inside polling stations in several cities. More than 61 million Iranians are eligible to vote. Polls were due to close at 6 p.m., but are usually extended as late as midnight.

The election coincides with escalating regional tension due to war between Israel and Iranian allies Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon, as well as increased Western pressure on Iran over its fast-advancing nuclear program.

IRAN INCREASES URANIUM ENRICHED TO NEAR WEAPONS-GRADE LEVELS, SEEKS TO HAVE SANCTIONS LIFTED: WATCHDOG

While the election is unlikely to bring a major shift in the Islamic Republic’s policies, its outcome could influence the succession to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s 85-year-old supreme leader, in power since 1989.

Khamenei called for a high turnout to offset a legitimacy crisis fueled by public discontent over economic hardship and curbs on political and social freedom.

“The durability, strength, dignity and reputation of the Islamic Republic depend on the presence of people,” Khamenei told state television after casting his vote. “High turnout is a definite necessity.”

Voter turnout has plunged over the past four years, as a mostly youthful population chafes at political and social curbs.

‘BUTCHER OF TEHRAN’ DEAD BUT RAISI’S LEGACY CONTINUES AS IRAN APPOINTS ACTING PRESIDENT

Manual counting of ballots means it is expected to be two days before the final result is announced, though initial figures may come out around midday on Saturday.

If no candidate wins at least 50% plus one vote from all ballots cast, including blank votes, a run-off round between the top two candidates is held on the first Friday after the election result is declared.

Three candidates are hardliners and one is a low-profile comparative moderate, backed by the reformist faction that has largely been sidelined in Iran in recent years.

Critics of Iran’s clerical rule say the low and declining turnout of recent elections shows the system’s legitimacy has eroded. Just 48% of voters participated in the 2021 election that brought Raisi to power, and turnout hit a record low of 41% in a parliamentary election three months ago.

Iranian people stand in a queue as they wait to vote at a polling station in a snap presidential election in Tehran, Iran, on June 28, 2024. (Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS)

The next president is not expected to usher in any major policy shift on Iran’s nuclear program or support for militia groups across the Middle East, since Khamenei calls all the shots on top state matters.

However, the president runs the government day-to-day and can influence the tone of Iran’s foreign and domestic policy.

DIVIDED VOTERS

A hardline watchdog body made up of six clerics and six jurists aligned with Khamenei vets candidates. It approved just six from an initial pool of 80. Two hardline candidates subsequently dropped out.

Prominent among the remaining hardliners are Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, parliament speaker and former commander of the powerful Revolutionary Guards, and Saeed Jalili, a former nuclear negotiator who served for four years in Khamenei’s office.

All four candidates have vowed to revive the flagging economy, beset by mismanagement, state corruption and sanctions re-imposed since 2018, after the United States ditched Tehran’s 2015 nuclear pact with six world powers.

Iranian people stand in a queue as they wait to vote at a polling station in Tehran, Iran, on June 28, 2024. (Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS)

“I think Jalili is the only candidate who raised the issue of justice, fighting corruption and giving value to the poor … Most importantly he does not link Iran’s foreign policy to the nuclear deal,” said Farzan Sadjadi, a 45-year-old artist in the city of Karaj.

The sole comparative moderate, Massoud Pezeshkian, is faithful to Iran’s theocratic rule but advocates detente with the West, economic reform, social liberalization and political pluralism.

His chances hinge on reviving the enthusiasm of reform-minded voters who have largely stayed away from the polls for the last four years after previous pragmatist presidents brought little change. He could also benefit from his rivals’ failure to consolidate the hardline vote.

“I feel Pezeshkian represents both traditional and liberal thoughts,” said architect Pirouz, 45, who had decided “to boycott the vote until he learned more about Pezeshkian’s plans”.

In the past few weeks, Iranians have made wide use of the hashtag #ElectionCircus on X, with some activists at home and abroad calling for an election boycott, saying a high turnout would legitimize the Islamic Republic.

French voters’ opinion of Emmanuel Macron has only fallen further since he called for snap elections this month, with some criticising him as narcissistic and disconnected.

“The rejection of the president of the Republic has never been so large,” said Alain Duhamel, a journalist and political essayist. He is also the author of a recent book on the French president.

Macron’s decision to dissolve the National Assembly and call for legislative elections on 30 June and 7 July “symbolises and reinforces this rejection,” said Duhamel.

Voters’ falling out with Macron was further highlighted by the low score of the president’s Renaissance party in the European elections.

The presidential party got just 14.6% of the votes, behind far-right parties which won nearly 40% of the votes, including 31% for the National Rally (RN).

His approval rating has only fallen since, losing between five and seven points to a total of 26-28% depending on the poll.

‘Normal’ to be unpopular for a French president

It’s typical that a surge in popularity following a presidential election gives way to disenchantment among the population.

“All presidents have been unpopular, even [Charles] De Gaulle,” Duhamel told Euronews.

Emmanuel Macron’s predecessor François Hollande saw his approval rating fall to below 20% during his term as president.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has also lost popularity in his country with his approval rating at around 27%, according to an Ipsos poll for Euronews carried out in March 2024.

Among voters who supported him in the first round of the May 2022 presidential elections, Macron’s support has dropped by 11 points.

“It is among his electorate that the incomprehension of his decision to dissolve the Assembly is the strongest. It was seen as a betrayal,” Duhamel said.

‘Personal hatred of Macron’

France’s rejection of Macron goes beyond that of his function, politics, or the wear and tear of a second term and has a “personal dimension,” said Duhamel.

His character also irritates the French, with his party’s candidates no longer displaying his face on their campaign posters.

Macron’s move to dissolve parliament is seen as “a reaction of wounded pride, a lesson to the people who voted badly,” the essayist said.

This idea of giving a lesson to the people continues when Macron says it is their responsibility to vote against right and left extremes in the election.

For some, it reinforces the image of an authoritarian and arrogant leader who pushed unpopular reforms through parliament.

Macron has been criticised for avoiding consultation and for being removed from the concerns of his fellow citizens, with some citing his past as an investment banker.

ADVERTISEMENT

The president has said he wanted to let Prime Minister Gabriel Attal lead the legislative campaign and yet the president is omnipresent.

His decision to call for elections has been described by many as a risky endeavour and his presentation of them as a choice between himself or chaos creates concern among French voters and also “animosity and resentment,” according to Duhamel.

Popular leader in Europe so far

Emmanuel Macron, nonetheless, is viewed favourably among Europeans and is second-most liked at 41%, just behind Ukrainian Volodymyr Zelenskyy at 47%, according to an Ipsos poll for Euronews carried out in March 2024 in 18 countries of the European Union.

But that popularity could decrease if his decision weakens Europe by allowing a far-right government to take power in Paris.

International press have described his decision as risky and a danger for the EU.

ADVERTISEMENT

Yet maybe it is the French who should be blamed, an Italian columnist argues in the liberal daily Il Foglio.

He says that the French hate Macron as “they elected a reformist even though they hate change”.

This article was translated from French. The original can be found here.