Boris Bounce or Eton's Mess

https://www.thenewbriton.com/post/boris-bounce-rather-than-an-eton-mess-a-review-of-the-new-government?fbclid=IwAR3ulondNqf8KweN9peg2g73_SiPaDEIBgU1xYuU8YqA0ZkatJDheiuzRCY

On 24th July 2019 Boris Johnson was announced as the next prime minister of the United Kingdom, after being voted in by 66% of conservative party members defeating Jeremy Hunt.

Following this the new cabinet was formed replacing over half of this predecessors cabinet in the night history has called “The Night of the Long Knives”. His top team includes Rt Hon Sajid Javid being appointed as the first muslim Chancellor; Rt Hon Priti Patel being appointed as Home Secretary & Rt Hon Dominic Raab being appointed as Foreign Secretary. When Boris announced he was standing as a leadership candidate, the majority of people assumed he was the front runner candidate.

However, Jeremy Hunt had a very good campaign and was able to appeal to the majority of young conservative voters. It became clear that Boris would need a landslide victory in order to have a ‘ mandate ’ to deliver Brexit. Whilst hosting a “Back Boris” event in Tatton with a strong turnout the majority of members were excited to see him unite and energise the conservative party following a long and though three years under Theresa May. We have failed to deliver Brexit with the withdrawal agreement failing to be passed after three attempts. This sense of frustration is being converted to excitement. I have been able to witness this first hand with members wanting to get more involved within the party wanting to go out and canvass. Since his premiership we have seen the conservative party membership increase to an estimated 180,000. I decided to support Boris, as he was a lead campaigner for Brexit.

I personally feel that only a Brexiter will be able to deliver Brexit on or before 31st October, with our without a deal. One issue I had with Jeremy Hunt was that throughout his campaign he hinted at a potential extension which I feel could be disastrous especially with the rise of the Brexit Party. In addition to this Boris has pledged a 20,000 increase in police officers as well as rolling out fibre broadband across the UK. Both of these are great policies which will really make a massive difference.The leadership hustings, had a great turnout and united our members. I feel that Boris is going to use his experiences and successes as London Mayor to unite and energise the whole country. This cabinet appointments I feel are great, we have now got a cabinet that believes in delivering Brexit come what may. This ensures that we will be able regain the trust of party members and deliver of the decision of the British public in the 2016 referendum. The appointed of Rt Hon Jacob Rees Mogg- an arch Brexiter-as the Leader of the Commons is ideal for our current parliamentary situation. He handled his first day very well, and has a vast knowledge of parliamentary procedures. Furthermore, we have got a diverse cabinet all who were appointed due to their skillset and experiences. I feel that this is a “election” cabinet so if we lose a vote of no confidence or the government decides to call an early election, we are ready to defeat the Labour Party. The polls have already indicated a Boris Bounce with some showing a 10 point lead over Labour, which will give us a majority of 80 seats.

However, Boris must focus on life after Brexit. It is great to see Liz Truss already start trade talks with some of our strongest allies and the latest announcement of 10 free-ports boosting our post Brexit trade plans. My only concern currently is that Boris has made various policy pledges, all of which come with a large price tag. Can we afford all these polices ? If we don’t deliver these it would be disastrous for us!

I am disappointed to see Rt Hon Penny Mordaunt return to the back benches. If I was to make one change to this cabinet I would want Penny back in. In her short time as Defence Minister she was able to achieve so much. Importantly, she had started to become an ‘icon’ for young conservative members as she championed LGBT rights and much more. I would like to see her return to cabinet and I know she has a lot more to achieve. Future PM maybe ? I feel Boris has done much better than expected. From his speech on the steps of Downing Street to the first ever public PMQs on facebook, he has shown he is a true leader who cares about the people and is ready to deliver Brexit and focus on issues which have been forgotten about over the last three years, such as increasing police stop and search powers and prison places. Over the summer break, he has began travelling the entire UK and talking sense. I do feel we may have a general election soon, especially now we only have a working majority of one in the House of Commons. We could face a vote of no confidence from the opposition and have an election end of September or early October.

He has taken everyone by surprise with his attitude and no-nonsense behaviour. Many people thought he would be fumbling and struggling as PM. In terms of Brexit, we are running out of time to secure a deal. I am impressed with the speed and importance we are placing on a no-deal Brexit.

Boris has got a great plan and is supported by a strong team, which represents all groups within the conservative party. He has to deliver Brexit and then focus on the issues that matter most which are housing, education and policing. We must bridge the north south divide and it is great to see £3 billion funding for our forgotten towns.

In conclusion, I am optimistic about the future of the Conservative party.