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With only a week to go in the Conservative Leadership Race, the party seems to be tearing itself apart. This is not unusual in leadership races, especially in the Conservative Party. This is most likely due to the final leg of the race being between two candidates, creating a clear dividing line between the two camps and allowing for stark division between the two wings of the party. Personally, my endorsement goes to Rishi Sunak. As a centrist, pro-Europe Conservative Party Member it may seem strange that I’m backing the only candidate who voted for Brexit, however, all shall be explained below.
My ultimate dream would be for the UK to completely rejoin the EU, however, I have to be realistic in my approach. Neither candidate in the Tory leadership race is going to get us back into the EU however, in my opinion, only one has the ability to get this country out of its current predicament, and that is Rishi Sunak.
Rishi Sunak
Rishi Sunak is backed by a broad range of people within the Party, whether it be arch-Brexiter Andrew Bridgen or arch-Remainer Caroline Nokes, he is the unity candidate. The Conservative Party seems set for electoral oblivion at the next General Election, and Sunak is the only one who stands the chance of averting that. Sunak is also the only one who isn’t afraid to take tough decisions when it comes to the economy and understands that if you want more public investment without racking up international debt then you have to raise taxes. Even Nigel Lawson, the most tax-cutting Chancellor of modern history, backs Sunak.
Liz Truss
And now onto Liz Truss. To put it simply, if the Party chooses to endorse Liz Truss as its leader then we are finished. No financial aid on the cost-of-living crisis, no help to those poorest, inflationary tax cuts when we’re already predicted to hit 18% inflation, reckless digs at the EU for no other reason than utter stupidity and she has the personality of a damp cloth.
Liz Truss would fracture the Conservative Party, the country, and possibly the Union itself. She has no economic credibility and, bar one or two sensible people within the Parliamentary Party, is being backed by a load of hard-right headbangers who wish to do all in their power to purposefully anger relations between the UK, EU, and EU nations independently. Truss has deliberately positioned herself to be the most right-wing Prime Minister this country has ever had.
Polls currently show that Liz Truss is on for a comfortable victory. However there have been some serious doubts raised over how the polling has been conducted and weighted, especially given that a GB News poll has shown that the biggest word that comes to mind when they think of Truss is untrustworthy. Either way, the result will be a close shave. However, the outcome for the country as a whole could be very different.
Rumour on the street has it that if, as is expected, Truss completely flops as PM and her ratings tank then the party will move against her after the next local elections. I’m not against shifting a Leader off their throne, however by that time a general election will be, more or less, less than a year away and could throw the party into real disrepute.
All will be revealed over the coming months.
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