DAILY MAIL COMMENT: Tories must find new vigour after a dire 2022

DAILY MAIL COMMENT: Tories must find new vigour after a dire 2022

To describe 2022 as an annus horribilis for the Tories would be something of an understatement. In the past 12 months the party suffered nothing less than a litany of disasters and misfortunes.

Some of these travails were the result of external forces, notably the soaring inflation caused by Vladimir Putin’s hideous war on Ukraine.

Most, however, were self-inflicted – starting with the unfathomable decision to defenestrate the Prime Minister who had delivered a landslide majority. From there, it was downhill all the way.

It’s worth reminding ourselves how we stood at the end of 2021. Covid was firmly on the run and, despite the doom-mongering of the scientific establishment, Omicron thankfully proved to be weaker than other variants.

The party’s reputation for competence has been severely wounded. Whether it can rise from the ashes by the next election remains to be seen (pictured: Rishi Sunak)

The economy was growing well by comparison with other G7 countries and had surpassed its pre-pandemic level. Inflation was a concerning but manageable 5.4 per cent.

Yes, there were scandals and setbacks; Partygate, the Owen Paterson sleaze fiasco, and a humiliating by-election defeat in ultra-safe North Shropshire.

But although the Tories saw their poll ratings slip, Labour had failed to capitalise. At the beginning of last December, the parties were still neck and neck.

Fast forward a year and the Conservatives are 23 points adrift – a truly vertiginous fall. It’s not hard to see why. We are on our third PM of the year, with Liz Truss having lasted just 44 days. The party’s reputation for competence has been severely wounded. Whether it can rise from the ashes by the next election remains to be seen.

Some of these travails were the result of external forces, notably the soaring inflation caused by Vladimir Putin’s hideous war on Ukraine. Most, however, were self-inflicted – starting with the unfathomable decision to defenestrate the Prime Minister who had delivered a landslide majority (pictured: Boris Johnson)

We are on our third PM of the year, with Liz Truss (pictured) having lasted just 44 days

While it has been indulging in self-mutilation, inflation has spiralled above 10 per cent, plunging millions of families into a severe cost of living crisis.

Boris Johnson’s boosterism has given way to a sense of pessimism and dread, and instead of easing the load, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has piled on the agony with a raft of tax hikes.

With the overall tax burden now greater than at any time since the 1940s and public spending still ruinously high, voters could be forgiven for wondering whether this really is a Tory government or a Gordon Brown tribute act.

As if all this were not bad enough, the NHS, rail and other public-sector unions are taking punitive action against the public with a wave of strikes which ministers have so far failed to combat.

These walkouts may not be the Government’s fault, but it will be blamed if they continue indefinitely.

As if all this were not bad enough, the NHS, rail and other public-sector unions are taking punitive action against the public with a wave of strikes which ministers have so far failed to combat

So is there any way back for the Tories? The answer to that is yes, but it will take guts, political nous and more than a smattering of luck. First and foremost, the party must rediscover its purpose.

This Government was elected on a manifesto of low taxes, levelling up and delivering the benefits of Brexit. Rishi Sunak and his Cabinet must dedicate 2023 to honouring those manifesto commitments.

Equally, Mr Sunak must fulfil his promises to crack down on cross-Channel migration, clear the asylum backlog and significantly reduce NHS waiting lists.

There are 7.2million awaiting treatment, with irresponsible NHS strikes making the situation worse. It is not good enough.

But recovery depends above all on growth. That must be the primary focus.

Miss Truss’s policy execution was flawed, but her diagnosis that lower business and personal taxes and tighter spending controls would stimulate growth was correct.

Mr Sunak will not win the next election by donning Labour’s tax-and-spend clothes. However, if he rediscovers his Tory instincts, unites his party and gives voters reason to believe, he just might.

We wish him and all our readers a happy, successful and prosperous new year.

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