A Stark Choice

The so-called debate between Sunak and Starmer on the BBC last night was very unsatisfactory. I’m tempted to repeat the sentiments of one of the audience who asked a question something like ‘Are you two the best on offer?’ They frequently talked over each other, and on several occasions the two of them and Mishal Husain were speaking simultaneously. Sunak though was the worst by far; constantly interrupting and talking over the others. With the state of the polls he has nothing to lose. And in almost every sentence he told us that he was going to cut taxes; Labour was going to raise them.
 
I wondered why Starmer hardly challenged him on that point except when he repeated the £2,000 tax lie again. The truth is, and this has been pointed out elsewhere, that neither of them has any choice in the matter. The country’s finances are in a perilous state—the on-going cost of the financial crisis, Covid, Ukraine, poor productivity, and losses from our departure from Europe. Whichever party forms the government—and I would love to see a coalition to force the buggers to work together for the public good—they will have stark choices. The public services are on their knees and money can come from only three sources: further cuts in public services—unthinkable; more borrowing, or increased taxes. There is also the uncomfortable—and unavoidable need to increase defence spending. In my view neither leader was telling the truth about the finances because for either to admit it, would be to commit instant political suicide.
 
The other issue was immigration. Once again, neither of them told the truth. Legal immigration, at an all time high, outweighs so-called illegal immigration—those who arrive on small boats—by more than ten to one. But there are still the 50,000 or so asylum-seekers who are here, not permitted to work, and being housed at government expense. From what I have read, I believe that the overwhelming majority, once processed, are granted asylum. Sunak wants to fly the lot to Rwanda, a policy that would have done credit to the Third Reich. Starmer pointed out the reality that a) the deterrence is clearly not working since they—the asylum-seekers—know that only a very small majority will be denied asylum and flown to Rwanda, and b) in any case the process would take three years and they’re still coming... For his part Sunak repeatedly asked Starmer what he would do about them and answer came there none. Neither of them risked declaring the truth that without immigration our public services, service industries, and farming would collapse for lack of manpower. 
 
It is difficult to see how the next government can possibly be worse that the current one, but I fear that things are not going to get better any time soon and will probably get worse.