Rishi Sunak’s speech to delegates at the Conservative party conference was an attempt to present himself as a radical break from a failed political and economic consensus. This is a gamble that smacks of desperation and panic. Voters blame the Conservatives for the country’s parlous state. The Labour party looks on course to win the next election, which is probably just a year away. This week, many Tories were obsessed not with losing power but rather with the ferocious fight for the leadership that they think will follow an inevitable defeat.
Campaigning as a change candidate is the option of last resort for Mr Sunak. He needs to convince voters that the Tory party, in power for 13 years, has not run out of steam. Mr Sunak is his own man: he is more fiscally conservative than Liz Truss, Boris Johnson and Theresa May. Among his proposals to fix the country were cutting waste, reducing demand on the NHS by banning today’s children from ever smoking, and improving the quality of workers by making students study maths and English until 18. The last of these policies won’t be ready until 2033 – somewhat blunting its electoral appeal.
