I like ITV's Paul Brand. If I saw him on the street, I'd stop to say 'hello'. But if I were prime minister in the middle of a general election campaign not going terribly well, with a growing populist threat to my right and attending the 80th anniversary of D-Day alongside world leaders and centenarian veterans – I would not leave early to do a tetchy pre-record interview with him.
This morning, Rishi Sunak apologised for his own mini Dunkirk, telling Sky News' Sam Coates that the itinerary for the events had been set before the general election was called. Hang on, is the prime minister saying that he always planned to leave Normandy early, with or without a campaign to fight? What kind of explanation is that?
The conventional wisdom when it comes to Rishi Sunak is that having assumed the leadership of a Conservative Party morally tarnished by 'Partygate' and financially disembowelled following the 'mini-Budget', there was nothing he could do. That the die was cast. And while this has some truth, it isn't the whole story. Because Sunak has made things even worse.
Rather than attempt a reset in which he immediately and forcefully repudiated Truss and her catastrophic premiership, Sunak opted for a quiet life. Instead of leaning into a technocratic persona, he doubled down on culture wars. Friends, this is a man who thought that cancelling the HS2 leg to Manchester – in Manchester – was smart politics. Who wanted to ban the sale of cigarettes forever but then let the snap general election he called prevent it from happening.
The Conservatives are set to lose this election because 14 years into office, they have overseen falling living standards and stagnant growth. But Sunak has more immediate problems than that. He needs to get through the day. Because he seems to have forgotten that half of politics and possibly more of campaigns is about keeping spirits up.
Recall that while William Hague's punchy and frequently witty performances at Prime Minister's Questions failed to convince Britons to election a Tory government in 2001, my goodness did they boost backbench morale at a time when the party had little to cheer about.
Incredibly, things may be about to get worse at tonight's election debate. Recent history tells us that under-pressure Conservative leaders scratching around for friends ought not to feel tremendously reassured by the prospect of Penny Mordaunt – running for the top job on and off for close to a decade – standing in for them. The leader of the house's performance on behalf of Truss back in the autumn of 2022 was not necessarily a case of a cabinet minister laying down her life for the boss.
Sunak doesn't want to us to "politicise" his error. ‘But it is a question of basic competence, of expecting a prime minister to be able to see not necessarily around corners but a few yards ahead on a clear summer's day. Some will think it disrespectful to fallen heroes. Others will sense an electoral opportunity. But the first reaction of many will be sheer bemusement. He left D-Day commemorations early? Why even be prime minister?
