Most applicants promise to cut taxes and premiums
Ethnic, social and gender diversity is guaranteed in the election of the next head of government and leader of the British Conservative Party, which officially kicks off this Tuesday. Nine deputies had declared their intention to participate in the Tories primaries on Sunday and more candidates are expected. Among those left behind is Secretary of State Liz Truss, who was taken aback by the crisis in Boris Johnson’s leadership in Indonesia, where she attended the G20 summit. Her campaign was preparing behind the scenes when she claimed in Twitter posts that the “Prime Minister made the right decision” to relinquish power.
Johnson relented on July 7 after facing a resignation knock-on from members of his cabinet and government. He reluctantly accepted the “will” for change imposed by his parliamentary colleagues, though challenging them by reforming the government team he is determined to lead to the nomination of his successor. The trial could last until September.
Restoring confidence in the political elite is a constant leading up to the campaign to replace a leader, who has been criticized for his lack of integrity in public office. “Our leadership has to change. You have to turn a little less against the leader and a lot more on the ship,” said former Defense Secretary Penny Mordeaunt in the video she released on social media. “A new beginning to restore confidence,” said former soldier Tom Tugendhant on television, the only one with no ministerial experience.
Mordeaunt asks for the voice of those who trust her, even if they don’t share all of her beliefs. He leads his gender colleagues in terms of support from the group of 358 parliamentarians, who will do the basic screening of candidates in the first stage of the election process. The Royal Navy reservist and secretary of state was supported this Sunday by 18 deputies, six more than those nominated Truss. Kemi Badenoch ran at a distance, with ten nominations for his pledge to “tell the truth” and reduce the government to “essential” issues; and the Executive’s attorney, Suella Braveman, with nine.
Four women (including Truss) joined six men in their ambition to follow Margaret Thatcher’s lead. More surprising is the tie at five in ethnic diversity of the applications announced so far. Rishi Sunak, the second generation of Indian emigrants from Africa, amassed the highest number of nominations at Westminster – 32, as of mid-afternoon this Sunday – and came third in a poll of conservative militants. A position above Mordeaunt came in and in charge was Ben Wallace, Secretary of Defense who has resigned from the competition.
Sunak is distinguished by its economic program. It proposes prudence and fiscal discipline to balance public finances after the catastrophe of Covid-19 and ‘Brexit’. The business support plan and job subsidies during the pandemic, which he oversaw as head of the economy, rocketed the debt to 15% of GDP, a ceiling not reached since World War II. Instead, his successor, Nadhim Zahawi, of Turkish-Iraqi descent, proposes cutting taxes and increasing defense spending. It’s a strategy defended by most of the other competitors, too, without specifying how they would fund their respective plans.
The dirty game is beginning to be exposed in the race for leadership, which is soon to enter its ‘sprint’ phase. Sunak is feeling under fire from Johnson’s loyalists, who identify him as the traitor who toppled the prime minister by leaving his government on Tuesday the 5th. Zahawi is recognized as one of the wealthiest deputies in Westminster – it is said that only Sunak surpasses him in economic fortune – and now the management of his companies is being questioned in official investigations, according to media reports.
In turn, Mordeaunt suffered a setback once the campaign got underway. Paralympic athlete Jonnie Peacock asked him to remove a snapshot of his glittering career during the London Games from the promotional video. Both images were quickly removed from the candidate’s audiovisual message to lead the UK.
Source: La Verdad
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