Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak both ruled out support for energy price caps during the Tory leadership hustings last night.
As I have discussed, there are problems with any such cap. Labour's plan does not go far enough. I suspect the industry's plan might include hostages to fortune. But, the proposals have, according to opinion polling, proved to be immensely popular with the public, which is a rare PR success for Starmer. Tory rejection of the idea is certainly not going to help their cause as the autumn progresses.
Nor are the explanations for refusing help credible. Truss says help most come via tax cuts, but even Sunak is now issuing commentary suggesting almost all her support goes to better off households and not those in most need. As an exercise in wholly missing the target whilst wasting resources Truss's plan is spectacular.
Sunak is no better though. He says there is no money available and that to create more would max the country's credit card, which he won't do. Ignoring the economic nonsense that this claim represents, he says that to borrow is not apparently the Conservative way even though borrowing to fund the failed £37 billion track and trace system apparently was, and he oversaw it.
The message at present is clear. As the Bank of England relentlessly seeks to drive the economy towards recession Sunak and Truss think the government should sit on the sidelines and watch the disaster unfold. We are in very deep trouble.
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This is the Boris Johnson way. He never, ever, anticipates how bad things are going to be, especially not in public. Everything is always going to be fantastic, and everything will be saved by something that will turn up. His view is that he will be able to pull something out of the fire.
But just now he is sulking and is getting used to the idea of no longer being prime minister. That makes things worse, because he wants things to be worse for Liz Truss. He is like Oswald Mosley, believing the nation will in its hour of need turn to him for salvation. I think he is just as wrong as Mosley, but with the added ingredient that he is actually, notionally, in charge in this crucial period when things could be done.
What will actually happen is that there will be the catastrophe that is foreshadowed here, and there will be a general election before Christmas in which Johnson, and many other Tories, will lose his seat.
Why would Truss call an election knowing she might lose it when she will not need to do so?
In order not to be overthrown.
My view is that Truss is useless.
Sunak OTOH is much more sneaky.
He probably would support some sort of help for the CoLC.
But then argue for less finance for say something like the NHS on the basis that there is ‘only so much money in the system’. And then bring in some rather nasty changes thus keeping the long term Tory £12 billion reduction in public sector spending per year on track from 2010. Sunak’s record is giving with one hand and taking with another.
Sadly PSR, I think you are probably right. But, surely, he can’t believe the rubbish he spouts about the government’s credit card. Even Ree-Smogg got the narrative right for 5 minutes not that long ago.
Larry
Sunak and the rest of the Tory party treat us like mugs. They will say anything as long as it furthers THEIR and objectives and they will also gaslight us too.
Sunak and his mob believe in only one thing – the attainment and retention of power so that they can abuse it on behalf of their natural constituency – the wealthy who are also the biggest rentiers/wealth extractors.
Rees-Mogg only ‘got it right’ when it suited him when justifying tax cuts – not increased welfare payments – typical Neo-liberal chicanery and not worthy of praise.
what do you think are the odds of the election due in 2024 actually taking place and being delayed or abandoned instead?
I suspect it will happen
But they will do their best to rig it
“But they will do their best to rig it”
How do you think they will manage that? Do you think previous elections were also rigged?
They are now, by seat changes and seeking to exclude people from voting. The timing also makes a big difference to the student vote
What might of more relevance than any future election is what happens, and when. people are no longer able to pay their fuel bills. I’m assuming that the effects of this will ripple outwards. Debt collection agencies are going to be busy trying to chase down money that doesn’t exist. What else will not get paid? Mobile phone contracts, broadband, countless service contracts for electrical goods, mortgages and on and on. Expect another bonanza of housing auctioned off cheap to anyone with a bit of capital. Having said that how will the small scale buy to let people fair when rent isn’t paid? This may well make the crash of 2008 look minor in comparison. Where will the Tories and commentators like Jeremy Vine (July this year) who still refer to Labour crashing the economy, stand then?
I’m beginning to take on the manic look of someone who is just about to accidentally crash their motorcycle with the consolation that they are actually crashing into Bernie Madoff’s prized Bentley.