Public standards matter, but living standards matter more to many people
Paul Waugh: ‘There is no evidence from the last 14 years that cutting taxes and squeezing spending on public services actually produces any serious economic growth’ , the MP who allegedly misused party funds following a 3am phone call to pay off “bad people”, is the latest poster boy for Conservative probity in public life.suspended in the past few years, Menzies reportedly rang an elderly Tory volunteer to say he was locked in a flat and needed £5,000 as “a matter of life and death”.
Each case resulted in a by-election and a Tory defeat. In perhaps the slowest general election in history, every few months there is a scandal, then the loss of a seat when the public casts their verdict on Rishi Sunak’s record. nor Menzies have yet referred themselves to the parliamentary standards commissioner, it’s possible we could see more by-elections in Fylde and Hazel Grove.
Still, while hypocrisy over sleaze is damaging to the Tory brand , what is more toxic is the perception that this Government simply isn’t governing with any real ability or vision. As one wizened former minister once told me: “The voters expect the Tories to be heartless bastards, but they don’t expect them to be incompetent, heartless bastards.”A new poll by the More in Common think-tank this week listed the attributes most associated with Sunak. For most, he was “out of touch”.
Another telling More in Common chart this week showed that few people think the policy of cutting NI will help the country, but even fewer think it will help them personally .
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