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Good morning! Many Tories are currently more concerned about how to reshape the Conservative party after the next election, rather than how to beat Keir Starmer. This week, Robert Shrimsley discusses the party’s direction in his column. Read on for more thoughts on this topic.
Inside Politics is edited by Georgina Quach. Follow Stephen on X @stephenkb and send your gossip, thoughts, and feedback to [email protected]
New Right in Old Bottles
Rishi Sunak woke up this morning to a scoop from Pippa Crerar at the Guardian, revealing that he blocked plans to rebuild five hospitals that were made of unsafe aerated concrete. Furthermore, this week’s Spectator cover story by Boris Johnson criticizes the West, particularly the UK, for failing to provide Ukraine with the weapons it needs to fight Vladimir Putin’s invasion. These stories of mismanagement, combined with the Chinese spy allegations, deepen the prevailing belief within the Conservative party and much of the press that Sunak’s government is drifting and destined to fail. As a result, the party is beginning to focus on what it wants to do after defeat and after Sunak. What will the Conservative party look like once Sunak is no longer in power? “Smaller” is one answer, but Robert Shrimsley presents a better take in his column:
“At their core is an anti-establishment ethos which sees the future of conservatism no longer as the defenders of the existing order but as Brexit radicals, scourge of the elites and globalists, the voice of a mythical middle England, the non-graduate rather than the graduate, the suburbs and towns over city dwellers. For many, this is the only logical destination for their new electoral coalition. The groupings waiting to swoop all want to exploit rather than heal the divisions exposed by Brexit. The New (or ‘national’) Conservatives fight for traditional values, reduced immigration and a nativist self-sufficiency. Free-market Trussite Tories dream of low tax, a smaller state, and deregulation. Conflict between the more interventionist ‘New Conservatives’ and the small-staters who are also less socially conservative means there is no coherent economic model.”
The key point here is that the Conservative party currently lacks a coherent economic model to unite around. Without the burden of office, the Conservatives will no longer need to balance the electoral appeal of promising reductions in immigration with the policy implications of investing more in social care and potentially causing inflation. The party’s desire for tax cuts will also no longer have to be reconciled with its fear of further reducing taxes.
In an upcoming Tory leadership race, I don’t think the “I can win” card will be very effective for two reasons. Firstly, unless there is a significant change, I increasingly believe that the Conservative party is headed for a painful defeat in the next election. The worse the party’s position appears, the harder it will be for a candidate to convince the party to back them based on their electability alone. Secondly, paradoxically, many Tories may think they can make Keir Starmer a one-term prime minister regardless of the candidate due to the difficult circumstances that the Labour government will face. Therefore, in the short term, the right-wing of the Conservative party will likely dominate the post-Sunak era.
Now, let’s try something different:
I’ve been watching Ahsoka, because let’s be honest, if Disney slapped the Star Wars brand on something as mundane as “watching paint dry,” I would at least give the first episode a shot. The fifth episode was a notable improvement. Perhaps it was because for the first time, we got a glimpse into the characters’ inner lives, or maybe it’s simply the result of Stockholm syndrome. For a light-hearted take on Disney’s struggles, give the Unhedged podcast a listen. In other news, London is buzzing with excitement as the most thrilling event in the fashion calendar kicks off today. For exclusive insights into how the collections in upcoming Fashion Weeks will shape the future of the $2.5tn industry, don’t miss Fashion Matters, the award-winning newsletter by Lauren Indvik, the FT’s fashion editor and former founding editor-in-chief of Vogue Business. Subscribers can sign up here to receive it every Thursday.
Top stories today:
– Keir Starmer announced that Labour would pursue an EU-wide agreement with Brussels to address cross-Channel clandestine migration and treat people smugglers as terrorists.
– The government’s plans to relax water pollution rules in order to facilitate more housebuilding were defeated in the House of Lords last night.
– The GMB union launched a campaign on behalf of up to 1,000 female care workers in Sunderland, claiming that dozens of local authorities in the UK could face equal pay claims for failing to address discriminatory practices against women.
– Rishi Sunak and Jeremy Hunt are reportedly discussing the possibility of scrapping the second stage of the HS2 rail project due to increasing costs and severe delays. The government has already spent £2.3bn on the project, but cancelling the northern phase could save up to £34bn.
– The father, stepmother, and uncle of Sara Sharif, a 10-year-old girl who was found dead at her home in Surrey last month, have been arrested on suspicion of murder after returning to the UK from Pakistan, according to the Guardian.
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