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Sunak comes off the rails in Manchester

Writer's picture: Julian VaughanJulian Vaughan

Rishi Sunak believes that a General Election is “not what anyone wants”. After the Tories’ disastrous Conference in Manchester, he is in a vanishingly small minority. For Sunak to stand behind a lectern in Manchester emblazoned with the slogan “long-term decisions for a brighter future” while announcing the shelving of the HS2 route to Manchester, is either arrogance or stupidity, or a mixture of both, depending on your point of view.

The build-up to the Conference, with Sunak rowing back on the UK’s net zero commitments, gave an indication of what was to come and both Sunak’s and Braverman’s speeches set out the direction of travel for a Tory party out of ideas and lacking any sensible heads to correct their frantic dance towards the hard right. While Mordaunt’s “stand up and fight” warm up act was just bizarre, Sunak’s speech was deeply disturbing.

Acknowledging that trans people are among the most vulnerable and persecuted groups in our society doesn’t diminish the rights of anyone else. Words matter – Sunak’s deplorable speech, a cynical attempt to cling to power, is very likely to lead to more abuse and violence against transgender people. Solidarity with all those in the LGBTQ+ community.

Apart from the wildly inaccurate portrayal of Labour policy, Braverman’s dog-whistle filled rant failed to mention the huge cultural, societal and economic benefits migrants have brought to the UK or the need for the UK to play a role in reducing global inequality.

The Tories talked about making long-term decisions and taking the “difficult options” all while blitzing us with their scattergun policy offerings that are both short-term and purely for political gain.

The public deserves better than a government flailing around desperately trying to stoke up culture wars while creating false enemies. I am proud to be British and it is distressing to see how this government is trashing our public services and our reputation around the world.

All this Tory government has left to offer is to sow hate and division. We are better than this. A Labour government will have a fair, effective asylum system and will tackle inequality, poverty and the impacts of climate change around the world.

After 13 years of a Tory government’s indifference and mismanagement, it is time for empathy, compassion and competence in our politics. The Tories won’t provide this – a Labour government will.

Julian Vaughan

7th October 2023

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