In autumn 2023, as the Tories were lurching from one faux pas to another, trying to recover from the mess that Liz Truss had precipitated, there was real optimism and expectancy in the air that the resurgent Labour Party, under the ‘expert stewardship’ of Sir Keir Starmer, would come to the rescue as a ‘white knight’ for business and for the prospects for the UK.
White Knights
By way of illustration, last year, I attended a leading newspapers business pre-Christmas reception and strutting the stage, giving the main speech, was Rachel Reeves with Sir Keir Starmer in the audience, being courted and feted by the enthusiastic and welcoming, gathered throng.
Although Jeremy Hunt (whose surname is not to be mis-pronounced) was also there but not on the podium, it was evident that he was considered by the cognoscenti as the ‘day before …. yesterday’s man’!
There was high expectancy and a sense of relief in the air that the Labour Party ‘white knights’ were coming to the rescue of the UK electorate and were the new broom, who would sweep clean.
‘Wet behind the ears’ Sunak
Sadly, the politically inexperienced ‘wet behind the ears’ Prime Minister Rishi Sunak foolishly called an early Election to try to ambush Labour, but instead denied the Tory electoral fortunes some golden nuggets about lower inflation and unexpectedly higher growth, which was announced in autumn 2024, four months after the General Election. Not organising an electoral pact with Nigel Farage’s Reform Party exacerbated the unprecedented drubbing that they received.
His emigration plan using the Rwandan solution was brilliant in its concept, but he needed the ‘cojones’ to leave the Court of Human Rights (ECHR) to implement it properly. This would have sent the message down the line to the illegal immigrants that leaving the safe shores of Calais may not end up in a cushy hotel in Dover, but a slightly less comfortable hot house in deepest, darkest Africa. And what’s wrong with this? It was already working across the border in Ireland and what’s more, Austria, Italy, Germany, and Denmark are all exploring the use of a third country to process asylum seekers. The UK would have led the way on this international, intractable problem.
The electioneering guru, Isaac Levido, was vehemently against this strategy… I can’t think why! The Polls predicted a Tory wipe out, and as it turned out; they were spot on.
The Labour Party’s Manifesto and the accompanying pre-election rhetoric obsessed itself with no changes to Income Tax, VAT and NIC (for the ‘working people’, whatever that means) and whilst there were no planned cutbacks of any ministry budgets, they predicted that higher standards of living would come from the recovery in growth, across the electoral term. All of their taxes and spending were ‘costed’, and this was supposedly modelled by the OBR (Office for Budgetary Responsibility).
Wes Streeting (the whippersnapper from health) swaggered through the media studios claiming that the reforms that he wanted to instigate in the NHS behemoth, would generate the cash for extra doctors and nurses.
Turning base metal into gold
Enter Sir Keir Starmer, stage right, who was greeted like the ‘coming of the Messiah’ and was going to ‘turn base metal into gold’ with his audacious plans for the recovery of the UK. Hallelujah we all exclaimed!
You couldn’t wish for a more profound ‘honeymoon period’ as the Electorate thirsted for drops of this new elixir of political rejuvenation and salvation.
However, as the former Prime Minister, Harold Macmillan so prophetically quoted, “events, events dear boy, events,” no sooner than you could say ‘Jeremy Corbyn’, the sluice gates of corrosive incompetence started flowing thick and fast from Number Ten and Eleven.
Caught with grubby hands in till
Firstly, the Prime Minister and his henchmen were caught with their grubby fingers in the till, belonging to the ‘sugar daddy’ Lord Alli, as they surreptitiously hoovered up all manner of freebees (worth more than £100,000 in aggregate) and when questioned, were indignant, incontrite, and very reluctant to give back these ill-gotten gains. Not a good look.
Then, ahead of the momentous Budget in autumn 2024, the Chancellor had the genius idea to recoup money from vulnerable pensioners by way of winter fuel payments. There was no palpable guilt, and they weathered the media storm that this provoked, satisfying themselves that even if they alienated the ‘grey vote’ it would not affect the Labour Party’s electoral fortunes. How cynical is this?
Then the Budget was announced which raised more taxes from the business community than any other in recent times, together with a fat wodge of borrowings which totalled £40-50billion and the Prime Minister recently had the temerity to announce that this tax and borrowing grab may not be the last.
Outraged!
The CBI and the business community were outraged at this staggering fiscal ineptitude, since these measures would inevitably lead to higher unemployment, greater inflation, lower living standards and by the OBR’s own forecast, feeble growth.
The changes to IHT (Inheritance Tax) liabilities for agricultural land, outraged the farmers who tribally tend to vote Tory at the best of times (a happy coincidence) and therefore, the Labour Party didn’t feel there was too much to worry about, despite the phalanx of Massey Ferguson tractors in the marches across central London.
Life lesson No1; don’t start a war with the farmers.
Predictably, UK Guilt rates rose substantially, and the Pound fell against a basket of international currencies, reflecting the ‘thumbs down’ for the UK economy as a direct result of this ill-founded Budget.
Rachel Thieves CV
Our esteemed Chancellor, Rachel ‘Thieves’ quickly altered her Curriculum Vitae for fear that this would expose it as crass misrepresentation. She had reason to be concerned since her banking experience was closer to ‘Rachel from reception’ than it was to the inner sanctum of the banking apparatchik.
As if this were not enough, to scuttle the ‘good ship Sir Keir’ acting on a mere reference from the ICC (International Criminal Courts), he decided in his wisdom, to give away the Chagos Islands which would undermine the free passage of the USA military forces based in Diego Garcia, which plays a crucial role in the guarding of the Indian Ocean and Persian Gulf areas. The Americans were ‘spitting nails’ with anger.
Then we have the International Investment Summit which was intended to attract entrepreneurs from all over the world except for the notable absence of Elon Musk, who one could argue is the greatest of them all and for the moment at least, is mentor to President Elect, Donald Trump. This ranks amongst the greatest mistakes with the like of Decca’s Dick Rowe turning down the Beatles.
Pledge Dyslexia
Any political media guru will tell you that the secret to the political nirvana is to have a few clear messages that the electorate/populace can understand and appreciate. ‘Get Brexit Done’ is a good example. It is clear, unequivocal and polarises thought.
Between Sir Keir’s six pledges and his more recent five milestones (some would argue that they should be millstones), means we have eleven pathways to focus on, which is fine if you are Marty Feldman, or you think that 11 drivers (all with steering wheels) on the same bus will get you to your destination faster.
His weak to worthless, illegal immigration solutions are pathetic and they seem to centre around the co-operation of France and other EU countries to help the UK, when it is clear that this is one of the single most febrile issues to them. Instead of dropping sovereign boundaries, member states of Europe are putting them back up again so as to have less porous borders between countries.
One pledge that they were proud to promote was the intention to build 1.5million homes during the first electoral term, but no one has yet logistically outlined, how this audacious objective is to be implemented. To meet this ambitious target involves not just defeating Nimbyism but a root and branch reform of the planning system. They would need to galvanise the house building companies to enlarge their work force and procure a scale difference in building materials, some of which are in short supply. Let’s put it this way, whilst this is a laudable soundbite, which should please most of the vulnerable trying to get onto the housing ladder, you can’t just click your fingers and say ‘hey presto’ in the vain expectancy of creating a tsunami of new homes built in the UK.
The predictable mess and associated trauma on affected pupils that adding VAT onto private school fees is sadly, materialising as we speak and in the New Year no doubt, we will find out how many school children have been disenfranchised of their rightful places as the overburdened state school system grinds to a halt. Already Eton are claiming back almost £5million from unclaimed VAT on capital projects that they have spent over the years, and others will do the same.
No money will be raised by this foolhardy legislation but instead, it will cost the country millions to implement this politics of envy driven scheme.
You couldn’t make it up and if you did it would be farcical.
New Depths of dissatisfaction
The Prime Minister has not only squandered his ‘honeymoon period’ but he now presides over a government which is trawling new depths of dissatisfaction from the Electorate. As the hollowed-out Tories are neck and neck with the Labour Party in the Polls, I’d be interested to see what happens at the next by-election and perhaps more importantly, the May elections in 2025, which will represent the first electoral test of this incompetent government.
The Labour Party’s lack of contrition is palpable, as they find out ‘on the hoof’ that running the government is a very different job to the one that they became used to on the opposition benches in the Commons.
The pro-business rhetoric espoused by the Labour Party before the Election seems so hollow now as the real objectives of this left wing inspired government manifests itself.
Conservative rump
Sadly, as refreshingly articulate Kemi Badenoch may be, due to the mismanagement of the former Tory regime, she presides over ‘a rump’ of the Party which effectively represents a pressure group today, rather than a proud Conservative Party, which once boasted being the most sustainably successful in the western world.
As distasteful as this may sound to the Tory faithful, either an electoral pact with Nigel Farage’s Reform party needs to be organised or possibly a merger of the Parties, since without this, one will neutralise the other, allowing the Labour Party to victoriously pass down the middle as they did at the last election.
Whether the Conservatives, like it or not, Mr. Farage is a media phenomenon and to ignore him would be a follie grandeur.
Sir Keir has metamorphised himself from ‘Mr. fix-it’ to ‘Mr. Bean’, in five short months and in the recent Budget, has carried out the greatest swindle since Bernie Madoff’s Ponzi scheme.
I rest my case.
Trevor Abrahmsohn, Glentree International