UK's political pivot

BY THIS time next week, Britain will have a new prime minister.

Instead of going to Buckingham Palace, Boris Johnson’s successor will travel 500 miles to Balmoral, Scotland, for an audience with the queen before stepping into the offices of No 10 Downing Street. This will be a first.

The choice of a new prime minister could be another first.

If Rishi Sunak, 42, is chosen by the Conservative Party as its leader, he will be the first UK prime minister of South Asian heritage.

Liz Truss, Mr Sunak’s competition, would be only the third woman to hold the office.

Ms Truss already made history in 2016, when she became the first female lord chancellor, an official who nominally outranks the prime minister and is responsible for the efficient running of the courts.

While it is clear there will be a new face at the apex of British politics, whether there will also be a new kind of politics is uncertain.

All indicators suggest not.

Ms Truss, who is said to be ahead of Mr Sunak, is what has been deemed a “continuity candidate” who seeks to maintain the course set by Mr Johnson. So closely do her policies resemble his that she has even made a habit of executing abrupt policy U-turns on the hustings.

Mr Johnson is stepping down due, in part, to Mr Sunak. It was Mr Sunak’s resignation, alongside that of former health secretary Sajid Javid, which was the final nail in the coffin of Mr Johnson’s tenure.

Both had long remained loyal to Mr Johnson, who clung to office for months despite the damaging “Partygate” scandal which saw him become the first sitting British prime minister to be fined for breaking the law, while covid19 restrictions on gatherings were in force.

Mr Sunak’s bid to replace Mr Johnson, however, has faltered for many reasons, including the apparent view of some within his party that he was disloyal and had stabbed Mr Johnson in the back by resigning.

The truth is, Mr Sunak was only one out of a very long list of principled people who resigned from Mr Johnson’s government amid a steady drip-feed of Partygate revelations, including a damning report which blamed the PM for a culture of drunken parties at No 10 during lockdown.

Mr Johnson has topped polls for the worst UK prime minister. His party has taken no notice.

Ms Truss stands behind policies that would violate international law, for instance in relation to Brexit, the UK’s departure from the European Union. Mr Sunak wishes to continue the “culture wars” over issues such as race and gender identity, hot-button topics in the UK at present.

The new leader’s most enduring legacy may well turn out to be calling a general election so that the British people can deliver their final verdict on such abhorrent positions once and for all.