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Today in Focus

Can Rishi Sunak pull the Conservative party back together? – podcast

Today in Focus

The Guardian

News, Daily News

4.65.9K Ratings

🗓️ 27 October 2022

⏱️ 29 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

After the chaos of Liz Truss’s short-lived stint as PM, there were claims the Conservative party was ungovernable. Can Rishi Sunak unify it once more?. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/infocus

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

This is the Guardian.

0:08.3

Today, unite or die, can Wishi Sunak save the Tory party from itself?

0:15.9

Yes today, Wishi Sunak took his place at the dispatch box for his first Prime Minister's questions.

0:33.9

Mr Speaker, my record is clear, when times are difficult in this country, I will always protect the most vulnerable.

0:43.9

That is a value of our compassionate party. We did it in Covid and we will do that again.

0:50.3

It was a confident and upbeat performance. As he promised, he was quick to erase the work of his

0:55.9

predecessor, a new turned on Liz Truss' controversial plan for fracking.

1:00.9

So if he is a man of his word, will he start by reversing the green light she gave to fracking

1:07.3

since its categorically not being shown to be safe and instead maintain the moratorium

1:12.6

that was pledged in that very manifesto that he has promised to uphold?

1:16.8

Yes!

1:18.0

I've already said I stand by the manifesto on that.

1:21.6

And how did it all go down? Katie Bawles, deputy editor of the spectator, was watching closely.

1:29.1

So I think the pressure was on Wishi Sunak at Prime Minister's questions and Kirstama,

1:35.2

in a way really went for it. Wishi Sunak coped fairly well, I think in the minds of Tory MPs.

1:40.3

It was clear the mood had shifted. For the first time in weeks, even the Tory backbenches were

1:46.7

buoyant. And while the toxic atmosphere in the house may have dialed down, Sunak's first decisions

1:54.0

as PM are already causing trouble. Putting Sawena Bravoman back in the cabinet for one,

2:00.0

hasn't gone down well. We can all see what's happened here. He's so weak, he's done a grubby deal

2:07.4

trading national security because he was scared to lose another leadership election.

2:13.5

Still, could a battered and humiliated Tory party finally be getting behind their leader?

2:23.7

I think it's a Tory party that has made an uneasy truce. And right now there is an awareness

...

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