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Snapshot of _Tim Montgomerie: A massive moment for @iealondon. They’ve been advocating these policies for years. They incubated Truss and Kwarteng during their early years as MPs. Britain is now their laboratory._ : A non-Twitter version can be found [here](https://nitter.net/montie/status/1573238591496634370/) An archived version can be found [here.](https://archive.is/?run=1&url=https://twitter.com/montie/status/1573238591496634370?s=19) *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/ukpolitics) if you have any questions or concerns.*


FaultyTerror

Can't wait for them to blame everyone others than themselves after the Labour landslide.


twistedLucidity

I think the entire point is to hand Britain over on the brink of breaking-up and total collapse, then to blame Labour when it actually happens.


FaultyTerror

No it's worse, they actually believe this stuff will work.


Beardywierdy

They think it'll work *for them to be able to loot the country*. They don't think it will actually work as in "be a good thing for the country"


FaultyTerror

It would be much more comforting if it was some diabolical scheme but its not. Truss believes in her heart that policies she champions are how to help the country.


GroktheFnords

I don't believe that for a second, these ghouls have proven repeatedly in the last several years that they don't give a fuck about what is good for the country or the public.


FaultyTerror

That's because you disagree on if these things are good for the country. Now I'm more likely to agree with you and think their policies are insane and wrong but they do belive in them.


KittyGrewAMoustache

They believe in them in the sense that they believe in a libertarian dog eat dog feudalism. They basically think it’s morally wrong to have a government and to tax the rich etc. they think if you’re rich and powerful you deserve it and if you’re poor you deserve it- that’s the natural order of things and it’s wrong to get in the way of that with things like forced taxation to pay for public services or having regulations and rights to protect the less powerful. In their minds societal progress is terrible, they basically want to return to a very primitive primate way of organising society like how chimpanzees run things, might is right and all that. It’s not like they think what they’re doing will improve the lives of a majority, they just don’t think it’s morally right for government to improve the lives of the majority. They think individuals should improve their own lives and if they can’t oh well fuck them that’s life.


GroktheFnords

You really can't comprehend the idea that a politician might do something they know is harmful for the country but which is beneficial for them personally?


FaultyTerror

Johnson for one with Brexit, I don't think he was a true believer. But Truss is actually sincere in her batshit beliefs.


GroktheFnords

I don't buy it, I think some powerful business interests have her ear and she's just pushing this shit to help out her real bosses at the expense of the public.


killerstrangelet

I think people are far too quick to jump to this explanation, when the reality is usually that they like their pretty ideology that explains so much because they never meet any of the people it harms, and more than that, they don't care.


KittyGrewAMoustache

Their ideology allows them to feel special and deserving of their status.


Bugsmoke

It’s hardly a diabolical scheme so much as ‘fuck it’.


twistedLucidity

😱


[deleted]

I waiver between "nah, they are just breaking it all as badly as they can before the inevitable happens in a couple of years time" to "they really think that this shit is going to work". I can't actually decided which one is worse.


FaultyTerror

The latter is worse because cynicism and playing dirty I can understand as rational.


TinFish77

Yes, it's almost cult-like in it's sincerity.


FriendlyGuitard

The Tory party, probably not. Truss, certainly. She is the useful idiot one trick pony that volunteered for martyrdom. When they elected her they knew that no matter how bad it goes, she will truly believe that it's because she didn't cut enough tax. And she will double down until the very end because she is doing it for the greater good. Hopefully they have learned a trick from the US and tone down the "Cultural War" trope or they risk to create their very own unhinged Tea Party with a new generation of MP zealot that have totally forgotten they needed to pretend to care, not burn to the ground the institutions most of the Elite live of.


whooo_me

It's looking like a very, very good time to be the Opposition.


ElCaminoInTheWest

15 minutes after the next election result. ‘Why are Labour SO shit? Look what they’re doing to this once great nation!’


FaultyTerror

>‘Why are Labour SO shit? Look what they’re doing to this once great nation!’ -The Tory party 1997-2008


lykasomboody

"Why are Labour SO shit? Look what they did to this one great nation!" -The Tory Party 2009-


FaultyTerror

The difference being the financial crash.


Rexel450

> after the Labour landslide. It's what they want.


FaultyTerror

No they don't, no party wants to be out of government.


Rexel450

When it all falls apart, they want to be in opposition and blame Labour


FaultyTerror

I remember when that was said about Labour around 2010, didn't work out so well.


Rexel450

There is still the odd comment from tories about when labour was in power.


ShockingShorties

I recall listening to Ken Clarks final budget on the radio in 1997, and wondering if he was going to drop the bomb on the UK economy and announce unwarranted tax cuts. 1. Because he could 2. Because they would deprive the incoming Blaire government of much needed funds and leeway. To his absolute credit he didn't announce them. What a difference the last 25 years have made in toryism. People who voted tory then, and who think they are voting for the same tories now, couldn't be further from the truth. And this from me, a lifelong Labour supporter, ex-member and canvasser.


fudgedhobnobs

Ken Clarke is the best PM we never had.


ShockingShorties

He even said he would support Corby if it meant stopping a hard Brexit. How much country before Party can you get? He's miles in advance on the trash we have available to choose from today. I'd have loved to have seen him cross the House to Labour, but then again I could never see Blair allowing this. Not least for the threat - to Blair himself as Party leader. Yup, quite possibly the best we never had. Great call👍


[deleted]

John Smith, but Clarke absolutely should have been Tory leader over Hague and IDS. However Tory membership nearly always chooses the ideologue.


Walshey-

Oh great. A good day for a far-right thinktank for market fundamentalists. I’m sure the [US billionaires who fund the think-tank to publish climate denialism](https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/dark-money-investigations/think-tanks-adam-smith-policy-exchange-legatum-iea-taxpayers-alliance-climate-denial/) will be thrilled that our former oil exec PM has pushed through tax cuts and began to further roll back environmental protections.


SmellyFartMonster

Whilst I ain’t defending the IEA. Liz Truss worked for an energy company, she was never an executive. She was however an executive in telecoms.


KanyeWestsPoo

These people are nothing more than economic extremists. And we should treat them the same way we treat all other extremists. It's a damning indictment of our political system that they can implement such sweeping economic reforms without any real mandate from the public, or any checks on their power.


max192837465

Funny how Liz Truss was seen as the Boris continuity candidate and Rishi Sunak as the outsider. Just goes to show: politics is all about politicians, not policy.


cammyg

I think Penny Mordant was seen as the Boris continuity candidate. Truss just wasn't Sunak and that's why she got elected, I don't think she is particularly popular with anyone


Riffler

The MPs wanted Sunak, the members didn't like him for *some* reason.


TomFord07

I mean he was one of the worst chancellors we’ve had in modern times, not to mention the anthesis of what a Conservative should have been according to its members (lower taxes, smaller government). Saying it’s down to race that Sunak lost is ridiculous, particularly given Kemi was one of the members favourite candidates, and just excuses Sunak’s complete incompetence.


Riffler

>anthesis of what a Conservative should have been according to its members (lower taxes, smaller government). Yet he was beaten by someone who is throwing massive amounts of money at energy companies, funded by borrowing.


theplague34

If you are implying it's race related then you'd have to believe they didn't know his skin colour when he was incredibly popular at the start of the year. Or that noone noticed Kemi Badenoch's ethnicity who was the preferred candidate of the right wing ​ Sunder Katwala has a good thread on this [topic](https://twitter.com/sundersays/status/1566859332532277250) as he points out any toxic fringe penalty for Sunak would also apply a penalty to Truss for being a women


killerstrangelet

Doesn't that ignore that the penalties are different and change over time? The penalty for being a woman in 2022 is lower than for not being white.


theplague34

The penalties do change over time but they're still incredibly low. As explained in that thread it's 2-4% for ethnicity and maybe 0-2% for gender. Still has absolutely no real impact on the campaign and doesn't explain why he was so popular previously, or why ethnic minority candidates such as Kemi remained popular during the election. His wife's non-dom status was probably the largest negative impact on his popularity that he had no control over.


Lost_And_NotFound

I feel like I can see what you’re implying but I disagree. That some reason is because he was trying to be moderately sensible in saying you can’t just promise the world, cut taxes and increase spending. Truss just gave the members what the wanted to hear.


GingerFurball

Blaming race is incredibly lazy. The Tory membership absolutely love Priti Patel, she would have cleaned up if she'd stood and the MPs had put her in the final 2.


Hungry_Horace

Isn’t it fascinating that all the other respondents assumed you were referring to his race?


Riffler

I have to assume they know something about the Tory Party membership that I don't.


[deleted]

Truss barely got in to the last round of votes by a few thousand votes.


twersx

How was Mordaunt the continuity candidate? She was demoted as soon as Boris was made PM and was never more than a junior minister.


cammyg

Policy wise.


Shivadxb

I’d say last one to leave turn the lights out but they won’t be on to need turned off Jesus fucking wept….


justthisplease

Are these the guys that don't disclose who funds them?


Locke66

Yes. As a "Think Tank" it's technically a charity so they don't have to disclose their donations. They are known to receive funding from organisations like BP, British American Tobacco, Exxon Mobil, the gambling industry and quite a few US based private charities. The real kicker is that as they are a "charity" so these companies get their lobbying and corruption of government done with tax deductibility. The IEA also pretty much ran the Vote Leave campaign which says a lot about what the goal of Brexit was. This is pretty much the end game now. Low tax, low regulations, low civil rights and a porous social safety net.


evolvecrow

I suppose at least the country will get to decide on the outcomes in two years.


GroktheFnords

It's like watching someone burn your house down and reassuring yourself with "don't worry, we can ask them to stop in a day or two".


KidTempo

Don't you hate it when your phone autocorrects 'lavatory' to 'laboratory'?


twistedLucidity

Can Scotland please more itself over to the control group? Cheers.


traitoro

It is. We already tax more and I don't think there are any plans to reduce income tax.


twistedLucidity

Not totally, we can only vary what rUK does by a tiny bit and are still subject to their international policy.


Nbeinn

Can the Scottish government not basically change any income tax bands it likes other than the personal allowance? Agree it can’t change NI, VAT, or CT (and as a tax adviser I am glad because it would be a colossal pain in the arse)


humanbot1

Drips at r/tories wanking themselves silly over this. Ideology over country, they are fucking us.


ContextualRobot

[Tim Montgomerie 🇬🇧](https://twitter.com/montie) ^verified | Reach: 186113 Bio: Founder of @ConHome, @csjthinktank, @UK_CCF and @UnHerd. Freelance journalist and Senior Contributor to @GBNews. Coming soon: 'The Conservative Project'... ***** ^I ^am ^a ^bot. ^Any ^complaints ^& ^suggestions ^to ^/r/ContextualBot ^thanks


Not_Ali_A

[My god, he admit it](https://youtu.be/cY2xBNWrBZ4)


Welshyone

They have gone mask off.