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Tory Britain

Sitting on the sidelines, after 21 years living outside the UK and with no vote (anywhere), I despair even further at the state of my country of birth. I thought the premiership of Johnson had brought the moral and political status of the Britain to a new low; now I see it gets even worse with the scramble for the succession.

The Tory Party has moved so far to the right that all the candidates bring out what I regard as the worst in the party’s current philosophy: low tax, small state, obsession with business growth as the solution to social and economic problems, and fervent Brexit contempt for Europe (yes, even Truss has changed her tune here).

All the front runners stayed firmly in Johnson’s cabinet as one dishonest or corrupt act after another surfaced. They hid behind the shield of collective cabinet responsibility until finally Sunak, perhaps the only one with an ounce of personal integrity, even if I am totally opposed to his views, could stand it no longer. The supporters of Truss and Mordaunt are fighting a particularly nasty anybody-but-Sunak campaign (strongly aided by the Daily Mail). I would personally support an anybody-but-Liz Truss campaign, though I know very little about Penny Mordaunt (I suspect because she is ultimately pretty lightweight). I suppose that means I think Sunak is the best of the worst.

I have always been a socialist, always in favour of a big state with Keynesian principles aimed to provide strong public services, with more equality and more support for those in need of it. So obviously I have never been a fan of conservatism. But that does not stop me respecting some of the big shots in the history of the Conservative party. They just happened to work on a different set of principles from mine. But now? Zero respect. Some of old heavyweights, like John Major and Michael Heseltine, are also despairing on the sidelines at what is happening to their party. The last prominent Tory who displayed some integrity was the eccentric Rory Stewart who came fifth in the 2019 campaign.

I suppose the only bright light is Preti Patel did not stand! Let’s just hope and pray that the Labour Party can perform with integrity, competence (and the minimum of in-fighting) in the run-up to what must surely be a Labour government in 2025. What a long time to wait. What a lot of further damage can be caused between now and then.

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