Truss package unwrapped

 

Of course Liz Truss won, though not with as big a margin as some believed. 

She has completely ditched her earlier statement about no handouts and is proposing a cap for average energy price at £2500 a year, still a horrendous increase, but for a possible 2 year period, and paid for, initially by borrowing, and later of course by the taxpayer, when Labour take over in 2024.

It is an interesting counterbalance to the earlier Labour suggestion of a freeze at £1971 lasting, initially, for only 6 months, and paid for by a windfall tax from the profits of the large energy companies. The Tories say no to the windfall tax, as it is likely to discourage investment in the UK and could prevent growth of the economy. As for inflation, the very act of freezing, should reduce the level quite quickly. 

Truss is starting from a very low level of public support and while her  programme will win many over, currently the public still want that £100bln loss to the Treasury to be covered from the windfall tax and not later taxation.

The rest of the Truss mythical programme remains. The national insurance rise to pay for NHS support will be withdrawan, green taxes will be suspended for a year, no new taxes of any kind to be imposed, more illegal immigrants to go to Rwanda, and we must face a full confrontation with the EU over the Northern Ireland Protocol. She still holds back from confronting the DUP, who are angry now that they are losing the demographic battle, as well as the European one. She defies Scotland's independence lobby. The government will only be paying lip service to the green agenda as they encourage fracking and encourage more investment in North Sea Oil, while more green belt could be opened up for housebuilding. In the meantime rents remain high, industrial action is likely to increase and the relentless war in Ukraine will go on, while the UK suffers from possible increased sanctions from Russia and the EU. The "bonfire" of EU regulations on health, safety, the environment and consumer protection is still scheduled to continue. 

Will Truss manage to wrap her free market blanket of optimism around a sizeable section of the still very sceptical electorate, while paying an adequate lip service to "levelling up"? She will need to be effective in that strategy over the first few weeks. If she fails to change public opinion by Christmas, the disgruntled Tories left out of the new ministries will sharpen their knives and their rhetoric against her. Currently, her cabinet consists almost exclusively of proven loyalists and the lack of a broader base in the Party could eventually tell against her. On the other hand, she may hold back possible rebels by planning a spring reshuffle which would be more inclusive to party rivals in future. This would give her a second wind to take her up to the next election. What wonderful times!

In the meantime ROL Cruise contacted us to ask if we want to upgrade to a more exclusive level than junior balcony. Cost? £750 per head. For someone with plenty of funds that would be a bargain, but we have to remain careful and keep to our little balconies, in which we can individually sunbathe in private. A bit of nude sun bathing perhaps? In the meantime, a pharmacist is working out for us what inoculations we may need for the 12 or so countries we visit and will contact us nearer the date for an appointment. I imagine India, China and Egypt will be the major concerns.