i wouldn't claim cameron didn't cause problems - but unlike osbourne or rees-mogg i don't believe his motives were self-interest. this only matters in the context that most people on the left have something like an intellectual block in understanding the ethical motivations of those on the right; exhibiting such *shock* at the brexit and trump victories.
a great proportion of people on the right don't vote that way *necessarily* out of self-interest. some do - but it isn't just "false consciousness" that causes the working classes to vote for the right. in the uk many "normal" people are innately suspicious of the left - and it's patronising to put that down to dacres and murdochs.
Still bemused. Right-wing politicians and those who vote for the right are ... two totally different things. Don't understand what the various motivations of Tory voters has to do with Cameron being a self-interested twat who has utter contempt for poorer people and vulnerable people. So not all self-interest, some good old fashioned discriminatory hatreds too.
But if we are now talking about Tory voters instead - why is it patronising to say that the Dacres and Murdochs prey on people's hopes for a better future by lying to them and stoking up hatred? I can see why the term 'false consciousness' is not ideal, but everyone is susceptible to being swayed by propaganda, and the likelihood of that happening becomes greater the more someone has to believe in a better future cos their present is a bit shit (economically speaking). The papers you named specifically target people who are in that situation.
And to state the obvious, many millions of working class people don't vote for the Tories, even if their support among working class people is indeed increasing according to the stats as things get more desperate.
While many on the Left might have been shocked in one sense at the Brexit and Trump votes, then I think this would be the shock of disappointment rather than the shock of disbelief (perhaps felt by the centre) - after all, just history all over again, isn't it, the right wing profiting from economic pain and a deficit of hope.
And of course people like authoritarian leadership - they show tacit approval for a system that shrinks the life choices of the majority, because they're told it's the only option.