Rishi Sunak can’t rock the boat – his political legitimacy in No 10 hangs by a thread | Politics News

In that respect, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s First Question was a solid performance.

The former prime minister is combative, confident and flexible. But it was also a session where the new prime minister showed us how conscious he is that his political legitimacy is hung by a rope.

Because being appointed as the UK’s 57th prime minister behind closed doors by around 200 Conservative MPs will always raise questions about his democratic mandate.

That comes just seven weeks after another prime minister – Liz Truss – was backed by the Conservatives in public in the UK, turning those questions into accusations of a democratic fabrication.

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Labour, SNP and Lib Dems all know it, that’s why at PMQs they have included Mr. Sunak because it was in the shipping box.

Sir Keir Starmer accused his new rival – his third in four months – of being “not on the side of the people who are working” before adding: “That’s why the only time he When he ran in a competitive election, he was challenged by the former prime minister, who was hit by a salad.”

He again called for a general election.

However Mr Sunak doesn’t have that, as he teases Sir Keir for backing a second EU referendum – “he said of mandates, it’s a bit rich coming from the person who tried overturned the biggest democratic vote in our country’s history” – and spoke again about following the 2019 manifesto.

Stick to it, because Mr Sunak knows he is trying to tiptoe into Number 10 and stay there until the next general election in a few years to ask the British people their views.

That is why on the steps of Number 10 and in the Commons on Wednesday Mr Sunak spoke of the Conservative Party The Party’s mandate was won in 2019 as he sought to wrest that victory right out of the hands of campaigner Boris Johnson.

“I will always be grateful to Boris Johnson for his incredible achievements as prime minister, and I appreciate his warmth and generous spirit,” he said.

“And I know he’ll agree that the mission my party earned in 2019 is not the sole property of any individual, it’s a mission that belongs and unites us all.”

And that manifesto – which Liz Truss sought to deviate from – is now being restored by Mr. Sunak as he tries to get it right and strengthen his foundation.

The big move from him on Wednesday was restore ban on jailbreaka manifesto pledge from 2019 that Ms Truss sought to reverse and that eventually became her undo when she turned a Labor proposal on that issue into a vote of confidence in its government.

In theory, she won, but the move threw her into the chaos that ensued around that vote.

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What’s almost more important is that in the summer leadership race, Mr Sunak told Sky News he’s in favor of jailbreaking in places where locals approve.

His desire to then sail again is a sign that he doesn’t want to rock the boat with Conservative MPs or the public when it comes to examining the mandate.

That also goes for the triple lock on pensions – the promise of an inflation-driven pension increase, the average salary or 2.5% depending on the top.

According to the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS), an inflation-related increase would cost the Treasury £5.7 billion.

But it is difficult to know what on November 17 Mr. Sunak did other than work.

He may have failed Boris Johnson, but he is tied to his predecessor’s plan.

Ms Truss was demoted because she didn’t respect the limits of her mission.

Mr. Sunak knew that sticking with it would be his best chance of survival, not just with his party but with an entire country that was completely fed up.