The Conservative Party is faced with a challenge that can be summed up in five words: the diminishing returns of reinvention. This fall, Chancellor Rishi Sunak has shifted his approach to become a figure more focused on change, rather than stability. Drawing attention to the faults of past governments he has served under, Sunak’s new persona is a punchy one that has raised the mood among the cabinet, though it remains to be seen if it will be successful in the long-term.
Last year’s party conference was a firework display of excitement, with all the bangers and rockets going off at once. This year’s conference, by contrast, has a more conventional focus on political pyrotechnics. On Monday, the biggest issue discussed will be the economy. Sunak will give a speech, pointing to revised data from the Office for National Statistics that indicates the economy grew faster than initially thought during the pandemic. However, with the knowledge that how an economy feels matters just as much as the numbers on a spreadsheet, it is recognized that people’s lives have been difficult for some time.
The growing sense of economic improvement matters for not only day-to-day life but also in shaping when to call a general election. Liz Truss, former Prime Minister and still a major player in the Conservative party, will also make an appearance at the conference. She will argue for cutting business taxes, fracking, and more quickly building more houses as the best way to get the economy growing again. Sunak, however, dismisses her claims.
While Boris Johnson used to take on the role of the Prince over the Water at party conferences earlier, Truss now acts as the (former) Queen over the Water. Alongside allies like Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg and Dame Priti Patel, it will be interesting to see how Truss is received at the conference – and by how many. Nevertheless, the Conservative Party needs to continue to innovate and adapt if they hope to stave off the effects of reinvention fatigue
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