JACK LOPRESTI

Conservative MP

BLUE-COLLAR Conservatism isn’t quite the same as Speaking Truth Unto Power, but the idea isn’t a million miles away.

And neither is it worlds away from that good old British adage that “your best friends in life may be those who tell you what you least want to hear”.

I supported Boris Johnson last summer because I believed he’d “got it”, and I still believe he has. But he needs to listen to his best friends in life.

When that red wall came tumbling down, it was for a whole host of reasons. Brexit, of course, and the unelectable Corbyn.

But also, deeper down, just a complete disillusionment with the gilded London circle, incessant political correctness, and a desire to have believable politicians. Boris had authenticity and credibility.

But to stay credible he has to take a leaf out of the Donald Trump playbook. Whether you agree with Trump or not, one of the reasons he continues to ride high is because no one denies he’s doing what he said he’d do.

Boris explicitly said: “There are no plans to raise fuel duty.” If in his first Budget he immediately does the opposite, his credibility takes an immediate hit, and so the rot sets in. I of course understand the environmental case for raising fuel duty. We have to cut pollution and improve air quality. But we must have to offer people an alternative first. Just like our Mayor Andy Street is doing in the West Midlands.

If you’re a lawyer earning £100,000 a year, you can afford a new car and actually you don’t use your car that much, 2p a litre on petrol or diesel may not matter. But if you’re a blue-collar Conservative, a striver and a wealth creator for whom your van is your most important working tool, then of course it does.

Once again tax is seen to most hurt those who can least afford it.

And once again a politician’s words are seen to mean nothing.