Thoughts and Musings of a Conservative Party member.
With the contest on to choose the next PM, these are my thoughts and reasons behind Backing Badenoch
Leadership races can be fascinating, watching the runners and riders set out their stall, and jostle for position. It’s not all about who gets the top job either, some will throw their name into the hat with the hopes of exchanging their supporters for a job in cabinet, others looking to get themselves some exposure for future attempts.
So naturally I, like most members will be looking at the candidates and deciding who they want to vote for should they make the final two. Many were aghast at the suggestion by Andrew Bridgen over the weekend that the race would be stitched up and a deal done between the final two to avoid giving the members the choice. I am not sure that idea was fully thought through by the member for North West Leicestershire however, as I warned, if the party decides it does not need the members votes to elect a leader, it might also be deciding, by default, that it does not need the efforts of members to knock on doors, deliver leaflets, pay membership fees, or any of the other things that members do. The very idea itself is so like the EU presidential election, or the Hong Kong election with only one candidate. I suppose at least this would be slightly more honest as no one tried to make out it was democratic! Thankfully it seems that good sense has prevailed and while I would like to see the membership get a choice of 3-4 candidates, at least there will be a vote for the final two.
I suppose that most will start this process of deciding who their preference is by looking at the qualities and policies that they want from a Prime Minister, and what their priorities are. Qualities like, Honesty, Integrity, Leadership and Empathy would not be an exhaustive list. Policies like Taxation, Defence, Energy Security, Trade, Education, Health and Environmental to name a few are probably on the front of most people’s minds right now, with the cost of living soaring, War in Europe and Brexit.
I want a leader and Prime Minister that will not be afraid to tackle these issues. Lip service isn’t enough and nor are platitudes. I want someone who is brave enough to stand up to all the little pressure groups and get on with what the silent majority want them to. Issues like the Cost of Living crisis that is caused by only partly by Putin and his invasion of Ukraine, but mostly by the insane Net Zero agenda and the rampant inflation caused by all the quantitative easing and helicopter drops done by our former Chancellor. Cutting fuel duty by a considerable amount, cutting VAT on energy, undoing the restrictions on Red Diesel and stopping the narcissistic net zero policy should be a top priority.
One key issue that never gets addressed in relation to the Cost of Living is the real term wage deflation that we have been seeing over the last 40-50 years. From on average one parent working in my grandparent’s generation, now families are lucky to get by on one full time wage. The gap between the highest paid and the lowest paid is growing further apart, and this needs to be addressed. No one is so important to a business that they have earned more in the first day of the year, than the lowest paid earns by the last. There is no limit needs placing on what can be earned, but perhaps a ratio for any organisation, where remuneration for the highest paid is only capped by a multiplier of the lowest paid. 20x, 50x, 100x, where to set that needs looking at, but to my mind, incorporates the best of both Capitalism and Socialism.
The situation in Ukraine needs to be continually addressed, and our new leader needs to recognise that the current regimes in Russia and China are not our friends and should be treated accordingly. Invading another country and inflicting mass civilian casualties is not acceptable, and neither is Genocide, or backsliding on the agreement over Hong Kong.
The NHS is broken and needs reform, will our new leader have the guts to start really getting to grips with the money wasted on layers of bureaucracy the EU would be proud of, and make sure that money goes to delivering excellent front line care for patients and working conditions for front line staff?
There is also the issues of which way our society is headed to be dealt with, a new leader really needs to get a grip of the Trans v Women’s rights issue. Everyone should be free to live their life as they choose without fear of recrimination or harassment. But rights also have to be balanced, and it is simply not just to take away rights from one group and give them to another. There are times when Biology matters, so for prisons, changing rooms etc., your biology dictates the one you use. So there should be no Penises in a women’s prison or a women’s changing room. The only exception to my mind is Sport where clearly anyone who went through puberty male, has a significant advantage over females in most sports.
Our new leader will need to get tough with the EU, the Northern Ireland Protocol needs to be sorted and the lefty lawyers who cry about international law need to be ignored. The democratic mandate of the people must be completed. The Fishing industry must not be forgotten, and our fish in our waters need to being caught by our boats, not French and not Spanish boats. There should never be a time when foreign fishermen have more access to British Fish than British Fishermen do.
So who from the runners and riders can live up to expectation? Probably no one in fairness is going to tick every box, but can any come close? The following is my own thoughts and there is an order to them.
I ruled out Jeremy Hunt due to his love of CCP Covid Strategy. He is a lockdown fanatic, and detests the principle of “My Body, My Choice”. Mandatory Covid Jabs aren’t enough for Hunt, lucky for all of us, he lost his job as Health Sectary before he could enact Mandatory Flu Jabs!
Rishi Sunak has been too socialist as a Chancellor for my liking. While Covid support was understandable, the recent handouts to help combat energy prices are not. The treasury has been raking in the cash on VAT with prices rising, so a tax cut is possible without effecting the budget. A real economically Conservative chancellor would cut takes instead of throwing money out of the helicopter. The biggest reason for me is the “No one will be left behind” when it came to Covid support, until the forgotten 5% were hung out to dry with little or no support while being ordered to close their businesses.
Nadhim Zahawi has certainly been in some high level positions and has experience, but he was very gung ho about Vaccine Mandates, I just could never trust that he wouldn’t do away with more of our liberties.
Sajid Javid maintained the implementation of Mandatory Covid Jabs for NHS and Social Care workers. Of those who chose not to comply, many lost their jobs, and even though the vaccine has proven it does not stop transmission there has never even been an apology for trying to enforce them.
Tom Tugendhat seems reasonably competent, however I just will not be comfortable without a Brexiteer at the helm until Brexit has been fully implemented. The fact that he voted against Vaccine Mandates did give me cause to think twice though.
Liz Truss has been quietly getting on with her job, both as trade minister, securing an impressive amount of trade deals in a short space of time, and as Foreign Secretary has continued to work well for the UK. An ardent remainer, and while accepting the result of the referendum, I still feel it needs a Brexiteer to see it through. I think Liz Truss could make a good PM, but wouldn’t be my first choice.
Penny Mordaunt has had an impressive career and increased her majority since becoming the MP for Portsmouth. Penny has proved that she is well capable of giving the opposition an absolute mauling at the dispatch box, and was a competent defence Minister. My concern about Penny is that she seems to have trouble deciding what the definition of a woman is. Wanting to use the language “Pregnant Person” just takes away a little more from Women everywhere. Other than the confusion between biology and self-identification, Penny has a lot of good traits and we could do worse.
Suella Braverman has been a good Attorney General, she talks a lot of sense and winds up the grifting lefty human rights lawyers, who can’t stand to see an end to illegal immigration. If they want her to go, it’s a reason to want her to stay. An ardent brexiteer, and seems to me a very competent lady. On most policy areas she has the right idea IMO, Suella is my second choice for the leadership and I certainly hope that she continues to play a leading role in the government.
Kemi Badenoch has impressed me for a while. Despite being hit with racist slurs such as “the wrong type of black person” or the recent vile tweet from Dr Shola Mos-Shogbamimu “She can crawl back into her Mother”. As equalities minister she has fought the racist anti-racist mob, you know the ones that have to find Racism in everything, and she has done it well with dignity and composure. A rising star in the party, Kemi has made a success of every role she has had. Identity politics is arguably one of the biggest threats to the fabric of our society and Kemi has always fought against it with courage. She recognises the inherent problems with the Online Safety Bill that will censor not support free speech, and that the economic carnage that the current Net Zero policy is causing. In my opinion Kemi has the required qualities to be a great PM in abundance, which is why I will be backing Kemi for PM. I truly believe that she can lead not only the party, but the country, to a successful future.
I would encourage MP’s and Members to #BackBadenoch and let’s get this country back on course to be the greatest in the world for freedom and prosperity.