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The wave of flattering front-page headlines that followed the finance minister’s statement outlining his fall strategy to deal with the faltering economy screamed at newsstands across the country.
What was not known was that the often effusive coverage came after a mission by the Treasury to win the hearts and minds of national newspaper editors and political columnists at a crucial time for the Conservative Party.
During several strategic and socially estranged breakfasts last week, Sunak courted opinion-forming journalists on the right and center-right of British politics in a fluid operation that some in the party interpreted as a clear challenge to No. 10.
“There is a great level of desperation, not only from the handling of Covid, but also from Brexit, on the part of many of the party members that I am still in contact with,” said Anna Soubry, a former Conservative MP for Broxtowe, who left last year to form the now-defunct Change UK. “And while many of the formerly loyal members in the secondary banks are understandably afraid to confront Johnson in public, it is quite a bit to see right-wing newspapers so prepared to criticize the prime minister in a time of national emergency.”
Boris Johnson also summoned the nation’s press for meetings last week in the run-up to and then in the wake of his grim announcement of the dark winter months to come. But Sunak’s optimistic call for a more courageous approach appears to have been more persuasive.
After the chancellor’s statement on Thursday the Daily mail he proclaimed that his “new battle cry” had overshadowed the prime minister, whose “cautious and health-focused” report on Tuesday had simply alarmed the public. Sunak’s key argument, that the long-term threat to the economy now means the country must learn to live “without fear,” bears a striking resemblance to the words of the newspaper’s leader himself the day before.
the Telegraph he also supported the Chancellor’s new emphasis on finding an affordable path through the pandemic crisis. Even his gloomier predictions of a “more permanent tightening” of the economy received a positive glow. This was an honest, albeit harsh, “reality check” readers were told.
At a time when Rupert Murdoch prepares to launch a television news channel, Sunak’s campaign to win friends on Fleet Street has been timely. The rare offers of time for interviews with the chancellor have cemented the idea that he is the accessible face of a beleaguered government.
“There has been a real attempt to present the sensible face of the government, away from all the humorous optimism of Boris’ public statements,” said an executive in a popular center-right newspaper. While this carefully balanced public relations offensive does not add to the betrayal, it has not hurt Sunak’s public profile.
But the media war has not been the chancellor’s only campaign front. An email sent by Sunak to members of the Conservative party on Friday called for a positive attitude with the words of union: “Our lives can no longer be suspended.” Although a Treasury newsletter is sent out to members every week, the rhetorical tone of the past week added a new and personal touch.
“I suppose they were still telling us something that we didn’t want to hear, but it seemed like it was a simpler argument,” said an activist from the constituency this weekend.
Last week, the influential Conservative Home party website also praised Sunak as the economy’s “leading advocate for openness. This followed the site’s August survey of “cabinet satisfaction ratings”, which placed the chancellor at the top, while Johnson, who topped it last December, languished in eighth place.
If last week was the opening salvo in a succession race, then it comes at a difficult time for Sunak, as many companies mourn the end of the national licensing plan. In response, the chancellor’s team quickly cleaned up his diary while advancing his statement to the nation. Sunak, relatively new to parliamentary circles, had to establish relationships with the editors of both the Murdoch newspapers and the Mail group before the economic climate worsens. His team is willing to establish direct communication routes, but argues that there is no contradiction with the prime minister’s message. Johnson has set the path ahead; Sunak is simply setting the course.
His new instruction to walk “fearlessly” through the Covid-19 valley was always going to be easier to sell to the public than a winter of deprivation. But the pleasant package of his changes to the summer financial lifeline is now believed to be worrying cabinet members close to Johnson, as well as those who would line up behind Michael Gove in a bid for leadership.
Soubry sees an irony in the fact that Sunak is benefiting from the efforts she believes Gove has made to position himself as the next leader. “Gove is doing serious maneuvers and someone is giving a lot of briefings. Nasty things are being said about Boris and Carrie. The big problem for Johnson is that many MPs feel they don’t have access to him and his team. All the conservatives I talk to don’t talk about Gove, they talk about Sunak. But the problem is, it really only takes five minutes. “
