Rishi Sunak’s pushback against green policies risks alienating the public

Prime minister seems to be waging war against existing Conservative policies

Much of being prime minister is necessarily reactive, but as Rishi Sunak pushes back against everything from green policies to traffic schemes, it can sometimes feel as if he is not so much running a government as responding in real time to newspaper campaigns.

Prime ministers often run out of policy steam if kept in office long enough, gradually slipping into a comfort zone of keeping the friendly media onside and giving in to the niche concerns of their loudest MPs.