What they missed was the competition felt by those on low incomes and fear of losing income through tax rises.
It's a race to the bottom. Upper class pitching the working class against the middle class.
My single mum friend has a small council house in a comparatively nice area. She's on universal credit and gets some for being a single mum and something for being a carer for her dad who lives nearby. She works just under 15 hours a week. Her house is in a poor state and it takes forever for the council to do anything about complaints. She refuses to let me in her house out of embassment. She is due a new kitchen soon though.
After she gets maintaince for her daughter she has enough to get by unless she has a large unexpected expense (eg tumble dryer on the blink). Her dad helps her out every now and again.
I see what she spends money on and she's not exactly great with money, but she makes it go a long way. And she eats out a lot.
Meanwhile my other friend bought a house in a not great area of a small town with her husband a few years back and has been squeezed and squeezed. They have two daughters. The house is in a poor state of repair and they simply can't afford to do anything about it. The new bathroom they need will never happen. They can't afford to move and are trapped. Her parents haven't the money to help them out.
She is a full time care assistant who works shifts and her husband has a job that's low paid but requires degree level education. It is also shift work. They juggle child care and their shifts between them and her mum who lives a few miles away. They very rarely get time off together as it's simply not possible.
Financially they haven't got any spare cash. They rarely go out or do anything as they can't afford it. He's just been diagnosed with potentially having MS. They've done everything 'right' in terms of how they live their lives and work hard and have a roof over their heads.
I find it really hard to watch. I worry about them all. I do my best to look out for them but there's limits to what I can do in practical terms.
My friend who is a single mum has a better quality of day to day life by virtue of having a council house and getting maintenance. She can spend more time with her daughter and has the relative security of her council house.
I certainly can see why others would resent her.
I can also see that she'd be utterly screwed if she was in private rental accommodation or her ex partner were to suddenly stop paying his child maintenance.
My friend who owes a house, simply doesn't know how she will make ends meet and pay the bills especially if her husband becomes unable to work. If they were forced sell the house they can't afford to rent instead.
I don't begrudge either of them and I love them all. But if I were in different and struggling myself I think I might see the two situations differently. I have the luxury of it not really effecting me.
Each have their own very genuine issues and problems but the way the system works produces an inequality all of its own. Its largely related to the cost of housing.
It's not right. It's the finest of lines between getting by and being in trouble. And the idea of fairness seems to be none existent.
The thing is I don't know how you adjust the system easily. It's to do with private rentals being too expensive and there being a shortage of council owned properties.
Johnson has the support of the landlorded section of the population and the section of the public who are no longer of working age which is a massive barrier to reform and improving the situation. Homeownership rates is high amongst them.
The demographics therefore don't favour the situation improving, there will just be a political shifting of the idea of blame around.
It's depressing.