Currently un-paywalled
www.thetimes.co.uk/article/britain-s-future-7h6gp0785?shareToken=997cb892cea075cc8200f1a9f213d632
Britain’s Future
The Conservatives may have fought a lacklustre campaign but they are by far the best party to deal with the huge challenges that lie ahead
from this
Sam Coates Times*@SamCoatesTimes*
Times leading article: Theresa May rather than Jeremy Corbyn shd be returned to No10 but but but..... key extract:
When the plan was published this newspaper welcomed it as a step towards solving a deep societal problem that previous governments ignored. As a tax on wealth, however, it was aimed squarely at middle-class voters wary of being taken for granted. Labelled a dementia tax, it rapidly became a political liability. Rather than defend it, however, the prime minister reversed it within four days and compounded the damage by refusing to acknowledge the U-turn. With weeks of campaigning still to go, strong and stable looked weak and wobbly.
It has since emerged that her own senior campaign consultant and most of her cabinet were blindsided by the policy, which was forced into the manifesto by Mr Timothy. Mrs May’s excessive dependence on a tiny inner circle left no one to defend a courageous but controversial proposal. More broadly, this dependence reflects a lack of confidence in her own judgment that she must overcome to prevail in the titanic negotiations with Brussels that are due to start this month.
If politicians could dictate world affairs this would have been the Brexit election. It has instead been hijacked by terrorists. The horror of the attacks in Manchester and London has required Mrs May to suspend campaigning twice to articulate the nation’s anger and resolve, and to marshal its security apparatus. She has assumed this role with dignity and diligence. But as campaigning has resumed and debate has turned inevitably to police numbers she has refused to admit they were cut sharply on her watch as home secretary. Simple candour would have served her and the national conversation better.
Nor will the attacks crowd out for long less prominent ideas in the Conservative manifesto. The proposal to cap energy prices is an unwarranted intervention in an already highly regulated market that offers other levers with which to enforce competition. The provision for more grammar schools is a distraction from secondary education policies that are working. And the decision to stick to a net migration target in the tens of thousands is posturing at best and at worst a recipe for economic self-harm.
It has to be said that May has become a bigger problem and danger to the UK than Brexit itself. That's an achievement.