Fer ple t Trus: stript v compitns or cmpaśn, hr xtrimizm z rfreśñli clir
(Transcription of an article published in the Guardian on 7 October 2022)
Ɖs z hǎ bad guvnmnts dî – wɖ ɖ masc fōḷn awe, ɖer wrst fes rvild
Joṇʈn Frīdḷnd, Frîde 7 Octobr 2022
Z it tù sn t ofr a smōl wrd in dfns v Liz Trus? I aprīśiet ɖt ɖs z a lonli indevr. In ẃt śd b hr hunimūn pirịd, ɖ ny prîm̦inistr hz instd prizntd ɖ ilectṛt wɖ multipl grǎndz fr dvors. Poulñ sjsts ś’z abt az popylr az a Covid swet. Stl, Trus dzrvz prêz fr wn ʈñ at līst. Ẃt ś brñz t ǎr naśnl lîf z an admṛbl claṛti – ɖo phps nt in ɖ we ś intndz.
Ɖ Cnsrṿtivz hv bn in pǎr fr mor ɖn 12 yirz, n fr mć v ɖt tîm ɖe hv bn hard t pin dǎn. Devid Camṛn wz ilectd az a cmpaśṇt Cnsrṿtiv, ol husciz n hŭdiz n “ɖ big ssayti”. In riaḷti, h impozd a pirịd v osteṛti ɖt hit ɖ purist hardist, starvd cḿṇtiz v ćeriśt srṿsz n left cǎntlis nebrhdz nglectd n deṛlict. Fṛm wn sîd v hiz mǎʈ, Camṛn’z ćanslr, Jorj Ozbōrn, sd, “W’re ol in ɖs tgɖr”; fṛm ɖ uɖr, h pitd “strîvrz” agnst “scîvrz”.
T’rīza Me cem nxt, proṃsñ t tacl “brnñ injusṭsz” n redietñ snṣbl midl Ñgḷnd dīsnsi. In riaḷti, ś hd t cīp p wɖ a parti hot wɖ Brexit fīvr, cnsymd bî a project ɖt got pṛgresivli mor xtrim. Ɖ contṛdix́nz incrist n ɖ opaṣti ʈicnd wɖ Boris Jonsn, a libtīn cntmtẏs v ɖ standdz v prsnl conduct hiz parti wns hld dir; a Tori wɖ a põśõ fr big spendñ, ɖ bulc v it tarġtd, h promist, at ɖ parts v ɖ cuntri ɖt nīdd it most. A “Brex̣ti Heza” h wns cōld himslf, nodñ t Mîcl Hesltîn’z s’port fr an acṭvist stet, īvn az h trampld on ɖ formr depyti PM’z dvośn t ɖ Yṛpiyn îdiyl.
Ol v ɖs mnt ɖt fr mor ɖn a deced Cnsrṿtizm wz a śiftñ targit, its reṭric n its ax́n ofn d’recli at odz. Bt nǎ ɖr’z Trus, huz gret gift t Britn z a bresñ lac v amḅgywti. Wɖ no dstractñ vnir v compitns, dīsnsi or cmpaśn – îɖr riyl or boġs – ś ofrz instd a necidli îdịlojicl form v cnsrṿtizm.
Its instñts r unhidn. It fevrz ɖ rić ovr ɖ pur. Witnis bʈ Qāzi Qarteñ’z nǎ-abandnd jūsi taxcut t ɖ 1% n Trus’z cntinywñ rfyzl t plej ɖt beṇfits wl cīp pes wɖ a gaḷpñ ret v infleśn: f ɖe d’nt, ɖ nīdiist wl hv t gt bî on īvn les.
It yrnz fr a smōl stet, wn ɖt z līn in sîz n mīn in practis. Trus’z guvnmntl miniṃlizm z so unbndñ, ś vītoud a £15m public-inḟmeśn campen ɖt wd hv hlpt Brítnz rdys ɖer eṇjicnsumśn, ɖr-bî lowrñ ɖer bilz n hlpñ ɖ planit. Trus ʈt ɖt smact tù mć v ɖ hand v nani, īvn ɖo Jecb Rīs-Mog – a man hu nz mor ɖn z hlʈi abt naniz – hd apruvd ɖ plan. N so ɖ Naśnl Grid z bresñ s fr a wintr v disc̣nct, wɖ śort dez n loñ pǎrcuts – a ʈrǒbac t ɖ 1970z az vivid az wn v ɖoz Ćanl 5 clipcomṗleśn śoz ɖt w cd woć f onli w wr’nt sitñ in ɖ darc.
Ɖs z a necid cnsrṿtizm ɖt b’livz in itslf wɖ sć frvr it ʈncs facts śd mc we fr its fanṭsiz. Borowñ fr taxcuts in a pirịd v srjñ infleśn wz olwz gwñ t spūc ɖ marcits, bt Trus’z feʈ tld hr uɖ̇wz. Ś wz dtrmind t jump of ɖ clif, insistnt ɖt ol ɖ tōc v graṿti wz so mć stufi sạntific “orʈ̇doxi”.
Ɖ rfyzl t bǎ t impiricl evidns, t riaḷti, z Trus cnsrṿtizm’z dfînñ fīćr. Its oṛjinz r nt mstirịs. W mt cōl it Brex̣tizm: ɖ crīd ɖt holdz ɖt ɖ riyl wrld, īvn ɖ facts v jiogṛfi, cn b bnt t yr wl, jst bî clozñ yr îz n wśñ it wr so. Az ɖ FT coḷmnist Martin Wlf pts it: “Trus dz nt hv a groʈplan. Ś hz a ‘groʈplan’ – a majicl pośn intu ẃć ś sprinclz ɖ rvrsl v rīsnt tax incrisz, frīdm fr bancrz’ boṇsz n lowr taxz fr ɖ prospṛs, sz ‘abṛc̣dabra’ n sudnli trend prodctivtigroʈ qodṛplz.”
D’nt b msléd bî ɖ sirịl U-trnz, olrdi a sigṇćr v ɖ Trus ira. It’s tru ɖt ś promist ɖr wd b no eṇjiraṣ́nñ, n nǎ w’r set t fes ɖ crūdist form v raṣ́nñ, nemli blacǎts. Tru, tù, ɖt ś sd ɖr wd b no “handǎts”, īvn ɖo hr frst wīc in ofis sw hr bǎ t riaḷti n hand ǎt hlp on eṇjibilz, olbiit hlp peid fr bî ǎr ǒn fyćr taxz rɖr ɖn bî a levi on ɖ garganćụn xes profits v ɖ eṇji jaynts. N yes, ś abandnd ɖ aḅliśn v ɖ 45p taxret, bérli 24 aurz aftr ś’d sd ś wd stic wɖ it. Bt ɖoz rvrsz d nt sjst dctrînl cmplex̣ti, stl les straṭji. Ɖ onli stori ɖe tel z wn v wìcnis n heṃrijñ s’port.
Fr necid cnsrṿtizm z unpaḷtbl īvn t Cnsrṿtivz. Ɖs wīc, wn Nedīn Doriz akzd Trus v “lrćñ t ɖ rît”, adñ ɖt a de facto cut in beṇfits wz “cruwl”. V cors, ɖ hipocṛsi z ranc: Doriz’ aidl, Jonsn, cut yṇvrsl credit n wd hv dnaid fri scūlmīlz t hungri ćildṛn hd it nt bn fr Marc̣s Raśfd. Bt ẃn y’v got bʈ Rīs-Mog n Doriz – ɖ Sid n Nansi v ɖ Tori hard rît – t yr left, y nǒ y’v streid far fṛm īvn ɖ wîldist śorz.
Ɖs stripñ awe v ɖ caṃflāź, ɖs xpoźr v ɖ Tōriz’ hardist cor, ofrz wn uɖr conṣleśn bsdz claṛti. It cariz wɖ it ɖ sns v an endñ. Fr ɖs z hǎ bad guvnmnts ofn dî, ɖ masc fōḷn awe, ɖer wrst fes rvild. Trus wl trî t rali ɖ trūps, stŕñ ɖm wɖ ɖ fmiłr het – īvn f “rmenr ilīts” n “sitiznz v nẃr” r nǎ rībrandd az ɖ rɖr les punći “anti-groʈ cọliśn”. Bt ś c’nt iscep ɖ tmpr v ɖ tîmz, ẃć hz trnd agnst hr n hr parti.
Fr mor ɖn a deced, ɖ cuntri hz bn rūld bî ɖoz hu hv cōzd grev damij n gret hrt. Ofn ɖt wz cnsild bî smuɖ tōc, a ćarmñ manr or wîld proṃsz. Liz Trus z nt blest wɖ sm v hr prīdisesrz’ gifts fr dspśn. Instd hr xtrimizm z xpozd fr ol t si. It mīnz w cn si hr – n ol ɖ rotņis ɖt lîz bnʈ.
