Esther McVey may be known as the ‘Minister for Common Sense‘, but perhaps she had a day off yesterday. The senior Tory was confronted by fits of laughter from the audience, after she suggested that Rishi Sunak had created an economic recovery.
Top Tory claims Sunak has turned the economy round – one day after UK enters recession
The claims, made on the BBC Radio 4 show Any Questions, were quite staggering, considering that the UK officially entered a recession earlier this week. Figures released on Thursday showed the economy contracted by 0.3% in the last quarter.
This was Britain’s second consecutive quarter of negative movement, triggering an official recession. It contributed to a miserable week for Mr. Sunak, whose party also suffered twin defeats in two by-elections held on Friday.
Spin for Sunak: Who is Esther McVey?
Though McVey has been championed as a ‘tsar’ for common sense, her actual title is ‘Minister Without Portfolio’. As an appointment influenced by so-called ‘culture wars’, her role is still open to interpretation.
She tried her hand at being Sunak’s spin doctor during her appearance on the BBC panel last night. Needless to say, that didn’t play out how anyone in the Conservative Party would have hoped, and McVey’s statements fell on deaf ears.
Common sense? It’s not all that common…
Claiming that the Prime Minister had faced a unique set of challenges during his time in office, she baselessly stated that Sunak was responsible for an upturn in our economic fortunes. Both the audience and presenter Alex Forsyth took exception to this.
Dusting herself down, the minister argued that this recession was only a ‘shallow and technical’ one, and based off figures from the end of last year. Despite her retort, the omens look daunting for the Tories – as anyone with common sense would tell you…