Sat recuperating from a recent leg injury, dreading a quiet news day on a Friday despite much daytime snoozing, and up pops the Deputy PM’s resignation.
Oh dear. Sunak has made a reasonable fist of being PM so far, even closing the polling gap with Labour. And now this.
The problem for Sunak, of course, is that he has to take responsibility for all the Tories’ 13 years in power, and he can’t escape his party’s past, particularly when it incoporates five often chaotic leaders.
Sunak has the makings of being a highly competent PM long-term, but got the job too late. Rebuilding international relations, a new NI protocol with the EU, and mostly sensible economic policies are all pluses. But set against these are clumsily managed public sector strikes with deep rooted causes, an obsession with ‘small boats’ driven by the Right, an NHS/social care crisis, depleted local government services, and the behaviour of several of his colleagues generally.
Despite a commitment to higher standards in public life, it is this last issue that is causing crucial damage right now. Raab is his third cabinet departure, and Sunak is starting to look careless. At the very least, the trade-offs Sunak made to become PM seem more and more costly, and he still has the grim Home Secretary, Suella Braverman, at his side.
The baggage is heavy. Can we honestly say we feel better after over a decade of Tory rule? No, and that is what will do for the government in the end.
This blog is increasingly critical of Labour. Few believe a Labour government will be much better, not knowing what they stand for. What are their guiding principles? What are their core policies? Some of their potential ministers are already starting to grate.
But with today’s events, it again matters less and less. Sunak can’t outrun a tsunami. It is time for a change, and voters know it.
Inside Right Politics 