Sunak attacking the Equality Act will only alienate Blue Wall voters. Here's why…

Rishi Sunak's approach to the Equality Act will only worsen his chances of becoming the Conservative Party's next leader, writes Calum Paton.

Rishi Sunak calling the Equality Act a 'trojan horse' of 'woke nonsense' and attacking 'lefty lawyers' at the ECHR is not just bad policy for the country, it's bad politics for him. If Conservative Party members want imported Trump-esque culture war rhetoric from their leader, they will either vote for Liz Truss or write in Kemi Badenoch.

The City-boy banker-turned-politician does not have the capacity to make that argument convincingly to those party members. Instead, he alienates the potential voter base his own campaign team says are so vital to his victory.

If Rishi Sunak wants to win the leadership, and a general election, he ought not just to defend the Equality Act, but support it. The 2010 legislation consolidated previous law on equal rights and expanded it, making it much harder for employers to discriminate on the basis of race, sex, gender, sexuality, age, disability, and religion or belief. Whether Sunak considers it "woke nonsense" or not, the Equality Act is vital legislation for protection against discrimination in the United Kingdom.

Not only that, it's popular politics. A 2018 study found that 74 per cent of people in the UK believe in equality between all groups. Shouting inwardly to appeal to a narrow echo chamber within the Conservative Party membership will only isolate Sunak in a general election and make him the third short-lived prime minister in a row.

In a race against Liz Truss – seen as the ideological heir to Boris Johnson – Rishi Sunak's path to Number 10 was clear: break with Boris Johnson and align with David Cameron's more progressive approach to social issues. Sunak's Cabinet resignation, which he still insists was grounded on policy, created the space for him to mark an ideological shift from a floundering nasty party, building his base around his polling advantage with the public at large, and setting his stall as the election winner. For a party membership yearning for change and an elusive fifth straight general election victory, this approach would diverge from Truss, and provide Sunak the political space to win votes.

The ex-Chancellor could represent a modernising figure – leaning into his image as the boss of a Silicon Valley start-up – and present a new face of the party to create a different challenge to Keir Starmer. In the 2005 leadership contest, David Cameron was an outsider against party beast David Davis. He outflanked Davis to the left and aligned his party with the views of the public, promising to deliver a general election victory. He didn't just win the leadership, but delivered that general election victory.

Whilst Cameron was a late adopter of the cause of equality, he soon became a supporter. A cynical analysis of David Cameron's arc on the cause of equality – from flirting with the Equality Act's repeal to staking his reputation on equal marriage within just three years – credits the decision to his electoral ruthlessness. The cause of equality unshackled his government from the Liberal Democrats and swept Nick Clegg's party away across the south of England, building what has been dubbed the Blue Wall. Adopting the cause of equality was not just the right thing to do, it was good politics. It softened public perception of the party and made them more palatable at the ballot box.

Conservative Party members want a vote winner – their Thatcher or their Johnson. Liz Truss' public sector pay gaffe shows that the soil is fertile for Sunak to be that leader, but he can only succeed by sticking to progressive values, not glibly tacking to Johnson's culture wars. His victory will depend on his ability to lead his party into positions which are popular with the public. By pairing this with his already solid reputation for fiscal prudence, Sunak could prove that he is the figure who can take them to that historic quintuple victory.

Rishi Sunak's path to power is not just in defending the Equality Act, it is by being a champion of equality. A new, modern face of the party that can win the voters that are fleeing towards the Liberal Democrats. Convince the public that he is the one to lead the country through its coming challenges, and his party will follow. The Equality Act is not just good policy, it's good politics.