Rishi Sunak’s very first move as Prime Minister was to baffle. Why had this sensible technocrat appointed a loon like Suella Braverman? Many baffling moments followed — Rwanda, the war on woke, tax cuts that ran in the face of everything he had stood for as chancellor. So a snap decision to call a summer election — hauling Lord Cameron back from Albania, catching most of his party on the hop, getting caught in the rain — fits the pattern. It has baffled us all.
Why call an election now? It seems an odd moment. Polls show the Tories some 20 points behind Labour and a terrible recent performance in local elections lends credibility to the findings. After all, something might turn up. It’s unlikely, but isn’t it worth waiting for, just in case?
