Rishi Sunak failed to mention the fuel crisis, food and labour shortages, as if bad news was banned from the conference
At least the tiny fringe tent that is masquerading as the main auditorium at this year’s Conservative party conference in Manchester was full this time. Which was more than could be said for any of the previous day’s speakers, Liz Truss in particular. Her reputation for vacuousness precedes her. But those who had made the effort to sit through Brandon Lewis and Arlene Foster in conversation just to make sure of a place for Rishi Sunak’s speech were left wondering why they had bothered to make the effort.
Not that the chancellor appeared too concerned. It’s as if all members of the cabinet are in competition with one another to see who can give the blandest speech. We could be at a homeopathy convention where the dream ticket is the slightest memory of reality. It doesn’t matter what you say, so long as it’s devoid of any content and ignores any of the genuine problems the country is facing. And when it comes to saying nothing, Rishi was happy to prove he was up there with the best of them.
