Day job must be Sunak’s focus

The Chancellor’s balancing act

EVEN THOUGH Rishi Sunak’s first speech as Chancellor to the Conservative Party was a very low- key affair because of Covid- 19, it was, nevertheless, a significant intervention by a politician with a number of different audiences to appease.

First the politics and the apparent surprise of Tories, and the London commentariat, at the warmth of Mr Sunak’s endorsement of Boris Johnson. They can’t have it both ways – they would have been the first to criticise the Richmond MP if he had omitted this passage and, frankly, it is both a distraction, and destabilising, to view every syllable through the narrow prism of leadership.

Next the economics and Mr Sunak’s assertion that he will “protect the public finances” in the “medium term” to get spending and the rate of borrowing back under control – it was a warning that difficult tradeoffs still have to be made.

And finally his message to the unemployed and those fearful of losing their jobs; namely a reassurance that “the overwhelming might of the British state will be placed at your disposal”.

Words that would never have been espoused by members of Margaret Thatcher’s government during the deep recession of the early 1980s, they point to a Chancellor with a strong social conscience who is genuinely concerned about the prospects of younger people.

In a speech that was never going to be brimming with new policies just 10 days after the Winter Economic Plan was launched, it was still a strong statement of intent and the Government must stay true to the Chancellor’s words here.

Despite the tentative recovery since lockdown, the jobs outlook will inevitably get worse before it improves and Mr Sunak is right to highlight this issue as his personal priority as Ministers try to sqaure off the economy and public health. It is also what will define him, irrespective of future political events.