The time has come. It’s not too late. The Conservative Party must now confess its sins. Tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. No more cover-ups. No more ‘line-to-take’.
Throw yourself on the mercy of the British people. Ask for our forgiveness. Beg for our mercy. Seek redemption. Things have gone too far for more leadership elections and internal beauty parades such as Penny vs Priti.
On the three subjects closest to the British public’s hearts – the economy, the NHS and immigration – the Government has scored F for Fail. It may not be guilty of perjury – deliberate, intentional lies – but as a country we certainly feel a sense of disillusionment, disappointment with what our democratic system has provided for us.
We live in a world of fake news and alternative facts. We are sometimes bewildered. Uncertain. Not sure what’s true and what’s not. Or if perhaps it’s all lies.
Let’s start with the money. Everyone knows that the No1 item of Government expenditure is the NHS. But who knows the next biggest expense? Is it, perhaps, education? Or defence? Crime? The environment? It’s none of these.
The second largest UK public expenditure is now interest payments on Government debt. In 2022/23, they amounted to £112billion – the equivalent of 9.7 per cent of all Government spending.
As every household knows, the one thing you can’t cut back on is the interest payment on your mortgage. Likewise, the two biggest items of Government expenditure – the NHS and loan interest – are fixed and cannot be reduced.
So much for ministers’ plan to cut Government spending to pay for tax cuts.
Lord Saatchi pictured with Baroness Margaret Thatcher celebrating the 40th Anniversary of the Founding of the Agency at the Saatchi Gallery in 2010
As people’s knowledge of money is at least as good as any economics professor from LSE, we have all worked out that taxes have gone up and that the chances of us getting any significant tax cut in the near future are virtually nil.
Contrast that with the more respectful approach to public opinion of Margaret Thatcher – a politician who changed my life with her support for the advertising agency I ran with my brother.
She strongly believed, and wanted to explain to us, that lower taxes could mean higher tax revenue in the long run.
But realising that sounded quite mad, she created a great think-tank, The Centre For Policy Studies, to explore the subject. Its first director, the Tory Sir Keith Joseph, wrote letters to senior academic economists saying: ‘I much admired your recent lecture/article/speech. I wonder if by any chance you might be free for lunch one day to discuss your ideas further.’
The result was that by the time the ‘mad’ tax-cutting proposal became famous Conservative policy, it was ready to be supported and endorsed by an illustrious body of Britain’s top economists. Four general election victories in a row followed.
Without such a thoughtful, rational explanation today, any tax cut offered to us will be seen for what it is – a last-minute pre-election bribe. We will remain unmoved by it. Wouldn’t it be better to confess the truth about the situation Britain is in so we can consider it for ourselves? The same, of course, applies to the NHS – Britain’s proudest achievement since the Second World War – now in a sorry state, with record low public satisfaction. We have all felt the same. Our glow of pride in our health system slowly darkens to ambivalence, concern about the present and anxiety about the future. How about some straight talk on this subject, too?
We are not going to pay more tax for the NHS. We are paying enough tax already. We are also not going to pay extra for NHS treatment because it’s meant to be free at the point of use.
All the while, there is a new Government approach to health. Top secret. Very hush-hush. They will deny it, of course, but it is essentially what I call ‘Rationing by Waiting’. Your knee operation, for example, will still be free, it’s just that you will have to wait a year. If you don’t like the delay, pay extra.
We are not going to pay more tax for the NHS. We are paying enough tax already. We are also not going to pay extra for NHS treatment because it’s meant to be free at the point of use. Pictured: Rishi Sunak
We have grown used to ‘tiered services’ from airlines or streaming TV channels. The NHS has joined the club. Its managers are now actively instructed to commission private hospitals and encourage doctors to send them their impatient patients.
Furthermore, in its investigations into how future care will be funded, the Department of Health is considering new ‘Premium’ and ‘Premium+’ features, which give the account holder – that’s you – a ‘blue tick’. The monthly fee for extra features will be set by the patient, who can choose from one of several price/treatment options. So much for truth in healthcare.
This brings me to the touchiest subject of all – immigration. We, the people, were told, flat out, that Brexit would stop the flood of immigrants taking our jobs, our houses, our school places and our hospital beds. Instead, we belatedly discovered (a tribute to our free press) what actually happened.
Unbelievably, while blocking EU immigrants in the name of ‘national sovereignty’, the Government opened our borders for an invasion of immigrants from the rest of the world.
One million a year. A city the size of Birmingham. Can we fit them all in? Who knows?
Are these new citizens required to do jobs we won’t do? Nobody knows. It is never discussed.
Meantime, at £1.9 million per immigrant departure to Rwanda, perhaps it might be cheaper to put them up at The Ritz with an unlimited Harrods credit card.
And the moral of the story?
Politics is an intellectual activity. We can spot the flaw in a political argument from a mile off. We dislike waffle, cliches and platitudes. They are an insult to our intelligence.
The Government has recklessly picked a fight with an opponent it cannot beat – we the people. It forgot that we are not ‘petitioners’, as in the reign of Henry VIII. It’s all our money. All the salaries. All the staff. All the lightbulbs. All the heating. All the phones. We pay for everything. We own the place. It’s best not to treat us like mugs.
Call me sad, but I have probably seen more public opinion research than any living person. One thing is certain. The British public is the most sophisticated and aware electorate in the world. Perhaps they might also be the most forgiving of a sinner who makes a sincere confession.
l Lord Saatchi is former chairman of the Conservative Party and The Centre For Policy Studies. His new book, Orgasm, is published on September 7.
