Who is the ‘Whitby Woman’ and why is she so important to the General Election?
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The News Agents head to the seaside town to find out.
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In brief...
- The 'Whitby Woman,' a previously loyal Conservative voter, is now disillusioned with UK politics, critical of both Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer, and skeptical about politicians' capabilities.
- As a significant undecided voter demographic, the 'Whitby Woman' could be crucial in the upcoming election, reflecting broader dissatisfaction and potential shifts in voting patterns.
- Opinions on Reform UK and Nigel Farage are divided, with some appreciating his directness and others concerned about racism, showing hesitancy despite some positive perceptions from his TV appearances.
"You might as well have Teletubbies running parliament."
That’s what a ‘Whitby Woman’ said about the current state of politics in the UK when The News Agents visited the seaside town alongside its polling partner, More In Common, where we met and spoke to a group of undecided voters.
But what is a ‘Whitby Woman’?
She is someone who might prove quite important to results of the upcoming election.
The Whitby Woman has been determined, by More In Common, as someone in her 50s or 60s, who has most likely always supported the Conservatives, but is now up for grabs by other parties after experiencing disillusionment with politics in the UK.
During previous election campaigns, you might have heard about the ‘Mondeo man’, the ‘Worcester woman’ or the ‘Workington man’. The ‘Whitby Woman’ is the 2024 iteration of that important voter.
Her vote could prove “absolutely crucial” on 5 July, says Lewis Goodall.
If Rishi Sunak was an animal, what would he be?
What did we learn from meeting a group of Whitby Women?
Perhaps the most important thing to note, is that they don’t really have much time for either Rishi Sunak or Keir Starmer, telling The News Agents that “they’re as bad as one another,” that UK politicians have “no morals and no standards” and they “don’t think any of them can govern”.
“They can’t make their own tea, let alone run a country,” one Whitby Woman said.
And they really didn’t like Rishi Sunak leaving the D-Day celebrations in Normandy early to make it back to the UK for a TV interview, with one describing it as “disgraceful”, nor did they like his claims that he struggled growing up because he didn’t have Sky TV.
And while there was some sympathy for the Conservatives’ leader, saying he drew the “short straw” with the state of the Tories when he took power, there was an overwhelming concern that he wasn’t the right man to run the country.
“He's rich beyond your wildest dreams,” a member of the group said.
“I don't think you can think about how somebody is going to have enough money to go and buy some bread and some eggs, or you can't pay your gas bill or you're in arrears with your rent. If you've got money, all those things are irrelevant because they don't come into your sphere of life.”
And while some suggested that Keir Starmer might have slightly more understanding about how people were struggling, others said they were “terrified” of Labour winning a majority government, and echoed recent Tory lines about tax rises under a Starmer government.
Some just said they hated his hairstyle, but that’s probably less important when it comes to fixing the NHS or pulling the country out of a cost of living crisis.
What do Whitby women think about Nigel Farage?
And what about Nigel Farage?
The Whitby Women were split when it comes to the Reform UK leader. One said they would not vote for him under any circumstances, but another praised him for being “direct” and speaking his mind, while a third said they were concerned about growing racism in the UK, they said that much of what he says is what a lot of people believe.
The group did agree that his time on I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here helped his cause, however, with one saying his approach to the tasks while in the jungle made them feel more confident in his ability to run the country.
“I’m A Celebrity comes up in every focus group where we talk about Farage, but yet there is still this bit of hesitancy, even among people who like what he's saying,” Luke Tryl of More In Common tells The News Agents.
“People bring up the thought that 'it would be a vote for racism' and that's what's holding people back.
"It's those brand issues that are capping people's support for Reform UK, they can get up to 15-18%, but it's harder to go much higher when they've still got that toxification.”
What do the experts say?
Lewis Goodall says the most “disturbing” thing about speaking to voters ahead of the election is how “profoundly cynical” they are – about politics in general.
“In the past, it may have been that individual voters didn't like individual politicians, and didn't like what they stood for. But I don't think there was such a profound and utter rejection of their competence as the governing class,” he says.
“From the financial crisis to austerity, to Brexit, to the pandemic, to party-gate, to Liz Truss, to the party's inability to do anything, you've just seen – as far as voters are concerned – example after example of the political system itself being incapable of responding to the requirements of the moment.
“And in that situation, you can see and you can understand why it is someone like Farage, someone who is coming in and not just saying 'I will change things', but someone who is rejecting the system itself, why it is they are working on fertile ground.”
Luke Tryl says there is something “deeper” in the mistrust of politicians happening in the UK as we approach the 2024 General Election, despite usually seeing cynicism and voter-apathy towards parties and their leaders.
“This time there's a sense of futility, this sense that it's not just 'we don't trust politicians', it's that they don't think politicians are up to the job, they can't match the scale of the problems that the country is facing,” he says.
“What you've got from that group, that you also see in others, is just that sense of hopelessness that anything can get better, that Britain's problems seem so big that we're not going to get out of them in a hurry, and this election – despite there being this strong desire for change, people just don't think they're going to get it."
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