Chancellor Philip Hammond has disappointed business leaders by using his headline speech at the Tory Party conference to rip into Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn rather than announcing new economic policies or any clarity on Brexit, betraying a growing Government fear that Corbyn will win the next election.
Ignoring Brexit Uncertainty
Carolyn Fairbairn, the head of the Confederation of British Industry, complained that Hammond’s speech showed “a Government strong on diagnosis, but weak on action” as the Chancellor had proposed few Tory alternatives to Corbyn’s policies, which polls show are gaining traction with voters.
“The Chancellor has given a passionate defence of free markets and the importance of business and government working to tackle inequality,” Fairbairn said.”That is necessary, but not sufficient. “The UK is facing a generation defining-challenge. A potent cocktail of Brexit uncertainty and dogma-driven politics on both left and right threatens jobs, investment and living standards. Now is not the time for half measures.”
Stephen Martin, the director-general of the Institute of Directors, welcomed Hammond’s defence of the market-based economy. “Actions speak louder than words, however, and he must back up his support for business in the upcoming budget,” he said.
Where Is The Centre?
Hammond conceded that the UK faced major challenges, including uncertainty over Brexit, sluggish productivity and a housing sector that many people young people felt was rigged against them.
But he insisted that the nation was enjoying record high employment and should stay the course of the Tory’s economic plans instead of giving in to Corbyn’s Left-wing populism.
The Tory concerns about Labour’s strong poll ratings were reflected in Hammond’s plea for more financial help from business donors. “I want to thank our financial supporters as well – we need your support more than ever as the union barons mobilise their power behind Corbyn,” he said.
Although Labour’s lead in voting intention polls has continued to rise new analysis by the pollster YouGov suggests it will struggle to maintain its momentum without appealing to more centrist voters. Corbyn’s main response to calls for a more moderate approach has been to insist that the centre ground is shifting his way.
“It is often said that elections can only be won from the centre ground,” he said at the Labour conference. “And in a way that’s not wrong – so long as it’s clear that the political centre of gravity isn’t fixed or unmovable, nor is it where the establishment pundits like to think it is.”
In fact Labour’s conference sealed the party’s move further from the centre as the ruling national executive committee gave more power to the party’s members rather than its MPs, who are generally more moderate than the grassroots members.
YouGov warned that the true centre remains the path to electoral victory. “Half of the public generally identify with the centre ground, saying they are ‘centre’, ‘slightly left of centre’ or ‘slightly right of centre’,” the pollster said. “This compares to just 11% who say they are very or fairly right wing and 12% who say they are very or fairly right wing.”
But YouGov found that support for Corbyn’s core policies has increased in the last two years. “In the week Jeremy Corbyn became Labour leader in September 2015, we showed respondents a list of policies from across the political spectrum and asked them which four or five they would like to be priorities over the next few years,” the pollster said.
“When we asked that same question again this week, the biggest increases had been ‘abolition of tuition fees for students at university’ up from 15% to 20% and ‘increase spending on the National Health Service’ up from 42% to 53%, making it the most popular policy.”
by Stewart Vickers
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