‘Forget doomsters, with a new team we stand defiant’

So great is the instability, claim the pessimists, that Downing Street has seen three different Prime Ministers in as many months. So deep is the poverty that, according to one charity, hungry schoolchildren are forced to ‘steal food from others and even eat rubbers to fill their stomachs’.Amid recent upheaval in Tory ranks and turmoil in the money markets, the financier Guy Hands said that the United Kingdom is ‘frankly doomed’. But does this bleak picture represent reality?Undoubtedly we face huge problems, but there is an alternative story to tell, one that shows the astonishing resilience of our political and economic structures. Throughout all the recent ordeals, including the Covid pandemic, the death of our longest-serving sovereign, the war in Ukraine and the energy price shock, our institutions have survived.Indeed, there is little foundation to the idea of Britain in meltdown, sedulously cultivated by those who love to sneer at their own land. What makes the political turbulence of the last two months so remarkable is that our Government has ultimately emerged with better leadership and a clearer sense of purpose.Rightly, the Tory Party has taken a lot of criticism over the chaos of Liz Truss’s brief premiership, yet when it became clear that she was not up to the job Tory MPs acted with decisive speed to eject her. ‘We are back to our ruthless best,’ said one.Her replacement by Rishi Sunak, a far more capable leader, was a clinical operation executed with impressive efficiency. Few other democracies in the western world could have achieved such a major change with so little commotion, which highlights the flexibility of our Parliamentary system.Alongside his reassuring Chancellor Jeremy Hunt, Sunak has already had a dramatic impact in soothing the markets, rebuilding economic credibility, strengthening the pound, lowering the costs of borrowing and bringing calm to Westminster. ‘Reports of Britain’s impending demise are badly misplaced’ (Image: PA)The new Prime Minister and Chancellor still have a daunting task ahead as they prepare for their Autumn Statement in November against the backdrop of high inflation, straitened public finances and sluggish growth.But again, the scale of the challenge should not be exaggerated.There is a worrying lack of balance in the coverage of our economic position, with the emphasis so often placed on despair and decline.Many politicians, pressure groups and commentators, driven by own agendas, like to paint Britain today as a land irredeemably scarred by destitution. Certainly there is real hardship and insecurity in our society, especially because of soaring energy bills. Yet more optimistic news should also be recognised.Levels of employment are the highest for 50 years, with vacancies standing at over 1.2 million. The tight labour market has helped to push up wages, particularly in lower-income jobs.Only last week, the Office of National Statistics reported that the proportion of UK workers on low pay is now smaller than at any time since records began, thanks partly to big hikes in the minimum wage.Nor should concern about the black hole in the state’s finances be overblown. Britain’s debt-to-GDP ratio is lower than in all other G7 nations except Germany.The Government may also be helped by the fall in wholesale gas prices, down by two-thirds since August, which will reduce the cost of the vast rescue package for household energy bills.At the same time, interest rates and inflation may already be at their peak. Consumer confidence is much more robust than the doom-mongers suggest.Sales of new cars reached 226,269 in September, an increase of 4.6 per cent on the same period in 2021, while foreign holidays are back to 70 per cent of their level in 2019, itself a record year for travel before Covid struck.Retail sales have taken a bit of a hit because of inflation, but are still 12 per cent higher in value terms than in February 2020. A collapse in house prices has yet to materialize, while the hospitality trade continues to flourish.One restaurant worker said at the weekend that ‘we’ve been absolutely rammed with the kids off school for half-term’, making up to ‘500 meals a day’.Reports of Britain’s impending demise are badly misplaced. With a new team at the helm and the British people defiant, we are riding out the storm.