Wednesday 3 October 2018

Theresa May: Ending Austerity?

File:Theresa May portrait.jpg
Photo: UK Gov Open Licence.

I thought it was unfortunate for Theresa May as she began her speech at Conservative Party Conference as the news updates on the screen below reported that James Duddridge had written to the Tory's 1922 committee to demand a new leader. Even at this important moment for the Tories and May in particular the knives were out.

There will be much mocking of her entrance, dancing to Abba in an attempt to satirise her critics in the press but that aside her speech turned out to be technically competent and like so many other Ministers turned her ire towards the unsavoury way political debate has turned out.

The threat of Jeremy Corbyn who acted so differently to all his predecessors from Neil Kinnock back to Clement Attlee. Jim Callaghan a former sailor in the Royal Navy would never have asked the obvious culprits, the Russians to examine the evidence.

Corbyn she said would put this countries security at risk. Disarmament will not encourage others to follow suit. The defence of the country will remain strong. Further the economic policies would be disastrous through partial nationalisation which was really a stealth tax.

The Prime Minister rejected the idea that there should be a second referendum on the EU. This would undermine faith in democracy if politicians sought to overturn the result. The argument for "Peoples Vote" was false there has already been a peoples vote. It was the referendum.

May also pointed out a No Deal exit would not be good for this country but there are many in her ranks who do not care.


Photo: By HM Government

May suddenly announced the period of Austerity was over and we could expect more from the government. A good move by her and with the other minor policy announcements seems to indicate the desire to return to "one nation" conservatism she alluded to at the beginning of her term.

The question is will it be enough? From where I'm sitting the jury is still out. It will all revolve around what deal she comes back with from Brussels.

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