Yesterday could not have gone much worse for Rishi Sunak. After walking away from the rain and nearby blasting music which marred his July 4th general election announcement, and which shaped every Thursday newspaper front page, the prime minister immediately faced signs of just how much he had angered his own MPs.
Tim Shipman, one of Britain’s most well-respected (and well-connected) political insiders, described the response of Conservative MPs as “fatalistic about the result.” Indeed, dozens had already announced that they won’t stand again at this election, because they know they’d only lose anyway, and many more are likely to follow in their footsteps over the coming days. But Shipman said they also feel “fury” towards Sunak.
He explained that many thought they would be given five to six months’ notice for the election—time in which they could “get a job” and “plan their lives” after expected losses. Shipman added:
They think Sunak [whose family income makes him £41 million, or €48mn, better off than King Charles III] doesn’t care about them with his millions and his U.S. home. “Selfish” [is] a word I’ve heard a lot.
Christopher Hope, another respected politico, wrote online that some Tories are so “furious” they are “working on a plot to CALL OFF the general election by replacing Rishi Sunak as leader before Parliament is dissolved next Thursday.”
While such a plot is unlikely to materialise, the fact that Conservatives are even considering it is a sign of just how angered they are.
This is largely due to the fact there is a prevailing view—again, among Conservative MPs and even ministers—that Sunak has called the election now not because he thinks this is the best timing for his party but because “he’s given up.”
Right(ish)-wing media bigwig Andrew Neil said that Sunak’s announcement shows that the prime minister “has had enough and wants out.”
It was likely, then, that Sunak was looking forward to spending an hour or two off his phone yesterday evening to speak at his campaign launch event. But this, too, was spoiled by live television footage of a Sky News reporter being booted out of the venue and then followed outside by “a security heavy.” That hardly instils an image of Tory confidence in its election message. Indeed, this tragicomic, chaotic penultimate chapter of the Sunak premiership reinforces the perceptions of it as a rich kid on a particularly pointless gap year.
Today hasn’t gone much better for the likely soon-to-be-ousted PM, either. After effectively admitting that his flagship illegal migration plan was dead, Sunak was revealed to have taken a soft-ball question from a Conservative councillor who was “asked” to appear at an event dressed up as ‘an ordinary voter’ in a hi-viz vest. Sunak later enquired whether a separate group of Welsh voters was excited for “all the football,” only to be told that their country hasn’t qualified for the European Championship.
But these sorts of gaffes have come to be expected. It will be more and more important to scrutinise Labour’s plans for government. The next six weeks may be frustrating, but the years that will follow are likely to be far more painful.
