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\u201cBut the problem has been in a sense that Labour\u2019s lead has not been significantly narrowed since Sunak became Prime Minister.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd secondly, when Sunak entered government, less unpopular than his party, the hope was that he would be able to bring his party up – but if anything has been the opposite has been going on.\u201d<\/p>\n
Noises coming out of Number 10 indicated that Mr Sunak recognised the need to \u201cmove on to the front foot\u201d and \u201cgive people a clearer sense of what he’s about\u201d, Sir John said.<\/p>\n
He added: \u201cThe thing about party conference speech is because it gets a lot of publicity because everybody is there it does provide an unparalleled opportunity to say something new and give your government and yourself a sense of direction.\u201d<\/p>\n
However, there was a risk that Mr Sunak\u2019s apparent dithering over the future of the high-speed rail link had undermined his credibility, Sir John warned.<\/p>\n
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He continued: \u201cHe is somebody who doesn’t like being pushed off course. Sometimes in politics, you’ve got to respond to how things develop.\u201d<\/p>\n
Allied to this, the public were still not entirely clear who Mr Sunak was, Sir John said.<\/p>\n
He explained: \u201cOne of his weaknesses is that he is a master of detail but he’s not very good at framing.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe point with Liz Truss, we knew what she was about, \u2018a helpout not a handout\u2019, which was a brilliant phrase. Sunak has so far failed to do that.<\/p>\n
\u201cOther thing is he can be brittle when put under pressure and that got exposed the last two days.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo if he makes a brilliant speech tomorrow and gives people the impression of a somewhat more dynamic personality that he’s basically conveyed so far, then it could be important but you can see the problems that he’s got to overcome.”<\/p>\n
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Don’t miss… <\/strong> Acknowledging that Mr Sunak was in effect in a \u201cbacks-to-the-wall\u201d situation, Sir John said: \u201cBasically, if you\u2019ve hardly moved the dial in the last 12 months, if you’re going to change people’s perceptions, expectations, etc, then yes, he probably needs to do so by Christmas.\u201d<\/p>\n Failure to set out his vision adequately increased the chances of a whispering campaign against him as Tory MPs became increasingly concerned about the prospect of losing their seats, Sir John warned.<\/p>\n He said: \u201cIn the end, the authority of leaders is very much a function of the perceived ability to win. Boris Johnson has survived for as long as he did, despite the fact that arguably he was a much better campaigner than he was somebody in government, because people thought he could win.<\/p>\n \u201cSunak needs a phrase underpinned by a vision, which is then underpinned by policies that might be able to deliver that vision.<\/p>\n \u201cThese are the three levels you need to have – it\u2019s no good having detailed policies on their own and that’s it it’s no good having a phrase unless you can show you can deliver it – Get Brexit Done, Take Back Control – these are brilliant phrases.\u201d<\/p>\n In any case, when it came to conference speeches, there were no guarantees, irrespective of the political party involved, Sir John emphasised.<\/p>\n He said: \u201cMany of them pass people by – but they occasionally appear to make a difference.<\/p>\n \u201cThe one that quite a few people are reminding themselves at the moment is George Osborne\u2019s 2007 inheritance tax promise at the Tory conference which certainly seemed to how to improve the Conservative position in the polls and dissuaded Gordon Brown from holding an early election. The<\/p>\n \u201cLiberal Democrats are often quite heavily response-dependent on conference because it gives them a bit of time but they don’t always.\u201d<\/p>\n Former Labour leader Neil Kinnock made an impact with his speech in 1985 about Liverpool Council and Militant Tendency, as did Tony Blair when he called for the abolition of Clause 4, Sir John pointed out.<\/p>\n He stressed: \u201cThese are things that got endlessly repeated, and in both instances were used, if that’s the right word, by the Labour Party to try to convey to the public that the Labour Party had moved away from what some people regarded as too left-wing a position.<\/p>\n \u201cSo sometimes, it can it can add to the political discourse.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Calls for HS2 fraud probe as Rishi Sunak urged to scrap \u2018white elephant\u2019[ANALYSIS] <\/strong><\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/cdn.images.express.co.uk\/img\/dynamic\/139\/590x\/secondary\/Liz-Truss-4993091.jpg?r=1696407466879\")
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