By Presenting Himself As The Man To Change The Country, Rishi Sunak Is Taking Voters For Fools

Rishi Sunak is clearly one of life’s optimists.

After eight years as a Conservative MP, five as a minister, four in the cabinet and one as prime minister, he believes he can convince voters that he is just the man to deliver the change that Britain needs.

The Tory leader may be deluded, but he is not a stupid man.

He realises that, after 13 years of Tory government, the next election will be about whether it is time for a change.

This, of course, gives Labour an enormous advantage.

It’s easy for Keir Starmer - a man who wasn’t even an MP the last time a Labour minister sat round the cabinet table - to present himself as the fresh face who can provide a new approach to solving the country’s problems.

But for the leader of a party that’s been in power since 2010? Not so much.

In his Tory conference speech today, Sunak set out the “long-term decisions” in education,public health and transport infrastructure which he hopes will make voters give him five more years in power at the next election.

The danger for the PM, however, is that by acknowledging that the UK is currently heading in the wrong direction, the public will reasonably conclude that he can’t, therefore, be the man to chart a new course for the country.