We Tories are in a torpor not seen since Henry VI’s catatonic state
WHY would a Conservative go out to vote in a by-election with the Government in a torpor not seen since the 15th century when Henry VI was in a catatonic stupor and unable to speak or govern for 18 months?
Nothing is being done to inspire voters to turn out, and to assume that they will next year to stop Sir Keir Starmer is wishful thinking.
Sir Keir has been busy putting on Tory clothes, learning from the electorally-successful Sir Tony Blair.
In such a way, he appears much less threatening than previous Labour leaders Jeremy Corbyn or Ed Miliband.
However, Henry VI did come out of his stupor and it is not yet impossible for the Tories to do the same.
In recent weeks, some of the Government’s rhetoric has improved a little.
However, as yet, the actions do not follow the words.
Rishi Sunak’s speech on reducing the impact of net zero regulation was a start. But words need to be followed by action.
We also need to stop attacking Tory voters.
Tomorrow, we’ll see the landlord-bashing Renters Reform Bill in the Commons. Though it is unpopular with Tory MPs, Downing Street insists on ploughing ahead with a Bill that will hurt renters as well as landlords in a socialist belief in regulating free contracts to stop landlords and tenants agreeing mutually beneficial arrangements. It should be dropped.
Moreover, whichever clever clogs in No10 thought announcing a ban on conversion therapy on the morning of a by-election needs to be found a comfortable place in a rest home. Taxation is another area where there is no incentive for Conservatives to go out to vote.
While Sir Keir Starmer says the tax burden is too high, the Government is in thrall to the Office for Budget Responsibility and the Bank of England, whose error-strewn record is only too apparent.
The State spends and taxes too much, and both need to be reduced. The recentlyannounced decision to trim the Civil Service is simply not ambitious enough.
More decisions to cut back on folly are needed, like the welcome cancellation of the northern leg of HS2, and Tory Ministers need to stop defining their success by how much they spend. When a Minister says we have increased government spending on this or that worthy cause, what he or she really means is: I have placed an extra burden on taxpayers. Instead, the money needs to be found to help families and businesses.
The corporation tax rise should be reversed, death duties scrapped and the ‘fiscal drag’ – which puts millions of people’s income tax rate up from 20 to 40 per cent on the same real income – needs to be tackled. The Government must use the Brexit freedoms that it has been so timid about thus far and it needs to be clear on immigration, which is not just an economic issue but is also about integration and infrastructure.
Net migration of 606,000 in 2022 is simply too much.
Once again, the malign hand of the Treasury and the Office of Budget Responsibility are responsible for misleading measurements of the benefits of immigration.
In a way, the focus on cross-Channel boats has been a distraction from the real problem.
But it has not distracted the communities affected by this scale of inward migration.
Above all, the Prime Minister needs to concentrate on the big issues and forget the trivial.
For example, few people are excited about the PM’s proposed changes to A-levels in 20 years’ time, or, indeed, a smoking ban set at an arbitrary date.
It is high time the Tories stopped hitting our own voters with policies that make them worse off, or with woke nonsense that offends them.
Instead, we need to start cutting the size of the State, offer tax cuts that give people back their own money, and provide a solution to the migration issue.
Perhaps, like Henry VI, the Conservative Party and Government will suddenly wake up. If we don’t, last week’s by-election results will be simply an early taste of the bitter outcome of next year’s general election.
The Prime Minister needs to focus on the big issues and not the trivial