Medical union balloting 45,000 members from today over strike in March as ministers meet unions in effort to end disputes
Rishi Sunak has used an article for ConservativeHome to argue that, in making the fight against inflation a priority, he is acting as a Thatcherite. Last week ConservativeHome ran an article by Lord Cruddas and David Campbell Bannerman, the two leaders of the Conservative Democratic Organisation, a new pro-Boris Johnson organisation campaiging for party members to get more control of party affairs, complaining that there are too many MPs in the party “who are not genuine Conservatives”.
In his article, Sunak seems anxious to insist that that’s not him. Referring to his stance on inflation and debt, he says:
As Conservatives we know that the most fundamental of all foundations for a better future, for growth and for opportunity is sound money and a stable economy. The public has always trusted us with that task, but that trust is earnt not given. As it was for Margaret Thatcher when she became prime minister, my prime economic objective is to defeat inflation and so my first promise is to halve inflation this year. We must all remember her dictum, ‘No policy which puts at risk the defeat of inflation – however great its short -term attraction – can be right.
We also need to reduce our country’s debt. As a Conservative and as a father, I care about what we leave behind for our children. At the moment debt is too high and there is nothing Conservative about writing cheques for our children and children’s children to pick up after we are gone.
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