For some light reading Guido has been leafing through the pages of May 1997’s edition of Winchester College’s student magazine, The Wykehamist. Among adverts for the “traditional approach and personal service” of Coutts and engraved “gold signet rings and cufflinks with your family crest”, there was an interesting article which ruminated on the impending Tory wipeout…
The astute pupil author says he subscribes to the view that “Labour don’t deserve to win, the Tories deserve to lose.” He says the Tories’ failure can be summed up “in a nutshell: ‘nobody elects a divided party’, arguably weak leadership, sleaze, a poorly run campaign (not enough emphasis made on the economy, employment, health and education reforms), mismanagement of crises”. If only he had kept his prescient observations in mind 27 years later…
Author Rishi Sunak curiously says that “it would be a pity” if the demolished Tories “descended into the knee-jerk, overdone Euro- Scepticism proposed by Mr Redwood.” His advice to the new leader: “nobody elects a divided party”….
Sunak points out the “Conservatives are disunited, bedraggled, humiliated and in despair”, that the party “above all needs to be unified behind its new leader” and “needs to be seen as having a renewed appetite for government and revitalised ability to govern effectively”. Will leadership hopefuls listen? The PM finishes: “At least ‘Things Can Only Get Better!’…
Read the full article below:
Sarah Pochin at Reform Scotland’s manifesto launch event: “I really wanted to come on in a Reform tartan burka, but apparently I wasn’t allowed… One day let’s do one of these events not live-streamed. We’ll do all the naughty stuff…”
