Shamelessness is, to an extent, a pre-requisite for anyone seeking a career in politics.
The ability to let criticism of their failures, however valid, slide painlessly off the shoulders. Boris Johnson had Jedi like abilities in the ‘everyone-to-blame-but-me’ department. And it served him pretty well until, well, it didn’t.
There’s no doubt that what she had to say was interesting, especially to the lower tax loving newspaper she chose to write for. They can’t be blamed for publishing her attention-seeking 4,000 word ‘essay’. I’m not arguing that as a former PM Liz should spend the rest of her working life in the shadows. I’m sure she has a contribution to make. But all evidence suggests that it shouldn’t have anything to do with the financial future of our country. Or arguably politics more generally.
Low taxes are a long-standing foundation of Conservatism. But so is prudent management of the economy. Pay less tax? Yes please, but not if it doubles the cost of my bloody mortgage and brings the country to its knees. It’s a total absence of competence, not a misunderstanding of political philosophy, that did for Liz.