The prime minister’s programme seeks fights to mobilise his base instead of tackling the cost of living crisis
Price increases driven by Brexit, Covid supply disruptions and war-driven commodity shocks are one matter. The heavy costs – unemployment, wage squeezes, poverty – that follow from a combination of rising interest rates, privatisation and public spending restraint are another. Yet the Queen’s speech, in which the government presents its programme for the next session of parliament, reveals that Boris Johnson appears to have little compunction in inflicting the second set of costs on top of the first.
Mr Johnson claims that he will tackle the cost of living crisis by “grow[ing] the economy”. But he presented nothing on Tuesday that would do so. The prime minister has failed to redeem similar promises before. This is a pivotal moment for an unpopular leader. Voters want to know what the government will do to help them when they are in need.
