The prime minister has failed to convince his party, the cabinet or voters what the country should look like
If the Tory party could be summed up in a word, it would be power. The Conservatives have dominated the 19th, 20th and – so far – 21st centuries. Their most successful leaders have anticipated the national mood and shaped their party to profit from it. Boris Johnson won the last election by betting the right way on Brexit. But there is a fundamental disagreement at the heart of the Tory party as to what the future UK economy outside the EU should look like. This question urgently needs an answer, not least as the country looks past the pandemic.
In the next six months Britain will almost certainly face a cost-of-living crisis. High inflation may go even higher before it ebbs away. Mr Johnson is in denial about this problem while people face going cold and hungry in their homes. Prices are driven higher by global energy costs, set by cartels such as Opec or gas producers such as Russia. However, the price at which electricity and gas is supplied to the UK’s companies and households could be capped and a windfall tax on oil companies used to reimburse suppliers. State intervention could help ordinary households – but ministers say that this would be at the expense of “this country’s reputation as a hub of international capital and investment”.
