Its Redemption day for Sunak, but redemption for the Tories seems desperately far

Two months ago I made an uncanny prediction about the fate of Rishi Sunak. Having brought down Boris Johnson with his resignation as Chancellor, he went on to suffer a gruelling defeat at the Conservative party ballot box, coming second to Liz Truss for the leadership, despite winning a majority of the parliamentary party. Many believed this would be the end of his short illustrious career, rejected by his party and rendered to the back benches. I begged to differ…..

Throughout the debacle of the leadership contest, it became clear Liz Truss was living in fantasy land of economics. Her leadership bid quickly became a pander to the Libertarian faction of the Conservatives, worshipping the ‘market forces’ and their desperately flawed concept of trickle-down economics. Rishi Sunak even predicted that her tax cut plans would likely spook the markets and crash the pound. Fast forward a month, Kwasi Kwarteng’s ‘Mini Budget’ done that very thing, ushering in the deadliest self-made economic crisis since Black Wednesday.

As a result, it was no wonder that Liz Truss only lasted 49 days as PM, making her the shortest in British History. Her economic incompetence combined with little support from her parliamentary colleagues made her downfall inevitable. Therefore, whilst many saw Sunak’s defeat as the end of the road for his career in frontline politics, I saw it as a mere setback with a colossal return to come.

Despite my many reservations about the politics of Sunak, he does bare some level of economic competence. With his belief in fiscal responsibility, Sunak represents the traditional view of Conservative economics. The grassroots Conservative membership may have moved on in search of their Libertarian utopia, but the establishment within the Conservative party remains much more aligned with Sunak’s ideas around economics. It was a matter of time before they brought the Trussenomic experiment to an end in order to protect their reputation as fiscally responsible and economically credible.

I must say however, I was shocked at how quick Truss’ downfall came. I thought she may have been able to at least survive until the new year, possibly limping to the next general election before facing armageddon at the polls. Nevertheless, she was ousted before her party turned to the man that had been right all along, seeking his guidance to save their fortune.

And that brings us to today. With Truss gone, Johnson and Mordaunt pulling out of the race to succeed her, Sunak has now been unholy coronated as our next Prime Minister.

That said, whilst Sunak may have redeemed his own position and career, the Conservative party looks more desperate and hopeless than ever before. Divided, defeated and deprived of energy and competence, they are almost certainly heading for an overwhelming defeat at the next general election.

People are simply fed up with the tories. Any party would have found it difficult to appeal after 12 years in power. But the last six months has been a catalyst for their demise having almost defied that cyclical reality only three years before when they won an outstanding landslide in 2019. Their record on the economy is broken. They have lost credibility and trust in our politics, and now are presiding over the worst cost of living crisis in living memory without a genuine vision to solve it.

Rishi Sunak may believe he has the answer to our economic future; a vision that can turn the ship around, but he will quickly find that view short-sighted.

Rishi Sunak may be our next Prime Minister, but the question is, for how long?