Brig is now launching a monthly series covering the recent actions of high profile politicians and compare them to the promises they have made in the past, because A) all politicians need to be held accountable and any of their inconsistencies exposed, and B) due to the running joke of our current government, we’ll never run out of content. Here is the debut edition of Did they do it?
PM Rishi Sunak:
Near everyone heard the PM’s pledges to halve inflation, cut NHS waiting lists, and stop the “small boats crisis”.
Whilst I hate to give the Tories any sort of credit, inflation has fallen since Sunak became PM, as it was 11.1 per cent, the highest it had been in 41 years, under Truss’s government and has steadily fallen month by month under Sunak.
Inflation is now sat at 6.8 per cent for July, down from 7.9 per cent in June. However, whilst official figures are not due out until September 20, inflation may be set to rise for the first time since February.
As for NHS waiting lists, Sunak claimed in a tweet that his government is cutting waiting lists, although fact checking website Full Fact confirmed that “the overall number of cases where someone is waiting for consultant-led treatment has risen to a record high”, and so this statement was misleading.
In regards to Channel crossings, the number of small boats arriving in the UK in the first half of this year is down 10 per cent from what it was the first half of 2022, so here I have to stress that this is an accountability tracker, not a morality tracker, because whilst Rishi Sunak’s polices against migrants can be described at inhumane, he has managed to enforce this policy, so I’m afraid he gets consistency points for this.
Overall, whilst the morality of Tory policies can and should be criticised for their lack of compassion, unlike their opposition, they have recently been sticking to their guns, regardless of how deadly and dystopian they may be. Consistency mark: 6/10
Leader of UK opposition Kier Starmer:
Anyone who has ever heard of Kier Starmer is likely familiar with his political identity crisis, and his reputation as a Tory wearing red, and this is completely due to the inconsistencies, U-turns, and possibly outright lies that I’m about to lay out.
Starting off, his pledge to defend free movement after leaving the EU has been chucked right in the bin, as each week at PMQs he’s attempted to have a dig at Sunak for allowing small boats into the country, you know, the people exercising free movement, and has politically dropped this idea and has since embraced a “points based immigration system”.
His attempts at restoring the radicalness of an older Labour was channelled into his vow to have a “radical redistribution of power”, which included abolishing the House of Lords, yet now he plans to expand it with new peers if he wins the next election.
And his vow to abolish tuition fees in England has also been dropped, claiming that he’d look into a “fairer solution”.
He claims that he wishes to “shatter the class ceiling” and that the attainment gap is leaves him “genuinely still shocked”.
What this “fairies solution” is, he hasn’t specified.
The U-turn was especially under fire when he claimed that if he attended university today, he would be unable to afford it in a desperate attempt to connect with the common man.
What a trustworthy, strong willed leader, and with such unwavering principles. Consistency mark: 0/10.
FM Humza Yousaf:
Yousaf hasn’t been in power for terribly long so his consistency is more difficult to track, but what we do know is that he has been consistent in his fight against the blocking of Section 35 by Westminster, yet some see this as more of an attempted power move in the name of devolution rather than an attempt to stand up for transgender rights.
Regardless of this, the Scottish Government is set to challenge the UK government on their veto of the Gender Recognition Act.
His leadership campaign promises also included uniting the SNP and his claim of being a republican.
In regards to uniting the SNP, the tight race between Yousaf and leadership runner up Kate Forbes suggests that there is a divide in beliefs and priorities within the SNP, yet despite this, all votes in Holyrood that have taken place since Yousaf became leader have lacked a divide within the SNP, with all MSPs in the party appearing to be united.
In regards to his anti monarchy sentiments, none of his actions seem to line up with this republican persona he seems set on projecting.
Whilst you can’t blame him entirely as events such as attending the coronation which can be deemed as a formality, consider actions such as passing motions that: “congratulates Their Majesties The King and The Queen on the occasion of Their Coronation; expresses its gratitude for Their Majesties’ public service to Scotland, and affirms the deep respect that is held for Their Majesties in Scotland.”
Doesn’t this seem inconsistent? Overall, Yousaf’s consistency mark is about a 7/10, but I must stress that due to Yousaf’s time in office being relatively short, this should be taken with a pinch of salt.
Featured Image Credit: Stefan Rousseau
2nd year politics and journalism student. Politics co-editor. Mostly just complaining. The Herald Student Press Awards Columnist Of The Year (which sorry i’m still not over)
