Why I have voted for Liz Truss
The country is crying out for change. I can only hope that Liz Truss is elected leader of the Conservative Party and that she assembles a team that makes the Government Conservative again.
A few weeks ago, I stated here and here why I thought that Kemi Badenoch should be on the members’ ballot for the leadership of the Conservative Party. That wasn’t to be.
Just over two weeks ago I attended the first leadership hustings in Leeds. I wrote about that experience here.
There is no doubt that Rishi Sunak has upped his game since Leeds, but I find his campaign too presidential (the ‘Ready for Rishi’ slogan being Exhibit A) and his recent attacks have been increasingly desperate. I have also been annoyed by memes like the one below.
MPs have had their say. It’s now up to party members to decide. Frankly, dear reader, I couldn’t give a damn what those MPs think. I am more interested in hearing what activists think and what those running local businesses are thinking - people who are not after a job in Government as soon as the election result has been announced.
But I wanted my vote to be a positive one - not just a rejection of Rishi Sunak, the continuity Treasury candidate. After the Leeds hustings I said that I had “moved from thinking that Truss is the least worst candidate, to someone who will happily wear a ‘Liz for Leader’ badge.’ I also said that “she looked like a Prime Minister in waiting; she spoke like a Prime Minister in waiting; and she articulated policies which I can endorse.”
Nothing significant has changed. I know that Truss genuinely believes in freedom and liberty. She believes that free markets are the best way to increase prosperity. She believes that individuals and families are better placed to make decisions about their lives than government ministers and civil servants. They used to be Conservative values, but too many in the Conservative Party have adopted the values of the left. They now believe that the Government has the answers to all of our problems. No. They are the problem.
Margaret Thatcher revolutionised politics. She broke the post-war consensus. We now need a leader of the Conservative Party who will break the current left-dominated consensus.
Most people in the UK are patriotic. They believe in liberal Western values of freedom and tolerance. They reject policies which seek to divide us. They don’t believe that Western Civilisation is the root of evil; that all white people are intrinsically racist and that we can’t help ourselves. They reject critical race theory. They know what a woman is and that some mothers “breast” (not “chest”) feed their babies. They don’t believe that it is right for children to make irreversible decisions about their bodies.
One can care for the environment and still regard the net-zero path as destructive. One can believe in compassion; in helping those who are less fortunate than ourselves, without advocating constant intervention by a burgeoning state which seeks to meddle in every aspect of our lives.
The country is crying out for change. I can only hope that Liz Truss is elected leader of the Conservative Party and that she assembles a team that makes the Government Conservative again. The alternative does not bear thinking about.