On the plus side. Years spent turning a small fortune into a large one at Goldman Sachs have taught Rishi Sunak how to speak to the Confederation of British Industry. Not for him, the long digressions about Peppa Pig World that punctuated Boris Johnson’s speech to the CBI conference this time last year. Rish! can talk their language: the language of management text books.
On the down side. Most of what the prime minister had to say was pure bollocks. In its own way, just as mindless as that of his predecessor. And by the time most of the delegates realised he had told them nothing of value – and certainly nothing they had really wanted to hear – he was long gone from the conference centre in Birmingham. Back in London, he was desperate to have a word with Jeremy Hunt, who everyone was now blaming for briefing the media that the government was finally about to do something sensible and negotiate a Swiss-style trade deal with the EU.
