Politics

Capping off 14 years of Tory rule – the Sunak vs Brown cut

In 2009, after 12 years of New Labour government, Gordon Brown addressed the Labour Party Conference with a list of what the party had achieved in government.

“If anyone says that to fight doesn’t get you anywhere, that politics can’t make a difference, that all parties are the same, then look what we’ve achieved together since 1997″, he said, before listing off the various accomplishments.

“The winter fuel allowance, the shortest waiting times in history, crime down by a third, the creation of Surestart, the Cancer Guarantee, record results in schools, more students than ever, the Disability Discrimination Act, devolution, civil partnerships, peace in Northern Ireland, the social chapter, half a million children out of poverty, maternity pay, paternity leave, child benefit at record levels, the minimum wage, the ban on cluster bombs, the cancelling of debt, the trebling of aid, the first ever Climate Change Act.

“That’s the Britain we’ve been building together, that’s the change we choose.”

As the Conservative Party’s 14 years in government comes to an all-but-inevitable end, we asked author Will Hutton how a similar address from Rishi Sunak would look.

Here’s what he had to say:

Related: Sunak eyeing up July election to avoid Rwanda ‘gimmick’ having ‘time to fail’, MPs told

Jack Peat

Jack is a business and economics journalist and the founder of The London Economic (TLE). He has contributed articles to VICE, Huffington Post and Independent and is a published author. Jack read History at the University of Wales, Bangor and has a Masters in Journalism from the University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

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