Rearranging the chairs on the Tory Titanic
Sunak’s reshuffle, while protecting the Prime Minister in the short term, has shown the direction of travel he is taking his government. Austerity, driven by a more right-wing agenda.
Johnson’s ‘Build Back Better’ narrative of investing in infrastructure, as shallow as it was, promoted state funding of infrastructure and increased spending on public services. Admittedly, this narrative turned out to be rhetoric rather than reality, with the promises of 40 new hospitals being dropped almost in the next breath. But Sunak’s government isn’t even pretending to support a high-spend, low-tax economy. Instead, he is pushing towards Austerity 2.0, a strategy that will be devastating for our country which is already so broken.
Appointing Kemi Badenoch to Secretary of State for Business and Trade, and reshuffling not just his Ministers but Whitehall departments at an estimated cost of £100+ million, are actions that speak to his agenda. At a time when the cost of living has pushed more and more people to the brink, with up to 8.4 million people expected to be in fuel poverty by April 2023, and the public sector strikes are escalating, these should be their priorities.
There was a 40% increase in poverty in 2022, with all three successive Tory governments doing nothing to address this crisis. Sunak’s new Cabinet is bereft of care or compassion, epitomised by 30p Lee Anderson.
Raabid behaviour
Last week, Raab’s abusive behaviour finally caught up with him. Our True & Fair Party leader, Gina Miller revealed that in 2016, Dominic Raab was verbally abusive to her and to a junior member of staff at the BBC, with the intention of intimidating and belittling her for their differing opinions on Brexit. As well as this, it was revealed that Raab confused Nish Kumar with Mr Gary Marlowe, Gina Miller’s brother. This insensitivity shows that Raab is not only a bully, but can't tell one Asian from another.
https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/dominic-raab-bullying-allegations-gina-miller-b2274570.html
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/nish-kumar-dominic-raab-video-b2275258.html
Click to watch the clipThere are now more than 27 complaints against Mr Raab, with staff in the Ministry of Justice threatening mass resignations unless he is sacked. This is our Deputy PM we’re talking about!
After Gina spoke up in solidarity with others accusing Raab of bullying, Sir Robert Buckland revealed that Mr Raab tried to have him sacked for criticising the Bill of Rights plan as well as an ex-colleague who served in the civil service describing him as a ‘monster’. In the case of Robert Buckland, he will undermine and seek to destroy the careers of people who oppose him. And in the case of Gina Miller, he abuses people who speak truth to power.
But the question remains, why isn’t PM Sunak acting more swiftly to stop the almost daily deluge of scandals? The reshuffle would have been an ideal time to stand by his words to lead a government of integrity and competence. Why did he not act more decisively on the Zahawi scandal? It is all too little too late. The damage is deep, corruption in the Conservative’s corridors of power can only be stopped by a change of government.
Addressing Brexit Problems
Brexit is a fact. However, evidence of the damage being caused as a result of Brexit is compelling. The only collective response to this crisis is to move forward with it together, as a country, and make it work for all of us. The United Kingdom is the only advanced economy estimated to shrink in 2023. This includes sanction-riddled Russia, fighting an illegal war in Ukraine. Since Brexit was implemented three years ago, the governments of Boris Johnson, Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak have sought to inflame tensions with Europe using divisive rhetoric and catchy slogans rather than useful, detailed strategy to help the United Kingdom strive post-Brexit. The Conservatives have simply failed to lay the groundwork, and we now face years of economic hardship as a result.
On Monday 30th January, the True & Fair Party published a paper called ‘Addressing Brexit Problems’ which was commissioned by Gina Miller and co-authored by Eleanor Sharpston, Advocate General at the Court of Justice of the European Union and Ian Forrester, a Judge at the General Court of the European Union. The Paper outlines a pragmatic approach using tools that already legally exist in the Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) to improve issues around, trade, travel, and staff shortages and lay the groundwork for future improvements for numerous sectors suffering under the weight of daily Brexit damage. Whoever is in power, the work needs to start now to utilise these tools in 2025 when they become available.
You can also read our other report on ‘Closing Tax Loopholes’ here
To continue our work, build awareness and gain support in the seats we will be fighting at the next General Election (see 'Our Candidates' on the homepage) we need you to help us help you.
Have a great weekend,
The True & Fair Team