Get all your news in one place.
100's of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Comment
Polly Toynbee

The Tories are swerving wildly to the right as Truss and Sunak promise the impossible

Conservative party campaign event in Exeter
‘On with the circus! A whole month more of preposterous, incredible and unpopular promises.’ Photograph: Peter Nicholls/Reuters

The Bank of England raises rates in the biggest jump since 1995. Just to “do something”, it deepens the cost of living crisis while doing nothing to ease inflation caused by the global price of energy and food. How could that be caused by a wage-price spiral when average wages are falling at their fastest rate in two decades. The Bank also predicts a recession as deep as that of the 1990s.

For whoever steps through the door of 10 Downing Street next month, this is just one more misery that hits the “squeezed middle” and those above them with mortgages, as well as the “just about managing” and the low paid. But this strange Tory leadership contest inhabits another universe, barely touching on the issues that pollsters find most concern voters.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100's of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.