What Tugendhat should have said

Yesterday I heard Tom Tugendhat on Radio 4 explaining his bid to be the next Tory leader. He said that the Tory party had made mistakes and lost people’s trust. So far so good. But he refused either to say what the mistakes were or to propose policies to avoid repeating them.

And that’s odd because some simple answers are available even to a Tory politician.

Why did the party lose public trust? The reasons include corruption, entitlement, economic recklessness, austerity, immigration, the state of the NHS, financing of elderly care and U turns on climate. In four areas there are policies that most decent people would support.

Some easy wins

Corruption. Tugendhat could say that never again would a Tory government create a VIP lane to bypass public procurement rules.

He could promise that if he becomes PM he would increase the staff of the Serious Fraud Office. He would also promise that every meeting between ministers and lobbyists, pressure groups or business people would be announced publicly and minuted by civil servants.

Entitlement. Tugendhat could say that as opposition leader he would make the shadow cabinet subject to the ministerial code.

He could say that if he becomes PM he would strengthen the code and put final determination of fault in the hands of a commissioner for standards not, as now, the PM.

And, trivial but a good signal, he could ensure that MPs would no longer enjoy subsidised food and drink in bars and restaurants at Westminster.

Economic recklessness. Tugendhat could say that every government financial announcement should be informed by the view of the OBR. 

Climate. Tugendhat could support the unblocking of plans for onshore wind farms and blocking of new North Sea oil and gas licences.

These actions and promises would show that he has learnt some of the lessons and has plans. Plans that would not be expensive. And would indicate serious commitment.

Will Tugendhat adopt these plans? Will any Tory candidate? Probably not. And that will show that they have not yet learned the lessons of government.

The hard stuff

What about the rest? Austerity, immigration, the state of the NHS, financing of elderly care and effective action on climate? These are much harder. Good solutions are expensive and Tory beliefs and track record make it hard for Tories to choose them. But there are some positions he could take quickly, which would show goodwill and enjoy broad support in the country:

1.      Lift the two child cap. If Braverman can do it surely Tugendhat can?

2.      Allow, in fact encourage, asylum seekers to work.

3.      Pay junior doctors enough to end the dispute.

4.      An insurance-based scheme for elderly care based on the Dilnot Report.

5.      Every major decision should be informed by the view of the Committee on Climate Change (CCC) and every government bill should be accompanied by a calculation of the effect on emissions.

 

Its even less likely that he'll take these positions and they would, of course, only be a start. But they would be much better than nothing.