Is Nadhim Zahawi’s defection to Farage’s Reform a bombshell? No, it's just naked opportunism | Henry Hill
The former chancellor’s criticism of the Tory government is indisputable – but so is his role in its dire recordDefections always pose a messaging dilemma for political parties. Heap too...
By Henry Hill · The Guardian Opinion
The former chancellor’s criticism of the Tory government is indisputable – but so is his role in its dire record Defections always pose a messaging dilemma for political parties. Heap too much ordure on the turncoat, and you invite the question of why you were happy to share a tent with them in the first place; praise them too highly, and you exacerbate whatever damage the defection is doing to you. In the Conservatives’ case, this problem is compounded for journalists by the hyperinflation in key posts. A “former chancellor of the exchequer” sounds like a big deal, and historically it would have been. But in the five years of the last parliament there were no fewer than five chancellors (Margaret Thatcher, across her entire 11-year premiership, had three). Henry Hill is deputy editor of ConservativeHome Continue reading...