Andrew Marr: Could the Conservatives pull off a miracle and win another general election?

2 October 2023, 18:45

The Tories are "surrounded by a sea of troubles" but could still win the next general election, Andrew Marr has said.

Opening LBC's Tonight with Andrew Marr, the presenter asked whether the Tories could "pull off the kind of miracle that would confound Lazarus" and win another general election, following another day at the party conference.

"Today we had a perfectly pitched example of their last best hope; and, simultaneously, why it’s probably a forlorn one," Andrew said.

"The hope came from Jeremy Hunt giving a balanced appraisal of economic recovery. I’ve talked before about how Tories are fixated by the 1992 general election when John Major came from behind and won a surprise victory.

"Well a big part of that was Norman Lamont’s spring budget in which he cut taxes for the poorest, wrong-footing Labour.

"Well Hunt today announced raising the minimum wage to £11 an hour from April, which he called a huge pay rise for the lowest paid while Labour would hammer the lowest paid with reckless borrowing and unfunded spending.

"Can you begin to see a familiar pattern? An electoral strategy, perhaps? Reasons why it won’t be enough, however, came from all directions outside the conference hall.

"The former prime minister Liz Truss who, let’s remember, appointed Jeremy Hunt chancellor in the first place, stamped her feet and demanding tax cuts now."

Watch Tonight with Andrew Marr exclusively on Global Player every Monday to Thursday from 6pm to 7pm

Tonight with Andrew Marr Mono 02/10 | Watch Again

Andrew continued: "Meanwhile the Tory peer Lord Cruddas, a Boris Johnson man, urged donors to stop giving money to the party unless it gave its members a greater say: yes, that’s right - a Conservative peer, taking the Conservative whip, told Conservative supporters to defund the Conservative party.

"And for good measure the former home secretary, Priti Patel, warmly praised Nigel Farage and UKIP. 

"In the main hall, the new regime - measured, unhysterical - on the prospect for recovery; in a nearby hotel reception rooms, the old and factional wildness back already, entirely unrepentant, entirely unapologetic.

You can also listen to the podcast Tonight with Andrew Marr only on Global Player.

"And beyond all that, even as Mr Hunt was standing up to speak, the entire conference was crackling with strongly-sourced rumours that the Treasury has indeed decided to cancel the HS2 link to Manchester - something its spokesman solidly refused to comment on, and Number 10 denied - until a further report that the announcement would appear in Sunak's speech on Wednesday.

"The noises off, in other words were so loud and distracting it was very hard even for Loyal Tories to concentrate on the noises on… And the question many voters will be asking themselves is: if I did vote Tory who - really - would I be getting?"