Barrie Cunning: Let's not kid ourselves about the real reasons the Tories announced a windfall tax

ONE thing we know about the Conservative Party is that they will do anything to cling onto power. This week saw the Conservatives do a welcome U-turn and acknowledge the need for a windfall tax to help people and families during the cost-of-living crisis. But let’s not kid ourselves as to the real reasons why they are doing it.
    Cast your mind back to even two weeks ago when they said that a windfall tax would deter investment in the UK and all of a sudden – they are in tune with the mood of the country.
The reality is it’s a smokescreen designed to deflect attention away from the fact that Boris Johnson lied to Parliament, lied to the country, and lied to you. Let’s not be fooled by this Machiavellian strategy.
    I believe that senior Tory MPs and party strategists have been meeting at Tory HQ to decide tactics for the next election with a focus on how to remain in power and how they can get over the recent issues with Boris Johnson who will still be Prime Minister by the next election in 2024.
Any decent Conservative MPs out there must do the right thing and oust him. After all, this is about country first and party politics second.
    Even in the midst of all the noise of letters of no confidence or Jeremy Hunt signalling that he is prepared to mount a rebellion against Johnson – the trump card Johnson holds is that he can threaten Tory MPs by calling an early election which will put the fear of God into them. Hence it’s very unlikely there will be a real challenge or that Sir Graham Brady will receive the required 54 letters, which means that the Prime Minister will remain in play until the next election.
    The announcement of a windfall tax is nothing more than a pretext before that election – of conjuring up an image of a party that is on the side of the British people.
I bet that as we head into the next election, they will go back to core Conservative principles and talk about cutting taxes, and introducing austerity measures to tackle rising inflation to please die-hard Conservatives with tough talk about economic stability.
That won’t in any way help ordinary working people.
    One thing about this current administration is that they have no plan, no strategy, and no vision for a better Britain.
They are devoid of policy ideas and the public are starting to see that there is no plan, strategy or vision.
    We deserve far better than this. Right now, we need a government that sees serving the people of this country as a privilege and honour, not some sort of born-to-rule obsession, which goes to the heart of Conservative ideology and which was on full display after Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced the windfall tax just a few days ago.
    When the Labour Party is in power the country will once again move forward as Labour have a plan for Britain and the people of this country.
    Trust with politicians is at an all-time low. 
That’s understandable when the lawmakers turn into lawbreakers and are not held accountable, especially when we hear of NHS staff being fined.
Clearly there is something fundamentally broken with the current system when doctors, nurses, and other NHS worker – who do a job that many of us couldn’t do – are treated with such contempt.