WORDS FROM
Mohammad Yasin, MP for Bedford and Kempston
This summer will be spent by the Conservative Party choosing our next Prime Minister. That means 0.2% of the population will pick the leader of our country. Almost half of these members are over 65, 71% are male and 97% are white. The next leader will be the fourth in under 6 years – amazing when you consider a term is usually 5 years. Our country has not been stable since the referendum took place in 2016 and we are crying out for strong, stable and honest leadership. I can’t see how anyone who served in the administration of the worst PM in modern times, can provide this. After the divisive nature of the last Government which focussed on stoking emotions around the culture wars rather than improving public services or getting to grips with the myriad of problems facing this country, such as housing, levelling up, and how to look after our ageing population. The nation faces three urgent problems: the cost of living, the NHS backlog and the Russian invasion of Ukraine. But not one Tory leadership candidate has said a word on these and instead are fighting about tax cuts which they all voted for only weeks ago. We need a way to pay for the NHS backlog and to finally come up with a solution to pay for social care in population that is living longer but not necessarily healthier. For months Labour has argued that taxing workers who haven’t had real terms pay rise in years after, after a pandemic and when food and energy costs are soaring is a big mistake. Boris Johnson has left us with the highest inflation in 40 years, the highest taxation in 70 years, the biggest drop in living standards in 65 years, the biggest fall in wages since records began with UK 10
trade performance at its worst levels since records began and with one of the highest death tolls from Covid in the world. The national debt has more than doubled under Conservative rule to 2 trillion pounds and Britain faces more persistent inflation, as well as slower growth, than any other major economy in 2023. Whoever succeeds Johnson must take big decisions on tax and spending that could reduce the risk of a recession but might also add to the inflationary heat in the economy. We must not have another ruinous period of austerity. Apart from bringing our public services to their knees, austerity failed in all its objectives. To inflict such a policy at a time when millions are already unable to make ends meet would be catastrophic. So, while the exit of Johnson ends another episode in one of the most tumultuous periods in modern British political history, it remains to be seen if his successor can calm things down, heal the deep divisions in government and in the country and get the UK back on track. What we really need is a General Election to deliver a new Government to ensure that the next PM is decent, competent and honest with the country – honest about the scale of the economic crisis we are in, one who will confront the reasons we are in it and who will give us a true vision for the future, putting the interests of the country and its people before power and party.
