Rishi Sunak Under Pressure To Start "Acting, Not Talking" After King's Speech
Rishi Sunak interviews X owner Elon Musk (Alamy)
5 min read
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's allies admit that November is an "important month" for him, kicking off with the King's Speech on Tuesday, as time runs out to spark a major revival of the Conservative party's electoral prospects.
Sunak hopes this week's King's Speech will provide a boost for a period of well-needed Tory momentum that last month's Conservative party conference failed to deliver.
"It's going to be an important month for him," acknowledged one senior government source.
"It’s about acting, not talking."
Parliament will return from a brief recess on Tuesday, when the Prime Minister's legislative agenda for the year will be confirmed. It is widely believed to remain until the next general election, which must be called before the end of 2024.
Sunak's allies say that the next few weeks, which will see the King's Speech followed by the Autumn Statement on 22 November, when Chancellor Jeremy Hunt will set out the government's latest economic policies, represent a crucial juncture for the PM as he tries to reduce Labour's commanding, double-digit lead in the opinion polls and convince despondent Conservative backbenchers that a major Tory turnaround is still possible.
Sunak himself tried to capture this mantra in a promotional video posted on social media at the end of last month. "What can a country achieve in 52 weeks? Watch this space," it said.
Downing Street wants to use the King's Speech to convey a clearer message about what Sunak will deliver between now and polling day, as well as further reinforce dividing lines with Labour that the Tory party will take into the next general election campaign.
No. 10 had hoped that the recent Conservative party conference in Manchester, where Sunak sought to distance himself from years of Tory rule and persuade the electorate that he is a "change" candidate, would mark the beginning of a significant comeback.
But the attempted reset fell flat, with the chaos surrounding the Prime Minister's contentious decision to scrap the Birmingham-to-Manchester leg of HS2 overshadowing the event, and subsequent polls showing no clear signs of a bump in public support for the Conservatives.
Critical Tory MPs complained that the PM's headline conference announcements that he would curtail HS2, scrap A-levels and phase out the sale of cigarettes, regardless of their perceived respective merits, lacked an overarching political narrative to sell to the public.
An ex-Tory strategist said No.10 "needs to be much more political" in the months ahead to have a chance of mitigating defeat to Keir Starmer's Labour at the next election.
"A big push is needed to convince voters that Rishi cares about the things that matter to them, like the cost of living and NHS. Too much time in Whitehall is being spent on pet projects such as AI, which is clearly where he wants to leave a legacy," they told PoliticsHome.
Government sources say crime and justice will form an important part of the King's Speech – both as a policy priority and an issue on which to take the fight to Starmer. One of Labour's core missions is to "take back our streets", setting up crime as a major battleground come the next general election campaign. Sunak is expected to announce plans for stricter sentencing rules that will compel convicted criminals to attend court in person, as well as measures to ensure those who commit the most serious crimes spend their entire lives in prison.
The Prime Minister is also set to expand what he describes as his government's more pragmatic approach to hitting net zero by 2050 by introducing legislation to make it easier for future governments to grant new licenses for oil and gas drilling in the North Sea.
Since the summer, Sunak has sought to make green policy a dividing line with Labour by accusing the opposition of pursuing net zero at the expense of ordinary people.
The Prime Minister has pushed a pro-car agenda, which has included a decision to postpone the ban on the sale of petrol and diesel cars by five years from 2030 to 2035. The strategy was inspired at least in part by the Tory victory in July by-election in Uxbridge, where local concern about the Ultra Low Emissions Zone (ULEZ) expanding played a big part in the Conservatives unexpectedly keeping hold of Boris Johnson's former constituency.
Doubling down on this strategy risks irking pro-green Tories who warn that being seen as backtracking on net zero will cost the party votes, but No.10 is convinced that it can appeal to voters who are concerned about the green transition fuelling their cost-of-living pressures.
Labour has made clear that it is willing to take the fight to the Tories on net zero.
Labour MP Ellie Reeves, the party's deputy campaign coordinator, recently told PoliticsHome that green policy would be a "very clear dividing line" with the Conservatives at the next general election. In his own conference speech, opposition leader Starmer declared: “When Rishi Sunak says row back on our climate mission, I say speed ahead."
Conservative MPs who believe a major Cabinet reshuffle could help boost the party's electoral prospects may have to wait until the New Year before Sunak pulls the trigger.
There were suggestions that the Prime Minister would move to rearrange his top team last week, prior to Westminster returning from its short recess for the King's Speech on Tuesday. However, sources familiar with the Prime Minister's thinking say the long-expected Cabinet reshuffle is likely to take place towards the end of this calendar year, if not in early 2024.
When it does finally happen, the reshuffle is set to be general election-facing.
The Prime Minister is expected to prioritise prominent roles for Tories deemed as the strongest communicators at his disposal, as well "fresh faces" who can front his change message. As PoliticsHome reported last week, Conservative backbenchers are discussing the prospect of Claire Coutinho, the current energy and net zero security and major Sunak ally, taking another step in her extraordinary ascension by replacing Jeremy Hunt as chancellor.
Time is running out for Sunak to spark a major Tory comeback, and the Prime Minister knows he cannot afford to waste crucial weeks ahead if he is to help his party avoid defeat at the next general election.
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