DAILY MAIL COMMENT: Indulgent infighting could topple Tories
Who is in control of the listing ship that is the Tory Party as it heads for the political rocks? Yesterday the new Chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, insisted beleaguered Liz Truss was still firmly on the bridge.
But that’s hard to square with him finishing the job of ripping up her bold attempt to carve a different economic path for Britain.
To try to restore stability to the financial markets, Mr Hunt has scrapped her low-tax, high-growth agenda. But he has no mandate to lead Britain. Indeed, he crashed unceremoniously out of the leadership contest with a pitiful 18 votes.
Miss Truss’s plan was denounced by one Tory MP as ‘libertarian jihadism’. Hardly. With the eye-watering energy bailout, the state has never spent more. And reducing the tax burden to where it was in 2019 is far from a free market experiment.
Who is in control of the listing ship that is the Tory Party as it heads for the political rocks? Yesterday the new Chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, insisted beleaguered Liz Truss was still firmly on the bridge
But her Tory enemies are exploiting the economic turmoil to plot her downfall, with three backbenchers calling on her to quit. Cabinet ministers are also manoeuvring.
Whatever happens this week, they need instead to show unity and clarity of purpose. Millions struggling with soaring household bills will not forgive the Tories indulging in another bout of infighting.
If they think voters will easily accept the party installing another PM without a general election, they’re misguided. With Labour 25 points ahead, the Tories must work out what they want – and fast.
Because, at present, the answer seems to be: To sit on the opposition benches.
Met: A force for bad
Grotesque scandals at the Metropolitan Police have become so commonplace they have almost lost the power to shock.
But no one reading Baroness Casey’s excoriating report into the malignancy infecting Scotland Yard could be anything other than horrified.
The force, once a beacon of policing professionalism, is now little more than a sewer of shame.
The thin blue line is meant to uphold law and order. Yet new commissioner Sir Mark Rowley says the Met is riddled with hundreds who should be sacked.
Grotesque scandals at the Metropolitan Police have become so commonplace they have almost lost the power to shock
Some remain in the ranks despite being accused of sexual assault and domestic abuse. ‘Anything goes’ when it comes to racism and sexism. Yet an outdated disciplinary system means wrongdoers are virtually unsackable.
This, at a force with a serving officer who murdered Sarah Everard, is chilling.
The public – and honest, brave officers – have been let down by a string of hapless commissioners who let dysfunctionality fester. This has severely corroded confidence in the police.
Sir Mark says he was reduced to tears by the damning report. Instead, he should be allowed to dismiss the guilty, get standards in order and let decent officers focus on their jobs – cracking crime.
Crown’s shameful lies
One of the great liberties that our constitutional monarchy exists to preserve is freedom of expression.
Netflix’s The Crown stands accused of exploiting this right to concoct harmful lies about the Royal Family, then present them as entertainment – for maximum profit.
Those behind the drama will argue the sensationalised storylines are artistic licence.
But the truth is many viewers will watch the latest series and believe the wholly false smear that Charles, as Prince of Wales, plotted to oust the Queen.
It is cruel timing, as the King is still mourning his mother, yet Netflix probably calculates her death will drive up ratings.
This is not good enough. Harmful merchandise has to carry health warnings. TV shows should make it clear that expertly produced but damaging fiction about real people is just a fantasy – not fact.
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