Support 110 years of independent journalism.

Jeremy Hunt speaks but who will listen?

The Chancellor’s speech was entirely overshadowed by Liz Truss and HS2.

By Freddie Hayward

The civil service; the unemployed; declinists; non-working families; Gordon Brown; the Office for National Statistics: these were some of Jeremy Hunt’s targets in his Conservative conference speech in Manchester today. The Chancellor was buoyant after the recent upwards revision in UK GDP (showing the economy is 1.8 per cent larger than before Covid-19). But his headline announcements were vague. He wants to tighten sanctions for those on benefits to encourage them to get into work. The concession in the other direction was a promise to raise the minimum wage to £11 next year, regardless of what the Low Pay Commission recommends. This is not as radical as Hunt implied: in April this year the minimum wage was raised by nearly 10 per cent to £10.42. Expect the Conservatives to try to pin Labour as soft on benefits in the year to come.

Hunt also promised to impose a civil service hiring freeze, which elicited the loudest whoops from the crowd. To complement the freeze, Hunt said the best way to reduce taxes was to increase productivity. But the announcement that John Glen, his deputy, would undertake a review to boost public service productivity after 13 years in government and a year before the next election was not convincing.

Nonetheless, there were signs of a political consensus emerging over public sector reform. Both parties now talk about the radical improvements in productivity that artificial intelligence could enable. Likewise, Hunt said he wanted to inject long-term thinking into the Treasury – another sign that the Conservatives and Labour are converging over how to manage the public finances.

But the speech was entirely overshadowed by two things. First, across the road at the Midland Hotel, Liz Truss hosted a “growth rally” with fawning Tory activists, distracting the media and exposing the party’s fissures over how to respond to the cost-of-living crisis and low productivity. Second, rumours about the future of HS2 have become a black hole at the conference, consuming all attention. Speculation over the decision has distracted from every policy announcement. It’s remarkable that Tory strategists thought allowing the uncertainty to persist for so long was wise. The main problem for Hunt is that few people will remember what he said.

[See also: Rishi Sunak can’t campaign]

Select and enter your email address Your weekly guide to the best writing on ideas, politics, books and culture every Saturday - from the New Statesman. Sign up directly at saturdayread.substack.com The New Statesman's quick and essential guide to the news and politics of the day. Sign up directly at morningcall.substack.com Stay up to date with NS events, subscription offers & updates. Weekly analysis of the shift to a new economy from the New Statesman's Spotlight on Policy team.
  • Administration / Office
  • Arts and Culture
  • Board Member
  • Business / Corporate Services
  • Client / Customer Services
  • Communications
  • Construction, Works, Engineering
  • Education, Curriculum and Teaching
  • Environment, Conservation and NRM
  • Facility / Grounds Management and Maintenance
  • Finance Management
  • Health - Medical and Nursing Management
  • HR, Training and Organisational Development
  • Information and Communications Technology
  • Information Services, Statistics, Records, Archives
  • Infrastructure Management - Transport, Utilities
  • Legal Officers and Practitioners
  • Librarians and Library Management
  • Management
  • Marketing
  • OH&S, Risk Management
  • Operations Management
  • Planning, Policy, Strategy
  • Printing, Design, Publishing, Web
  • Projects, Programs and Advisors
  • Property, Assets and Fleet Management
  • Public Relations and Media
  • Purchasing and Procurement
  • Quality Management
  • Science and Technical Research and Development
  • Security and Law Enforcement
  • Service Delivery
  • Sport and Recreation
  • Travel, Accommodation, Tourism
  • Wellbeing, Community / Social Services
Visit our privacy Policy for more information about our services, how New Statesman Media Group may use, process and share your personal data, including information on your rights in respect of your personal data and how you can unsubscribe from future marketing communications.
THANK YOU

Content from our partners
Strengthening the UK's clinical trial ecosystem
Ageing well with technology
"Homesharing helps us get a better work-life balance"