CONSERVATIVE party conference has erupted in disarray this week, and Truss has to pull the disparate parts of their “broad church” together. A “barnstorming” speech was never on the cards, as that is not in her skill set.
Even the old guard “One Nation” Conservatives, who have the least toxic brand of policies, have objected to the 45p tax cut. Some have even gone further and criticised the possible freeze of benefit support packages, a cut by any other name. Good on them.
Who would have thought three or fours months ago that the Boris “levelling up” would be transmogrified to actually mean a “vacuuming up” by removing money from the already needy to fund business, and additionally borrowing money from the “market” to fund the energy cap programmes, which these needy will “need” to pay back over 30 or 40 years.
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The broad Conservative church has experienced a huge schism, and can be subdivided into its devotees.
The Bruges group, who want to disentangle the UK from the EU and turn back the political clock to pre-devolution, associated with John Redwood and Ian Duncan-Smith.
The European Research Group, a less strident branch of the congregation, whose view is again disentanglement from the apparent strictures of being part of the biggest trading block, where the EU insists in clarity of ownership and abhors profit-stashing in offshore tax havens.
The One Nationers, the old canny Conservatives who knew how far to push and when to pull. The Kenneth Clarkes, Dominic Grieves, they are in the decline or have left parliament. Since the mini-Budget was announced, they have come out of their closets and put letters into Sir Graham Brady, chair of the Conservative “backbenchers’ union”, aka the 1922 Committee.
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The Thatcherite far right have a new darling to replace the much missed “Divine Margaret”. God help the rest of us – another 15 years of austerity.
Even the moderate "One Nation" Conservatives must see that the UK is moving right and away from the moderate centre ground, and will tear apart the bonds that once held the UK Union together.
Alistair Ballantyne
Birkhill, Angus
THE “mini-Budget” of the vacant Mary Elizabeth Truss and former Eton boy Akwasi Addo Alfred Kwarteng has totally decimated the “Better Together” claim that remaining in “the Union” effectively guarantees economic stability and prosperity for all in Scotland.
That said, even a stopped clock is correct twice a day and Truss’s statement during the Conservative and Unionist Party conference that “the status quo is not an option” seemingly headlines the exception that proves the rule in confirming her incompetence.
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What is now clear is that the necessary fundamental change of the United Kingdom will present less risk of Scotland suffering from extreme ideological policies and economic catastrophes if our future is in the hands of a proportionately representative independent parliament at Holyrood rather than in the establishment-controlled clutches of the sham of a democratic union at Westminster.
Should there be hardship ahead in surmounting the economic challenges of self-determination then what is effectively guaranteed is that the rich will at the very least endure their fair share of any pain while the poor and less fortunate will be shielded by a sincerely compassionate government with a true social conscience.
Stan Grodynski
Longniddry, East Lothian
ANYONE in any doubt as to why PM Liz Truss is so unreasonably adamant that Scotland cannot hold another independence referendum might find a reason in the BBC Panorama programme screened on Monday evening. The Green Energy Scandal is now available on BBC iPlayer and worth viewing.
The sourcing of fuel for the huge Drax power station in Yorkshire was the issue being investigated and the documentary laid bare the depths the Drax organisation go to gain the required allegedly green fuel to power their massive complex providing approximately 12% of England’s electricity requirement.
Seems to me this indicates the dependency UK Government has on Scotland’s supplies of renewable energy and suggests Liz Truss must fear loss of our resources.
Tom Gray
Braco
I HEARD during a Radio Scotland segment that the Stone of Destiny “was removed from Scotland by Edward I, but stolen from London by Iain Hamilton etc”. Odd choice of words. “Removing” someone else’s property, but “stealing” to reclaim what’s rightfully yours.
However, they know exactly what they’re doing, brainwashing the listeners by suggesting that independence supporters are criminals; also relying on the fact that many listeners have too poor a grasp on history to realise that they’re being told absolute lies.
Barbara Samson
via email
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