What happened to Tory radicalism?

Whatever advantages money may have brought Rishi Sunak as he rose to become Chancellor of the Exchequer, his wealth has now become a serious hindrance to his career. Whatever decisions he takes, everything is seen through the prism of his personal financial situation. If he rejects demands for greater public spending, he will be accused of throwing the poor to the lions. If he raises taxes, he will be accused of failing to understand how ordinary people are struggling. If he cuts them, he will be accused of pandering to his rich friends.

Even acts of private generosity by Sunak seem to arouse suspicion when made public. This week it was revealed that the Chancellor and his wife (who is apparently richer than the Queen) have donated more than £100,000 to his alma mater, Winchester College. This was immediately set in contrast to the government’s budget for state schools, which in spite of an extra £4.4 billion will mean, according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies, that the average spend per pupil will only be the same in real terms as it was in 2010. The narrative being promoted is that here is a wealthy Chancellor helping a privileged few while denying education opportunities to the many.

In funding bursaries, however, Sunak is helping to provide places for children who would not otherwise be able to attend Winchester, allowing them to have the potentially life-changing education that he enjoyed. That’s hardly ignoble – and better than those privately educated MPs who propose making it harder for other families to send their children to private schools. Tory education policy has for decades been designed to give choice in education to millions of families – a policy that, until lockdown, had narrowed the attainment gap between rich and poor.