What Theresa May's successor must do

Jeremy Corbyn used to be a punchline at the Conservative party conference. Tories believed that his election as Labour leader guaranteed them electoral success. But the picture that emerged from this year’s conference is of a Tory party that is desperately trying to work out how to counter Corbyn, and how to win a fourth term in office — something that even New Labour couldn’t achieve.

Senior Tories now recognise that the questions Labour are asking deserve a response. In his conference speech, Philip Hammond acknowledged that people feel ‘that they are working for the system but the system isn’t working for them’.

And on the fringe, various Tories set out their own answers to Corbyn. Liz Truss, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, is the cabinet minister who has taken up this challenge with the greatest gusto. She has been arguing that the answer to the Tories’ problems is economic liberation. She wants tax cuts, a ‘day zero’ approach to the size of the state and planning reform so that more houses can be built.

The cabinet ministers who don’t agree with Truss argue that her approach is all a bit 1980s. They prefer to emphasise the need to reform capitalism rather than reinvigorate it. But the Tories agree on more than they realise. Most recognise that the best way to deal with over-mighty companies is through more competition. Indeed, the problem with rail privatisation is that it lacks a competitive element. The train franchises are, essentially, private monopolies and there is little reason why a private sector monopoly should be superior to a public sector one.