In his speech at the Conservative Party Conference 2023, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak found himself pulled in different directions, attempting to align himself with Conservative successes, while distancing himself from their shortcomings. This left the Tory leader precariously balancing, a position he is likely to become accustomed with in the coming months.
His speech attempted to simultaneously celebrate and admonish his party. He called for the need for a change in direction after Government failure, and subtly criticised his predecessor Liz Truss’ calls for immediate tax cuts. Yet he also engaged in the obligatory invocation of Thatcher by comparing their backgrounds as the ‘grocer's daughter and the pharmacist's son’. He critiqued the decisions of recent Governments without noting the cognitive dissonance of him being a member of them for the last five years. Mr Sunak clearly hopes to convince the public that both can be true: he is a true Conservative leader who has been a great success in his roles and will make the hard choices, but he will offer a real break from the previous direction of the party.
So what has he offered for his vision? The Prime Minister has appeared to have chosen to try to appear bold, rather than in fact being bold. His policy to phase out smoking, which will change the age at which people can buy cigarettes and tobacco in England to rise by one year every year, is supported by Labour and will mainly face rebellion from factions of his party who despise this type of paternalism. His HS2 alternative of investing nearly £4bn in transport schemes in six northern city regions and resurfacing roads across the country? Mostly plans that had either been previously promised or planned, and perhaps not enough to silence the furore over the high speed railway’s downfall.
Rishi Sunak sought to create dividing lines with Labour, as he did a few weeks ago with announcing the delay of several net zero targets. He announced new qualifications for 16 to 19-year-olds with the Advanced British Standard. In a move designed to play to the Conservative base, Mr Sunak stated that ‘a man is a man and a woman is a woman’. Along with the proposed reforms to the NHS constitution discussed earlier in the week, this statement indicates a desire to stake out the Conservative view on transgender people clearly; a move for an election fought on the basis of a U.S.-style culture war seems to be in the offing.
Yet his speech and the coverage surrounding the conference served to highlight his biggest challenge. Many of the announcements were overshadowed by speculation on HS2, to the point where he needed to provide a direct answer to allow his other policy proposals to cut through. This indicates his inability to control the narrative surrounding his party, and more worryingly the narrative of the wider political scene. Through his riskier announcements, he is clearly attempting to do just that. It remains to be seen whether his latest gambits will be successful in granting him the initiative moving forwards.
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