Sunak is in a race against time to show what he stands for

The PM needs to throw off Starmer’s ‘inaction man’ jibe, writes Andrew Grice. He has a herculean task to win voters round, but must start by explaining why they should give him another five years

The conference’s slogan will be ‘long-term decisions for a brighter future’ (Justin Tallis/PA)

Rishi has been prime minister for almost a year, but we still don’t know what he stands for,” said one senior Conservative MP who backed Rishi Sunak for the party leadership. “He cannot wait a moment longer to set out what ‘Sunakism’ is and what another five years of it would mean.”

That even Sunak’s supporters are getting impatient is a worrying sign as he prepares for his first Tory conference as party leader, starting on Sunday.

What’s interesting is that the prime minister’s inner circle does not dispute this diagnosis; they want the conference to provide booster rockets to the relaunch he began 10 days ago by ditching some net zero measures.