Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is trying to be a pragmatist, but prominent party colleagues have other plans. They pay homage to populism – especially his predecessor Liz Truss.
There were many highlights at this year’s Tory party conference in Manchester: For example, former Home Secretary Priti Patel’s dance with Trump and Putin friend Nigel Farage to Frank Sinatra’s “Can’t take my eyes off you.” Or the panel discussions in which the relevance of the European Convention on Human Rights was questioned time and time again. Another unforgettable moment was when Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced that he would cancel a section of the HS2 high-speed rail line. The well-advanced multi-billion dollar project to better connect Manchester to London would have been pretty much the only tangible legacy after 13 years of Tory government. Now that’s over too.