Sunak must find his political spine

Source - Daily Telegraph 22/02/23

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Afternoon,

Sir Keir Starmer said today that the UK has been stuck in a “crouched position” for too long, lacking the “confidence to move forward” as he set out his five-pronged vision for fixing the UK’s problems.

And the Labour leader challenged Rishi Sunak to call a general election so that voters can deliver their verdict on the two leaders’ respective five-point plans for the UK.

You can read more about Starmer’s speech in our live blog.

What should Sunak’s response be? Many Tories are despairing at what they tell me is a leader who increasingly resembles Theresa May as he gets more and more bogged down by the Brexit talks over Northern Ireland.

That came after the Prime Minister told MPs yesterday they would get to “express their view” on any agreement. Anyone remember the ghastly period of May’s “meaningful votes”? What a mess.

And dozens of his own MPs are already preparing to block attempts to rip up the Northern Ireland Protocol which gives European courts jurisdiction over the Province.

There are ways for Sunak to restore his fortunes - and it means getting political. Firstly, he should instruct his Chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, to abolish the non-domiciled tax status in the Budget.

This would go against his instincts, not least because his wife Akshata Murty is a non-dom (although she voluntarily pays UK tax on her global earnings).

And it would give his Red Wall MPs something with which to show the party’s supporters that they are requiring the rich to pay more.

Secondly, Sunak should use the Brexit impasse over Northern Ireland, which he created by trying to meet a deadline for a visit by the US president to Belfast and Dublin, to his advantage.

Given he cannot - and I think will not ever - get any negotiated deal past the DUP, he should tell the EU he is going to legislate to replace the Northern Ireland Protocol.

The effect will electrify support for him among the party’s Eurosceptic MPs, and unite much of the party behind him.

And it would have the effect of silencing the increasingly vocal Boris Johnson who is turning into a major headache for Sunak.

Thirdly, Sunak should scrap the increase in corporation tax, due in April, as we are arguing today in our leader column, to show that the Government is focused on keeping the UK as an attractive place to invest.

These single three moves would help to restore Sunak’s fortunes among the party’s faithful.

The longer he delays the more precarious his position will become. One Tory MP with his finger on the pulse of the Red Wall said he expected Sunak to be forced out by his own MPs between June and November this year.

There are ways out of this - and it involves Sunak finding a political spine which he - so far - has apparently lacked.

Cheerio!

Chopper