World

The Conservatives Have Run Britain for 14 Years. How Has That Worked Out?

Published

2 years ago

July 4, 2024

The Conservatives Have Run Britain for 14 Years. How Has That Worked Out?

Since Britain’s Conservative Party took power 14 years ago, most things have not gone the way it planned.

The Conservative Party has dramatically reshaped Britain since 2010, orchestrating its exit from the European Union, slashing spending on public services and cutting welfare spending. Time and again, British voters have returned the party to power.

But Britons say their country is worse off now than when the Conservatives took office. Their dissatisfaction emerges on almost every issue they are asked about, from the economy to education to the National Health Service.

With the Conservatives facing the possibility of a crushing defeat in Thursday’s election, we took a look at how Britain has changed since they came to power. To do so, we chose the metrics that voters — and the party itself — say matter the most.

No single measure can capture the Britain of 2024, of course, but taken together, these metrics offer a snapshot of decline.

The Economy Has Stagnated

Average productivity growth has declined since 2010…

Source: Office for National Statistics. Note: 10-year rolling average.

… and average weekly earnings, when adjusted for inflation, are barely higher.

Source: Office for National Statistics

Britain’s economy has been stagnant ever since the 2008 financial crash, and the pandemic also hit it hard. Many of its peers, including Germany and the United States, managed to recapture pre-crisis levels of economic growth, but Britain never regained its momentum.

Productivity, a measure of economic output for every hour worked, was growing at about 2 percent per year in the decade before the financial crash. Since the Conservatives took power, it has grown by only about 0.5 percent per year.

One consequence of stagnant productivity is stagnant wages: The average British worker earns just £20 more per week than 14 years ago, after adjusting for inflation.

Austerity budgets explain a lot of the stagnation.

The new Conservative government, intent on reducing the deficit, cut deep and broad, slashing spending not just on party bugbears like welfare but also on public budgets for investment.

Following the vote to leave the European Union, private investment also ground to a halt amid economic uncertainty. The U.K. has the lowest rates of investment among G7 countries, according to the Institute for Public Policy Research, a think tank based in London.

The Conservatives took power bemoaning the “debt crisis” and saying deep cuts were necessary to reduce the public debt. But even after a decade of austerity, it continued to rise, and then jumped sharply because of the pandemic.

Britain’s debt as a share of G.D.P. has ballooned since 2010

Source: Office for National Statistics

The Conservatives also positioned themselves as a party of low taxation, pledging to reduce taxes in every election manifesto since 2010. The opposite happened.

Taxation as a share of G.D.P. has risen to its highest level in 70 years

Source: Office for Budget Responsibility

More people have been dragged into higher tax brackets, and those at all income levels were hit when the nationwide sales tax was raised to 20 percent from 17.5 percent.

The Conservatives argue that the taxation is needed to reduce debt and cover the cost of measures introduced to counter economic shocks like the pandemic and the energy price crisis tied to the war in Ukraine.

The party did fulfill one of its pledges.

Unemployment has roughly halved since 2010, when the U.K. was just emerging from recession. Conservative policy makers argue that their welfare changes, aimed at making benefits less attractive and employment more rewarding, motivated people to return to the workforce. Some researchers found that the changes did modestly encourage people to work.

Public Services Are Struggling

More than 7.5 million people are now waiting for hospital treatment…

Source: N.H.S. England

… and the share of cancer patients who start treatment within two months is at a record low.

Source: N.H.S. England

The picture the Conservatives painted of Britain in 2010 was of a country living beyond its means. They detailed £6.2 billion, or about $9 billion, of spending cuts within their first two weeks in office, and severe cuts continued for the next decade.

Fourteen years later, despite record debt and the highest tax burden in 70 years, many of Britain’s public services are greatly diminished.

Local councils, which run services like social care, libraries, waste management, and local infrastructure, bore some of the deepest cuts, with their spending power dropping almost 30 percent by 2019.

Even the National Health Service, which was ring-fenced from cuts, has been under intense pressure. Its budgets have not risen in line with the increasing demands of Britain’s aging population, and cuts to the social care sector forced more vulnerable people into hospitals.

Britons rank health care as the second-most-pressing issue facing the country. Going into the election, four times as many voters believe Labour is better placed to manage the National Health Service as the Conservatives.

Outside the N.H.S., almost no department was spared from cuts. Troop numbers in the armed forces were reduced by more than 40,000.

Policing was also cut significantly, but during the 2019 election Boris Johnson pledged to stand for the “law abiding majority” and restore the 20,000 police officers that had been lost — a promise he fulfilled.

The number of armed forces personnel has been reduced by 44,000…

Source: House of Commons Library

… but the number of police officers has rebounded, after dropping for a decade.

Source: House of Commons Library

Record Levels of Immigration, Despite Conservative Pledges

The Conservatives vowed to reduce net migration, but it reached a record high.

Source: Home Office

The Conservative party long promised to reduce immigration, and the pledge to “take back control” of Britain’s borders was one of the top reasons many Britons voted to leave the European Union.

But legal immigration has soared in recent years. Net migration — the number of people who moved to Britain minus those who left — reached 764,000 in 2022, almost three times as high as when votes were cast for Brexit.

The migration spike in 2022 was largely driven by specific events, and it has already shown signs of subsiding. Some of the increase was likely migration delayed by the pandemic, and hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians, Hong Kongers and Afghans all fled to Britain on humanitarian visa programs.

Much of the debate around migration is being driven by record numbers of small-boat crossings across the channel, even though they only account for about 2 percent of migration to the U.K.

A huge backlog of unresolved asylum claims has grown under the conservatives. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has promised to send people seeking asylum to Rwanda for resettlement, but those flights have been delayed by court challenges.

The asylum backlog peaked when more than 130,000 people were waiting to have their claim processed.

Source: Home Office

Two-thirds of Britons think immigration is too high, and the disconnect between the Conservatives’ tough talk on immigration and the record levels of migration has opened the party up to attacks from the hard right.

Increases in homelessness, hunger and student debt

The Trussell Trust, a charity, distributed more than 3 million emergency food parcels last year…

Source: Trussell Trust

… and thousands more people are sleeping on the streets than in 2010.

Source: Department for Leveling Up, Housing and Communities

The Conservatives tightened up significant parts of Britain’s welfare system, introducing a two-child limit to child welfare payments, stricter limits for disability benefits and a freeze on working-age benefits for four years.

At the same time, food bank use has skyrocketed. A third of the food parcels distributed by the Trussell Trust last year went to children.

Housing prices have risen dramatically, and an annual survey also found increasing numbers of people sleeping on the streets. Although the number dipped during the pandemic, when the government moved many homeless people into hotels and temporary accommodation, it is now steadily rising toward record levels again.

The problem is stark in many cities now, where the combination of little affordable housing and reduced support services have left many without a safety net.

The cuts have reshaped all aspects of British life, but especially for young people. The Conservatives’ legacy for many of them will be defined by their rising student debt.

The government cut funding for universities and tripled tuition fees to plug the funding gap, meaning the average student now graduates with about £45,000 of student loan debt.

Graduate debt by the time they leave university is three times as high as in 2010…

Source: Student Loans Company

… but more people than ever are attending university.

Source: Higher Education Statistics Agency

The overall crime rate peaked in the mid-90s, driven by increases in violence, vehicle crime and burglary, but it has declined ever since. From 2010 to 2023 it dropped by a further 54 percent.

Despite Mr. Sunak’s recent moves to roll back the reduction of carbon emissions, the country his party leaves behind is greener than the one it inherited: Britain is generating 60 percent less electricity from fossil fuels now than it was in 2010.

Methodology

These metrics represent the issues British voters say are most pressing in polls by YouGov. Data for the entire United Kingdom was used when available. Some metrics apply only to England.

To show how these measures have changed over the Conservatives’ time in office, we calculated the percentage change of each metric between 2010 and the latest available data.

The first chart, which shows all metrics and their percentage change, is plotted on a logarithmic scale. Each metric “improved” or “worsened” compared to what the Conservatives would want, based on the party’s pre-election pledges and average voter sentiment about each issue. For example, two-thirds of Britons believe net migration is too high.

Data sources

Food bank use The number of food parcels handed out by The Trussell Trust, the largest food bank operator in Britain. Source: The Trussell Trust. Data covers the United Kingdom.

Graduate debt The average student loan balance at the time of graduation, including interest. Source: Student Loans Company. Data covers England.

Asylum backlog The number of asylum applications awaiting an initial decision. Source: Home Office, Migration Observatory. Data covers the United Kingdom.

Hospital waiting lists The number of people waiting for consultant-led elective care in English hospitals. Source: N.H.S. England. Data covers England.

Homelessness The number of people estimated to be sleeping on the streets on a single night. Source: Department for Leveling Up, Housing and Communities. Data covers England.

Net migration The number of people moving to the U.K. minus the number of people who left. Source: Home Office. Data covers the United Kingdom.

Productivity growth The 10-year trailing average of annual productivity growth. Source: Office for National Statistics. Data covers the United Kingdom.

Local government budgets The median change in spending power, a government estimate of the amount of money that local authorities have available to take decisions. Source: House of Commons Library. Data covers England.

Timely cancer treatment The share of patients starting treatment within 62 days of a referral by their doctor. Source: N.H.S. England. Data covers England.

Knife crime The number of violent and sexual offenses involving a knife or sharp instrument recorded by the police. Source: Office for National Statistics. Data covers England, excluding Greater Manchester.

Government debt The debt of the public sector, excluding public sector banks, as a percentage of G.D.P. Source: Office for National Statistics. Data covers the United Kingdom.

Taxes The percentage of the country’s G.D.P. that is collected in taxes. Source: Office for Budget Responsibility. Data covers the United Kingdom.

Number of troops Number of fully trained full-time personnel in the armed forces. Source: Ministry of Defence via FullFact. Data covers the United Kingdom.

Average weekly earnings The average amount of money that people earn per week, adjusted for inflation. Source: Office for National Statistics. Data covers Great Britain.

Number of police The full-time equivalent number of police officers. Source: House of Commons Library. Data covers the United Kingdom.

University enrollment The number of undergraduate and postgraduate students. Source: Higher Education Statistics Agency. Data covers the United Kingdom.

State pension value The value of the basic state pension, adjusted for inflation. Source: Department for Work and Pensions. Data covers Great Britain.

Unemployment The number of unemployed people in the U.K., aged 16 and over, as measured by the Labor Force Survey. Source: Office for National Statistics. Data covers the United Kingdom.

Crime Includes a range of personal and household crimes such as theft, robbery, and criminal damage. It excludes fraud and computer misuse. Source: Crime Survey of England and Wales. Data covers England and Wales.

Energy from fossil fuels The amount of electricity produced from oil, gas and coal. Source: Our World in Data. Data covers the United Kingdom.

World

Soccer-Iran World Cup Players Granted Visas to Enter the US, Says White House Official

Published

5 hours ago

June 7, 2026

Press Room

June 5 (Reuters) – ⁠Iran’s ⁠World ⁠Cup players have been granted ‌visas to ‌enter ⁠the ⁠United States, a White House official told Reuters on Friday. The country’s ⁠soccer ⁠team are ⁠due to play their first Group ⁠G match on ⁠June 15 against New Zealand in ⁠Los Angeles, where they will also …

World

Pro-US conservative faces leftist in Peru’s high-stakes presidential runoff

Published

6 hours ago

June 7, 2026

Press Room

Pro-US conservative faces leftist in Peru’s high-stakes presidential runoff

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!

Peruvians head to the polls in a pivotal presidential runoff June 7 in an election that could reshape not only the country’s future but also the balance of power across Latin America.

Two candidates are vying to become the country’s ninth president in just 10 years. Conservative candidate Keiko Fujimori is campaigning on law and order, free-market policies and closer ties with the United States, while left-wing challenger Roberto Sánchez represents a political movement that many see as a continuation of the leftist currents that have challenged U.S. interests in the region.

José Ignacio Beteta, executive director of Asociación de Contribuyentes, a think tank in Peru, told Fox News Digital, “Peru’s June 7 runoff carries consequences well beyond its borders. When analyzed against the current U.S. National Security Strategy, this election will determine whether Peru consolidates its alignment as a U.S. partner or devolves into deeper geopolitical contention. Peru’s institutional weakness has already allowed China to expand into strategic sectors.”

MEET ‘CHINA’S MAN IN LIMA’ WHO JETTED OVER TO US TO COLLECT TRAINS DONATED BY BIDEN ADMIN

Peru’s presidential candidates Keiko Fujimori (right) for the Fuerza Popular party, and Roberto Sanchez (left) for the Juntos por el Peru party, wave during a debate in Lima on May 31, 2026, ahead of the presidential runoff election on June 7. (Ernesto Benavides/AFP Via Getty Images)

Beteta added, “Meanwhile, the vote is seen as a choice between a return to freer and more competitive economic and security policies with Fujimori and a second attempt at left-wing governance with Sanchez, a binary that mirrors South America’s broader ideological fractures.”

The election follows years of political instability in Peru, a country that has seen multiple presidents removed from office over the past decade and remains deeply divided between urban and rural constituencies.

Sunday’s election’s outcome is expected to be very close, with the possibility of a final result not being known for days, according to the Associated Press.

For Washington, Peru’s election represents more than a domestic political contest. It is another test of the broader political direction of Latin America. Over the past several years, several countries in the region have experienced electoral shifts toward center-right or conservative governments, including Argentina under Javier Milei and Ecuador under Daniel Noboa who are all more friendly to Washington.

A Fujimori victory would reinforce that trend and could position Peru alongside a growing bloc of governments favoring tougher approaches to crime, stronger ties with the United States and market-oriented economic policies.

Peru’s presidential candidate for the Fuerza Popular party, Keiko Fujimori, waves to supporters during her closing campaign rally in Lima on June 4, 2026. Right-wing candidate Keiko Fujimori and leftist Roberto Sanchez will face off in Peru’s presidential runoff on June 7, 2026. (Anthony Nino de Guzman / AFP via Getty Images)

Presidential candidate Keiko Fujimori told Fox News Digital that if she wins, “My government’s foreign policy will be based on a very clear premise: defending Peru’s interests. Specifically, regarding the United States, my government will seek a relationship of cooperation, mutual respect and investment promotion. We welcome the Trump administration’s renewed perspective on Latin America and, especially, on Peru, which occupies a strategic geopolitical position in the region.”

Fujimori continued: “We want to seize this opportunity by generating greater stability, legal certainty, and confidence for investment. Peru must always be a country open to the world, committed to freedom, free competition, and the free market. Our goal is to lay the groundwork so that investors from the United States and around the world find in Peru a reliable, stable, and attractive country in which to invest, produce, and create jobs.”

Fox News Digital reached out to Sánchez’ campaign but did not get a response.

ALLIANCE WITH US ‘DISMANTLED’ BY LEFTIST PETRO REGIME, COLOMBIA’S FORMER DEFENSE MINISTER SAYS

Peru’s presidential candidate for the Juntos por el Peru party, Roberto Sanchez, speaks during a campaign rally at the Plaza Tupac Amaru in Cusco, Peru, on June 2, 2026. (Jose Angulo / AFP via Getty Images)

Peruvian analyst and legal expert Lucas Ghersi told Fox News Digital, “Roberto Sánchez represents a rather radical left. His platform includes nationalizations and expropriations, and he is close to Evo Morales and Nicolás Maduro. This election is highly polarizing Peruvian society.”

Ghersi continued, “If Keiko Fujimori wins, she would have a good relationship with the United States. She is a reasonable person who defends the constitutional framework and the rule of law, and she has ties to the United States because she has done academic work at Florida International University (FIU).

“Roberto Sánchez, on the other hand, would create tension in the relationship with the United States. During his campaign and in the presidential debate, he bitterly criticized Peru’s purchase of F-16 jets from the United States. He said that Peru shouldn’t buy from the United States and should instead use that money for health or education. He also has ties to illegal mining and has been accused of drug trafficking. This could create tensions in the relationship with the United States.”

TRUMP LOOMS LARGE AS BIDEN SET TO MEET CHINA’S XI DURING LATIN AMERICA SUMMITS

Supporters of Peru’s presidential candidate Keiko Fujimori, for the Fuerza Popular party, shout slogans outside the Lima Convention Center ahead of her debate with Roberto Sanchez, for the Juntos por el Peru party, in Lima on May 31, 2026. Peru will hold the presidential runoff election on June 7. (Connie France/AFP via Getty Images)

Ghersi concluded, “Peru is a very strategic country and has been the focus of competition between the United States and China. Peru has one of the largest proven copper reserves and is a major gold producer. Therefore, both China and the United States are vying for influence in Peru, and China has been promoting mega-investment projects there, such as a mega-port that is already operational. In response, the United States offered to renovate the Peruvian Navy’s base and invest in large port projects.”

A Fujimori victory would likely be interpreted in Washington as a continuation of the recent trend toward center-right governance in parts of Latin America. Fujimori has campaigned on restoring public security, strengthening economic growth, and maintaining Peru’s market-oriented model. Her supporters argue that these policies could encourage greater foreign investment and closer cooperation with the United States on security and economic issues.

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A Sánchez victory would present a different scenario. Although he has recently moderated portions of his platform, emphasizing respect for private property, free trade agreements and macroeconomic stability, questions remain about how his administration would approach relations with Washington and regional left-wing movements.

The next Peruvian president will help determine whether one of South America’s most important countries moves closer to Washington, or charts a leftward course.

The Associated Press reports that voting is mandatory in Peru for citizens from the ages of 18 to 70, with more than 27 million people registered.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Armando Regil reports on Mexico and Latin America. You can follow Armando on Twitter @armando_regil

World

Pakistan official visits Iran with ‘special letter’ for supreme leader

Published

7 hours ago

June 7, 2026

Press Room

Pakistan official visits Iran with ‘special letter’ for supreme leader

Mediator Pakistan ramps up diplomatic efforts to end US-Iran war as Gulf countries warn of escalation.

Pakistan’s Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi has travelled to Iran to deliver a “special letter” to Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei as part of diplomatic efforts to end the United States-Israeli war on Iran, which began 100 days ago.

Naqvi arrived in the Iranian capital, Tehran, late on Saturday, and met his Iranian counterpart, Eskandar Momeni. The two discussed the “latest regional developments and matters related to internal security”, among other issues, Naqvi said on social media. Before his arrival, Iranian media reported that the Pakistani official was carrying a letter from his country’s army chief and prime minister ⁠⁠for the supreme leader.

Negotiations at ‘deadlock’

Despite tit-for-tat attacks and sporadic exchanges of fire, negotiations over a deal to end the war are continuing, but an agreement remains elusive.

US President Donald Trump has alternated between threatening a renewed military campaign and expressing optimism about a diplomatic breakthrough. On Wednesday, he said an agreement could be finalised over the weekend.

But Iranian officials have offered a more cautious tone. “The negotiations are at a deadlock, and Trump must break this deadlock,” Mohsen Rezaei, military adviser to Iran’s supreme leader, told US media outlet CNN on Saturday. He also called for the release of about $24bn in frozen Iranian assets.

The unfreezing of Iranian assets is one of the key sticking points in ongoing talks. On Wednesday, media reports said US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent was considering using them to support rebuilding efforts in the Gulf caused by Iranian attacks.

“The Treasury will utilise all tools available to allow Iranian assets to be made available to our Gulf allies to support rebuilding and repairs for any future damage caused by Iran,” a US official told several news agencies.

Other sticking points include an end to hostilities across all fronts, including Lebanon; sanctions waivers on crude exports; the lifting of a US port blockade; and leverage over the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran has blocked the narrow waterway since the US and Israel launched the war on February 28. Tehran responded by firing waves of drones and missiles at Israel, US targets in the region and neighbouring Gulf countries.

It declared the Strait of Hormuz closed and threatened to attack vessels transiting through the narrow waterway without its permission. Its effective control of the trade chokepoint sent oil and gas prices to a multi-year high and threatened global supplies.

Armed hostilities largely subsided after the temporary Pakistan-mediated ceasefire began on April 8 . Direct talks in Islamabad broke down on April 12, and the two sides have exchanged a series of proposals to end the war via Pakistan since then. However, several flare-ups since have led to growing fears that full‑scale fighting could resume.