Ali Goldsworthy and Nick Barron (both part of our agency, Accord) share their views on why Liz Truss turned out to be an unlikely unifier, in this piece for The Times. Read an excerpt below:
For years we have been charting how different groups in the UK feel about each other. In divided times, people can interpret events differently — favouring the group they identify with and against those who with whom they do not. So strong is our desire to belong that scientists at UCLA in California have found it triggers the parts of the brain that experiences pain when you are left out. It literally hurts to feel like you don’t belong. This dynamic becomes even more likely to kick in during economically straitened times. The latest results, released today, bear this out: dislike between those on the left and the right has risen. There is one aspect where people are united, however, and we must all thank Truss for that. Voters remember her premiership and hold it in low regard, supporting the voices that held her to account.