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Regional secretary with the National Education Union
A divided Tory Party remains united in deepening austerity
Gavin Williamson was forced out, in part, by external pressure — a small sign that we can, and must, bring our weight to bear on this shaky administration, writes DIANE ABBOTT MP

THE departure of Gavin Williamson as a minister, the first of the Rishi Sunak premiership, tells us something important about this government and its divisions.

We should be clear that the entire Tory Party is united in support of the plan to impose yet more austerity on ordinary people. But the growing resistance to those plans means the Tory monolith can crack — sometimes in the most unexpected places — and we should take advantage of that.

Despite the parliamentary niceties, and Sunak’s clear concern about letting him go, it is clear Williamson was sacked. This is his third sacking as minister; the fact that such a widely disliked and discredited figure was ever recalled to government demonstrates how brittle this Tory Party is.

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