Brexit
Britain turns against globalisation, blaming it for low UK wages and
inequality poll reveals
Exclusive:
The survey by ComRes also shows people blame modern technology for
inequality
Joe Watts Political
Editor @JoeWatts_ 16 hours ago
Post-Brexit Britain
is in the throes of a major backlash against globalisation, blaming
dwindling wages and rife inequality on the opening of the world’s
economy, an exclusive poll for The Independent has revealed.
The survey by ComRes
even exposes a new backward-looking dislike of modern technology in
the UK, with the public blaming advances for a widening gap between
the rich and poor.
People believe the
gap has also been widened by the low interest rates championed by
former Prime Minister David Cameron and his Chancellor George Osborne
and employed by governments in many countries now suffering resurgent
populist movements.
The poll of more
than 2,000 people in the UK sheds new light on how Britain sees the
world in the wake of its vote to quit the European Union.
For many years
globalisation was seen by Western political leaders as the key to
unlocking prosperity and development, but the tides of public opinion
have now firmly turned against it, the survey shows.
Firstly people were
asked which of two statements on globalisation they agreed with,
whether it has “pushed wages lower for British workers” or “has
not pushed wages lower”.
Almost half, 49 per
cent, believed pay packets had been deflated by the global trend,
while 23 per cent did not think they had and 29 per cent did not
know.
Asked whether
globalisation had led to “more inequality between rich and poor”,
51 per cent agreed, while just 21 per cent opted for the opposing
statement and 29 per cent did not know.
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Opinions were less
clear cut when it came to employment, with 38 per cent believing more
jobs had been created by globalisation, 31 per cent thinking it has
led to fewer jobs and 31 per cent unsure.
Ukip’s Nigel
Farage and US President-elect Donald Trump both won major political
victories after fighting on anti-globalisation tickets, lambasting a
metropolitan liberal elite that they claimed was more concerned with
international affairs than people in their home countries.
With their message
chiming in areas of post-industrial decline, it is perhaps no
surprise that the poll also shows people blame modern technology for
inequality.
Some 40 per cent
agreed that “technology is widening the gap between rich and poor
in Britain”, while 32 per cent disagreed and 28 per cent did not
know.
The outcome is
particularly worrying, given that it will be high-tech industries,
requiring well-trained tech savvy new workers, that will help the UK
compete in the global market.
A majority of 51 per
cent also blamed low interest rates for having “helped the rich get
richer while the poor get poorer”.
Historically low
rates were a major weapon in George Osborne’s arsenal as he tried
to keep the economy afloat in the wake of the 2008 crash.
But in her speech to
the Tory conference this year, Prime Minister Theresa May claimed the
Bank of England’s low interest rate policy had “some bad side
effects” on pensioners, savers and the young.
The comments spawned
a row with Bank of England Governor Mark Carney, who went on to
accuse politicians who blamed central bank policy for inequality as
engaging in a “massive blame-deflection exercise”, but voters
appear to have now sided with Ms May.
The US, where Mr
Trump recently stormed to power, and eurozone nations have also
undergone a period of unusually low interest rates in a bid to shore
up economic performance.
ComRes interviewed
2,040 GB adults online between 7 and 8 December 2016. Data were
weighted to be demographically representative of all GB adults and by
past vote recall. ComRes is a member of the British Polling Council
and abides by its rules
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