The problem with changing political discourse for mere strategic convenience is that voters and activists always choose the original over the copy. The former British Prime Minister Liz Truss, who had to resign 49 days after entering Downing Street and causing the collapse of the pound sterling, has monopolized the limelight this Friday with a speech even more tilted to the right than that of her successor, Rishi Sunak. Quite a provocation on the part of the hardest wing of the party, willing to tie the current tenant of Downing Street down short.
The Conservative Party of the United Kingdom is holding its annual conference in Manchester until Wednesday. It will be the first event of this type for Sunak as leader of the party, and certainly the last before the next general election, scheduled for the end of 2024, if the accelerated rumors of recent weeks that speak of an advance are not confirmed. for May.
It was the key moment for the prime minister to use a platform with which the political course was inaugurated, and which attracts the attention of journalists, analysts and businessmen, to wave the new populist flag, close to an extreme right-wing discourse, with the that Sunak is trying to reinvent himself: he is going back on the commitments against climate change – a “driver-friendly” government, says the new slogan; tough on irregular immigration and crime; and cuts in public spending and infrastructure.
half-empty stands
Many Conservative MPs have avoided the trip to the city in the north of England, and the general atmosphere of the congress is one of muted pessimism and half-empty stands in the official program events. However, the events, debates and parallel meetings organized by the different internal currents of the tories, publications with a conservative editorial line or think tanks close to the party present much livelier environments, a sign that the internal turmoil has more of a vital pulse than the apparatus. Almost 300 militants have packed the Trafford Room of the Midland Hotel, where the Group of Conservatives for Economic Growth, a current of almost 50 deputies tories which advocates a Thatcherite liberalism and a reactionary libertarianism, featured Truss as a guest star. Another 200 have remained at the door, unable to enter.
“Some may see her speech at this event as a provocation, but we must remember that she was chosen by the party members,” said Liam Halligan, the journalist of the ultra-conservative channel, when she gave way. GBNews. It was the way of reminding Sunak that his elevation as prime minister was a maneuver by the conservative deputies – to stop the economic bleeding caused by Truss – and not the decision of the members.
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“We have to stop collecting so many taxes and prohibiting so many things. Let’s rather start generating wealth or building more homes,” Truss proclaimed, to the enthusiasm of an important sector of the party that continues to believe wholeheartedly in the economic conservatism of Thatcher and Reagan (reaganomicsas it was baptized), an ideology that prioritized supply and promised that, with the corresponding reduction in taxes, the crumbs of growth would reach the entire population.
“Some continue to defend that the United Kingdom is the paradise of the free market, but the truth is that public spending is already close to 46% of the gross domestic product,” said the former prime minister, completely ignoring that her tax reduction, the mini budget that she and her then Minister of the Economy, Kwasi Kwarteng, launched into the wild, unleashed alarm in the markets and sank the economic credibility of the United Kingdom. “I ask the Minister of Economy to lower the Corporate Tax again to 19% in next autumn’s budget. And honestly, if I can lower it even more, the better. Because we know that when companies can keep that money, the future is better, opportunities arise and new jobs are created,” defended Truss.
Among those attending was, for the first time since 2018, the ultra-conservative leader and promoter of Brexit, Nigel Farage. Aware that in the coming months not only the Conservatives’ permanence in power is at stake, but also the leadership of the party – if Sunak fails – Farage is once again re-emerging, in his usual line, as a destabilizing factor.
Jeremy Hunt, second course
The main speech of the congress during the day on Monday corresponded to the Minister of the Economy, Jeremy Hunt. In other circumstances, the traditional number two of the Government monopolizes the spotlight, but Truss’s intervention has overshadowed a moderate politician who, since he took on the task of rebuilding the landscape of ruins left by Truss and Kwarteng, has taken refuge in prudence and rigor. Quite the opposite of the ideological and combative discourse expected from a party congress.
Hunt has announced a modest increase in the minimum wage starting next April, from the current 12 euros per hour – the official average in the United Kingdom is not monthly – to around 12.7 euros. Along with this measure, which has not enthused either the conservative base or businessmen, the minister has announced a cut in the total number of civil servants throughout the country. Not a mention of a possible tax cut, although hours before taking the stand he had admitted, in his round of interviews with media such as the BBC, that the tax burden should go down, but that it would not be this year.
Hunt’s deflated speech was further clouded when The Times announced that Sunak will confirm, in his speech on Wednesday to close congress, the decision to cancel the high-speed train project between Birmingham and Manchester, the second phase of the infrastructure plan known as HS2. A whole bucket of cold water for local businessmen and politicians, who see the star infrastructure that was going to rebalance the economy between the rich south and the poor north of England practically disappear. The construction budget had skyrocketed in recent years to unbearable levels for the Government, but the decision reflects the lurches of Sunak’s decisions in recent months and highlights Downing Street’s lack of future vision.
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