The question for this Chancellor has always been: how to get out of this mess? The Chancellor has blamed everyone but the Conservatives and chosen stealth taxes and cuts. The answer is not as black and white as this Government would have us believe and that spells trouble down the line.
The last 72 hours has seen splits in the party, political wrangling over policy, and U-turns, but for businesses, nothing has changed. This conference was a steadying the ship exercise. The real challenge now is how the Government can hold the rebound in market sentiment, deliver its agenda and reunite the party in under 18-24 months before another General election. Next stop the ‘Medium-term fiscal plan’.
With the Conservative Government’s ‘mini-budget’ setting off market turmoil and dissent within the Tory party, this week’s Labour conference was the most business-like and business-focused iteration since the Blair-Brown years.