Now we know Farage and Reform’s so-called policies. The worst thing Sunak can do is copy them

Nigel Farage speaks to journalists after launching Reform’s manifesto in Merthyr Tydfil, south Wales, on 17 June 2024. Photograph: Justin Tallis/AFP/Getty Images

Smash him. Go for the jugular. Take the gloves off and hit him with the big one. We have nothing to lose. A sure sign of political panic is when the kids in the backroom take control of tactics and use the language of the big fight.

But who is it that Rishi Sunak is reportedly being advised to smash? The gossip from anonymous “advisers” is that he should get nasty with Keir Starmer. They have been impressed by how unsettled Starmer was by an interviewer reminding him of his support for his predecessor as Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn, in 2019. And Sunak is also now threatened by the ghostly voice of Brexit, Nigel Farage, reincarnated as the leader of Reform.