It's not going well for Sunak...
Even a leading Tory has admitted that Conservative policies are out of fashion, as their party continues to trail in the polls.
Lord Daniel Hannan, who was a Conservative MEP from 1999 to 2020, wrote a column in ConservativeHome where he claimed that ‘Conservative philosophy is out of fashion’.
He told Tory readers, correctly, that the public don’t want the party to prioritise tax cuts but would rather they invest in public services, citing a poll carried out by Global Counsel which found in December ‘that people want any spare government money to go on spending increases rather than tax cuts. By 64 to 26 per cent, they preferred the statement “The government should prioritise spending on schools and hospitals” to “The government should prioritise cutting income tax.”
Although Hannan proudly champions Tory ideas such as small government, controlling borders and of course placing faith in market forces, he warns against being in an echo chamber, saying that the closest the Tories had got to implementing all the policies they wanted was during Liz Truss’ premiership. He adds: “Remember how that went down?”
He then urges Tory supporters to recognise the constraints that ministers are operating under, before saying that the responsibility falls on the wider Conservative movement to change public opinion in favour of Tory philosophy.
At least Hannan recognises just how out of touch Tory policies are.
Basit Mahmood is editor of Left Foot Forward
To reach hundreds of thousands of new readers and to make the biggest impact we can in the next general election, we need to grow our donor base substantially.
That's why in 2024, we are seeking to generate 150 additional regular donors to support Left Foot Forward's work.
We still need another 124 people to donate to hit the target. You can help. Donate today.