ABSTRACT
The UK suffered one of the worst per capita death tolls in the world, due in part to the mismanagement of the COVID-19 emergency by its Conservative government and its prime minister, Boris Johnson. However, although both the party and its leader have a long history of flirting with populism – to the point where, since the Brexit referendum of 2016, one could argue that the Conservatives have effectively transformed themselves into a populist party – populism (like nativism and authoritarianism) had little if any influence on their response to the pandemic, which, for all its faults, was fairly similar to that seen in other countries. Nor did the country’s populist radical right – the Brexit Party/Reform – have any influence, its blindingly obvious attempts at “populist crisis performance” falling largely on deaf ears. More influential perhaps were Conservative Members of Parliament (MPs) and the country’s overwhelmingly right-wing print media, who, like some ministers (including the prime minister), were ideologically and temperamentally opposed to restrictions – in the main because of concerns about their impact on the economy. Public opinion and the government’s scientific advisors, however, supported those restrictions, which prevented a free-for-all. COVID-19’s impact on the Conservatives’ popularity will take time to play out.
