Values and Competence

Harold Wilson explained that a week in politics is a long time. To prove it, Chancellor Rishi Sunak has gone from hero to zero in a matter of weeks. After presenting himself as the New Conservative, caring and connected to the people, he appears to be just another individual in Johnson's government where entitlement seems to be the dominant theme.

Sunak's star rose during the pandemic when he pumped a lot of money into the economy and some people's pockets. Unfortunately, the uplifts to the poor have been removed while some of his interventions have been criticised. What was not in our interest was his decisions on the public procurement of PPE where Tory donors were favoured. Furthermore, much fraud occurred to the tune of billions of pounds, yet Sunak decided to write it all off. That is a technical term to forget about it. Who says crime does not pay? As taxpayers we were the people ripped off. The Chancellor who should be our gatekeeper appeared to have held the door open as the fraudsters made their way out of the bank. These frauds are our schools and hospitals which are not now going to be built.

The Chancellor's spring statement called into question his competence and increased our tax burden to their highest level since the post war period. The cost of living crisis has not been addressed and it is noticeable that Sunak gave us a small loan for increased energy prices, a significant proportion of which are due to his own lack of action in adopting green policies. As now normal, the poor and the middle classes are the hardest hit. We just do not have access to the resources to avoid taxes. Resources which are available to the very rich.

There is a lack of transparency in our MPs and their families. The Chancellor's own family fortune is shielded from his own tax collectors. There is no problem if we are aware of where we all stand. There may well be no wrongdoing, but it does not help if people making public policy have hidden interests. Previous chancellors and ministers have grappled on this problem with more transparency and success. Sunak's values and competence make it difficult for him to be chancellor let alone prime minister.