In his column (Chronicle, October 28) Steve Brine suggests the ‘one-nation element is back in control’, with the appointment of Rishi Sunak as our new Prime Minister. If Steve Brine is referring to the Rishi Sunak appointment as a one-nation leader because he the first South Asian, non-white Prime Minister then I would agree and celebrate his appointment as evidence of a multi-cultural , one nation that we have hopefully become.

However, I believe we delude ourselves if we think our new Prime Minister is anything but instinctively of the Conservative Right. Look at the evidence. This is the same allegedly one-nation Rishi Sunak that retains Suella Braverman, doyen of the Conservative Right as Home Secretary, a leading advocate of the Rwanda policy. It is the same Rishi Sunak who with the ideological right is responsible for Brexit which despite Covid and Ukraine has caused a four per cent decline in GDP, in other words growth. Rishi Sunak was part of the Johnson Government who forced the resignation and expulsion of the true one-nation Tories such as Dominic Grieve, Anna Soubry and Rory Stewart. He is of the same ideological right which has caused six years of economic and political drift and resulting chaos since the 2016 referendum.

If Rishi Sunak is a true one-nation Tory then he must address the division in our country which is the Brexit Referendum. I accept that we have left the EU but that should not stop our new Prime Minster addressing the consequences of that result and seeking closer economic ties with our EU neighbours, and not engage in an ideological point scoring battle like his last two predecessors.

The adoption of a meaningful and conciliatory approach will help achieve the economic growth which will be to the benefit of all and show our new Prime Minister to be a true one-nation Conservative.

 

Mike Moore,

Park Road,

Winchester