Opinion: The Ringmaster changes, the circus goes on

I wish Jeremy Hunt well in his new role. It says something that a minister who was the subject of jokes not too long ago, is now considered “a safe pair of hands”. However, he didn’t need to be a financial genius to know what was required: reverse most of Kwarteng’s mini budget.

Hunt has done this and gone a step further: he has hinted at further budget cuts, even though we have already been through austerity before. He has also suggested taxes need to rise, though I doubt working people can bear any more.

Despite this, we are not in the same position as we were before the mini-budget. Rate rises will still be passed on to mortgage holders. A recession is inevitable at this point.

Confidence doesn’t flow back instantly when a mistake is reversed; the mistake causes a loss of confidence in the leadership (this was written before the latest resignation). The Ringmaster in this case allowed the lions out and they devoured members of the audience. Confidence in the show didn’t suddenly return because they got the beasts under some measure of control.

Confidence was, if anything, further dented by Truss’ non-presence during urgent questions in Parliament. She first allowed Penny Mordaunt and then Jeremy Hunt to speak for her.

They appeared to be more the Prime Minister than she is. They certainly look the part. But then Truss reiterated her determination to continue.

The Ringmaster changes, but the circus goes on. Can we not say this is a mantra for Peterborough too? We have had changes at the top of the Conservative leadership over the years, but the direction hasn’t changed: we still have financial crises, waste, and public services that aren’t matched to demand. The Ringmaster role is handed over, the new job holder says they are in control and tries to portray themselves as something new rather than a continuation of what has gone before. The audience can see through the act. They see the accrued wreckage behind the presentation. If the polls are an indication, the people want the circus itself to end.

But what is that end? We have an opportunity at the next local election to send off the clowns. However, the timetable for a General Election is unclear at the present time.

Switch on the television news and it appears we get a new episode of Conservative Party’s drama every day. Truss is in office but not in power: does she know this? Is she resisting this or trying to find a way to exit gracefully? We don’t know. Are Hunt, Mordaunt, and Sunak trying to get themselves anointed as leader so that they don’t have to consult the Conservative Party membership again, as their judgement is clearly faulty? We don’t know.

There is speculation, rumour, supposition. This would be fine if it were a political drama on television. It’s not, however: it is affecting our economy, our jobs, our standard of living.

Collapse is a word too often used without knowing its full implications: when confidence of the market collapses, we can see its implications in our mortgage costs. But if the circus continues, we could be flirting with a more fundamental collapse: Britain has long been seen as a stable place to invest and build. You tamper with a reputation for stability at your peril.

However, we are deeply unstable now. The longer the circus goes on, regardless of the ringmaster, the more damage will be done.