Chaos in UK

Liz TRUSS’ blink-and-you-miss-it tenure as the UK Prime Minister is a new low not only for British politics but also for the Conservative Party. Her predecessor Boris Johnson’s ignominious exit had raised hopes, no matter how slender, of a fresh initiative to tackle the cost-of-living crisis that played a major part in pushing Britain below India on the economic leaderboard. However, Truss failed to win the trust even of her party’s MPs, let alone the public. Among the dreadful own goals she scored was the appointment of Suella Braverman as Home Secretary. The latter lost no time in targeting migrants and riling New Delhi by alleging that Indians comprised the biggest group of people who overstayed in the UK. A breach of the ministerial code hastened Braverman’s inevitable exit, days before Truss stepped down.

Ominously, the worst may not be over for the UK. That Johnson is among the contenders for another innings as PM sums up the bankruptcy of leadership in the Conservative Party, which has simply frittered away the gains achieved with its landslide victory in 2019. It’s a faction-ridden party whose left hand doesn’t know what the right one is doing. The prevailing chaos and instability have irreparably dented the Tories’ credibility. No wonder the Opposition parties and a section of the public are demanding an immediate election, two years ahead of the scheduled completion of the Conservatives’ term.

A key takeaway from Britain’s sorry state of affairs is that the leader heading the government in a democratic setup cannot afford to ride roughshod over his/her party colleagues. Truss’ disastrous economic policies, not backed by the majority of Tory MPs, aggravated poverty rather than alleviating it. What the UK needs is a strong leader at the helm of a stable party. The absence of both is hurting Britain politically, economically and geopolitically, making it the laughing stock of the entire world. The Conservatives must set their house in order forthwith — or forfeit their moral right to govern.

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