Profit isn’t evil

The hard-Left scents an opportunity in the cost of living crisis. There have been demands for the renationalisation of utility companies, the imposition of wealth taxes and a huge rise in the minimum wage. Some have even called for the supermarkets to be brought under state control, as if Britain can afford to add food rationing to its list of problems.

This is why Liz Truss’s robust defence of Thatcherite principles during the leadership contest has been so refreshing. For decades, Tory politicians have engaged in a cultural cringe, failing to explain the basics of conservative thought in a misguided belief that this would make them more electable. They have ceded intellectual ground to the Left, while denying the public the chance to hear that an alternative path is possible.

Ms Truss has taken a different approach. Last week, she said that Tories should not bandy the word “profit” around as if it were “dirty and evil”. This is obviously correct. If a market is competitive, firms should not be denounced for making money by giving people what they want. She reminded another audience that tax cuts are not “handouts”. The Government is returning to people their own money – and Ms Truss is right to argue that any programme for relieving the cost of living crisis should begin by lessening the burden of the state.

Left-wing arguments are often cynical and self-serving. It is notable, for example, that the same people who today are criticising Ms Truss for wanting to reverse the National Insurance rise were a few months ago attacking Rishi Sunak for imposing it. She should continue to expose their faults.