well, maybe. But you can pull this trick once only.
If this is what is going to happen, the next President or Prime Minister who will want to do something similar will have to promise he will follow through, or he/she will be made fun of.
Nope. You can pull it again and again. Some folks will notice but they'll be ignored because folks really want to believe.
As the song goes "And I'll get on my knees and pray
We don't get fooled again" but you know how that ended....
For example, the last time immigration was a hot topic in the US, we passed an amnesty together with a promise to secure the borders so there wouldn't be an explosion of illegal immigration. The result was an amnesty and no change in enforcement, so there was an explosion in illegal immigration because the "huddled masses yearning to mow lawns" rightly figured out that there'd be calls for another amnesty. And yes, the amnesty advocates are promising enforcement this time too. (The more honest are saying that they won't offer enforcement first because they can't get amnesty if enforcement works.)
"Some folks will notice but they'll be ignored because folks really want to believe."
The UK doesn't really have a significant number of people who vocally and unwaveringly support particular political parties. This may be because there is a greater proportion of political cynics in the UK, or perhaps it merely appears that way because of our smaller population.
Regardless, the way politicians are portrayed in the media, and the general perception of politicians in general, is almost entirely negative.
"Oh really? Half of the Labor/Conservative vote isn't reliable?"
No; but people vote for what they consider the least worst option, not because they actually like the politicians. There's certainly very little vocal support for them!
