In his first conference speech as leader of the Conservative Party, Rishi Sunak made headline-grabbing announcements on a range of different policy areas, but he sought to unite them under a common theme: change.
In a keynote speech on Wednesday, the Prime Minister canceled HS2 Northern and reinvested £36bn of savings into other rail and road projects, announced an overhaul of the A-level curriculum and outlined plans for future generations. smoking ban.
His overarching message is that these changes in transport, education and public health demonstrate his willingness to abandon agreed courses of action and embody the Conservative Party’s new mantra of “long-term decisions for a brighter future”.
In a 65-minute speech to the party faithful, Sunak mentioned “change” 30 times and concluded: “Now is the time for change – and we are the change.”
The 43-year-old leader claimed he represented not only a break with the past 13 years of Conservative government but also the failed “30 years of political status quo” that encompassed almost the entire post-Thatcher era.
Conservative strategists believe that Labor leader Sir Keir Starmer, who just turned 60 and is 15-20 points ahead in the polls, does not represent such a generational change. It’s a bold strategy for a prime minister who has led a party that has been in power for 17 of the past 30 years.
But Conservative strategists see Sunak as the party’s best hope at next year’s general election – with the relatively fresh leader set to become a central figure in the “presidential” campaign, flanked by a group including Energy Minister Claire Coutinho, Pensioner Young allies including Kim Minister Claire Coutinho. Secretary Laura Trotter and Secretary of Veterans Affairs Johnny Mercer.
Sunak’s wife Akshata Murthy unexpectedly introduced him on stage on Wednesday, fueling speculation about her possible role in the campaign.
The prime minister’s allies say his decision to downplay net zero policy this month and his performance at conferences echo calls from backbenchers for a new approach to the problem, which has seen Labor lead in the polls since taking office last October. .
They also said his conference speech was a warm-up for a series of further aggressive statements in the coming months that would underline his claims as a harbinger of change.
However, some ministers believe this is a risky approach after the turmoil of the past 18 months, especially in contrast to the main opposition party’s strategy. “The boring labor is a plus for them – they provide stability,” one person said.
Other Conservatives believe it is too late to implement significant new policies or change the narrative before the next election. A leading Conservative Party figure has called the leadership “delusional” and “acting as if everything is going to be fine” given the time left before voters go to the polls.
Meanwhile, some MPs have expressed doubts about whether there is enough substance to Sunak’s political positioning as a candidate for change. One former minister said of his speech: “There was not enough of a narrative to tell where the party was heading at the election other than repeating ‘we are a force for change’.”
Another Tory MP has accused the Prime Minister of smearing the Tory record since 2010, warning it would anger those in the governments of Liz Truss, Boris Johnson, Theresa May and David Cameron. MPs and party bigwigs who played a key role.
“He made too many references to the past,” the congressman said. “Instead of denigrating previous administrations, he could say, ‘I’m only in office for one year and this is what I’m going to do in my first full five-year term.'” I was surprised by the way he framed it. “
No 10 was determined to focus on Sunak during the four-day meeting, with few other major announcements from other cabinet ministers.
But the decision to reserve most policy interventions for the prime minister’s grand finale meant the early part of the conference was dominated by the party’s increasingly radical right wing, which hosted coordinated rallies.
The prominence of this wing of conspiracy theories – including plans for a “world government” by so-called shadowy elites and bizarre “15-minute city” thesis about placing amenities near residential areas – has alarmed a nation of conservatives. Members.
Coupled with tough talk from the podium this week by cabinet ministers on immigration and transgender issues, several centrist MPs left the meeting in despair.
“This crazy stuff – I hate it,” one said. “More importantly, it will turn off floating voters, weak Conservatives. We need to focus on GP appointments, housing, the cost of living, not conspiracy theories and attacks on immigrants.”
Others called on Sunak to rein in Home Secretary Suella Braverman, who said on Tuesday that a “hurricane” of migrants was likely to enter the UK.
In his speech, Sunak implicitly hit back at Braverman’s claims last week that multiculturalism had failed, saying Britain was “the most successful multi-ethnic democracy on earth”.
“I’m proud to be the first British Asian Prime Minister, but you know what? I’m even more proud that it’s not a big deal,” he added.
Sunak ended his speech to a standing ovation from campaigners, but Manchester faces an uphill battle to unite his fractious parliamentary party.
This is no small task: Conservative strategists warn that, in addition to convincing the public that their boss is the main agent of change, any electoral victory will depend on a united front of the party. “We need everyone to work together,” one person said. “We need unity of purpose and discipline.”
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