Every candidate for high office, from the freshest of faces to grizzled incumbents, hopes to pitch themselves as the candidate of change. Rishi Sunak is no different. To that end, the Prime Minister used his Conservative Party Conference speech to declare himself the man to “fundamentally change our country”.
Sunak has a convincing story to tell. Still relatively new to politics, he assumed power following the calamity of the Liz Truss administration and, having overseen a calming of the markets, began to focus on bread and butter issues — including the Windsor Framework. But the polls have since only gone in one direction and now Labour consistently finds itself 15 to 20 points ahead.
The changes proposed by Sunak in the past few weeks include a watering down on climate action, an increasingly tough line (channelled through his Home Secretary) on asylum and the decision to effectively scrap HS2 north of Birmingham. The question, of course, is whether this is the sort of change — including the regeneration of Euston — that will resonate with voters across the country.
By the time of the next general election, the Tories will likely have been in office for 14 years, longer than Labour’s last spell. Switching prime ministers with such regularity is a form of change, but it also risks making it appear as if your party has lost interest in governing.
Halt tide of bloodshed
Another young man lost to senseless violence on the streets of London. This time, a 22-year-old stabbed to death in broad daylight on Coldharbour Lane, Brixton. Police have confirmed a murder investigation is now under way.
The sheer level of bloodshed in our city remains intolerably high. With three months of 2023 remaining, the capital has already surpassed the number of teen homicides suffered in the whole of last year.
It is a measure of any city’s success if people, of all ages and backgrounds, can walk around without fear of assault. As the mayoral election approaches, voters will want to hear from the candidates not just about Ulez or political sniping, but what more they will do to end the everyday violence pervading our neighbourhoods.
Doherty’s rock’n’roulé
When you reach a certain age, over-consumption of cheese can be just as dangerous as heroin. That’s the realisation Peter Doherty (fresh from a visit to his liver doctor) has uncovered.
Speaking to ES Magazine, The Libertines singer, who now lives in France, says he “feels a different person” after overcoming his drug addiction. Truth is that camembert (and the accompanying high cholesterol) is real rock’n’roll.
