by Brad Evans at UnHerd
As Westminster’s rumour mill thrummed to the possibility of a snap election, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak walked into yesterday’s PMQs with a spring in his blue-suited step. High on the falling rate of inflation, it seemed the long overdue summer months may just lift the national spirits. And then it started to rain. Like the English football fans once again building up their emotional fortitude, knowing full well it’s not the disappointment but the hope that causes the greatest suffering, the dampening weather system blowing back into Downing Street suggested that, as far as the many are concerned, the future will be gloomy.
Political historians are wont to point out that there are occasions when a public becomes so dissatisfied it simply wants change. When this happens, the policies and electable candour of the opposition become less relevant. With Labour following the golden rule that it is better to let the government author its own demise than say anything meaningful, it certainly feels like we are in such a moment now. Whatever we thought of Johnson vs Corbyn, at least there was clear water between what they stood for.
Yet if we were to dig deeper into those feelings of dissatisfaction,…
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