Rishi Sunak’s campaign ‘not disastrous’ as Conservatives catch Farage’s Reform off guard

“They've gone from a position where they were being completely ignored…To a position where at least people are talking about what they're saying.”
Rishi Sunak's campaign has not got off to a “disastrous start” despite narratives to the contrary, say Daniel Finkelstein and Peter Mandelson. They join Polly Mackenzie and Matt Chorley to assess how the parties are getting on with selecting candidates nearly a week after the snap election was called.
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[@russodoni5331]

Nothing suggests that your campaign is a complete disaster quite as much as having to actively deny that your campaign is a complete disaster.

[@chrisd924]

The Conservative's record in office... 1. Highest energy bills in Europe. 2. Highest taxes in 70 years. 3. Highest interest rates since 2008. 4. Highest train fares in Europe. 5. Longest waiting lists in NHS history. 6. Raw Tory sewage pumped into rivers. 7. Lowest corporate taxes in 50 years. 8. Lowest State Pension in Europe. 9. Highest Immigration both legal and illegal ever. 10. Destroyed the NHS dentist service. 11. Brexit. 12. One failed Prime Minister after another. 13. Worlds shortest in post Prime Minister which created a financial disaster. 14. More corrupt MP's than any other party in parliament. 15. Europe's longest Austerity for the lower paid. 16. Highest Council Tax rates in the World. 17. Reduced our Armed Forces more than any other G8 country. 18. Highest number of MP's that have been arrested for sexual offences. 19. Highest number of MP's that have been sacked for corruption and Fraudulent acts. 20. Voted to allow Bankers to have unlimited bonus's even though the bankers caused the crash of 2008. 21. More libraries closed due to council cuts than any other modern country. 22. Ruined and destroyed the Train services by giving private companies tax payers money as subsidies. 23. Voted against Labours creation of the minimum wage. 24. Wasted billions of Tax payers money on crony PPE contracts for their friends and other Tory donors. 25. Sold off 600 Police Stations. 26. Sold off our Courthouses. 27. Closed then sold our Fire Stations. 28, Failed to fix - repair our schools. 29. Cut spending on youth services. 30. Court backlog is at record levels 31. Threw 30,000 pensioners to the wolves during the first wave of the pandemic. 32. Sold off our electrical grid to foreign companies. 33. Failed to build new affordable homes. 34. Wasted billions on HS2. 35. Failed to close Tax Loopholes. 36. Failed to build 40 new hospitals. 37. Failed to repair our crumbling roads. 38. Forced many councils into bankruptcy. 39. Failed to address the 4 million children living in poverty. 40. Cut spending on mental health services. 41. Privatised and sold off the nations Post Office - Gas - Water and Electricity Companies 42. Allowed BP and Shell to steal our Oil and Gas reserves whilst paying little to no taxes. (Norway has a Sovereign Wealth fund of over $1.6 trillion). 43. Sunaks failed RWANDA policy has cost approx 500m. 44. Increased the pension age. 45. Failed promise to end rough sleeping. 46. Failed promise to end Leaseholds. 47. Failed to Ban No Fault Evictions. 48. Failed to ban so-called conversion therapy. 49. Failed in their Levelling up promise. 50. Introduced Voter ID excluding thousands from voting. Our country deserves better than these criminals in No10... Feel free to add to this list...

[@williamthompson4389]

To name but just a few. Why should England tremble?

[@countfosco8535]

51. Abandoned experts' advice to plan for a predicted pandemic resulting in thousands of additional deaths.

[@haybrain]

That’s a long list, many of the things they now promise are on this list. 😂

[@liamhumphreys6695]

Yeah but other than that?😂

[@JelMain]

@@williamthompson4389 The options available. Tories hated, Labour leaderless, Reform leadership a boy's club.

[@BenRobinson1974]

Disastrous just seems a bit... mild... to describe that absolutely laughable shambles of a campaign by the tories.

[@chrispalmer7893]

Danny’s being disingenuous about the Titanic thing. Of course it wouldn’t be reported the same if Starmer went there. Starmer’s not 20 points behind in the polls. Beyond the fluff, there are substantive reasons to be concerned that the PM has such inept advisors that they couldn’t anticipate the way that visit would play out. It’s symptomatic of the incompetence that put them 20 points behind I the first place.

[@pastyman001]

Maybe Starmer would not be so foolish to go to a photo op of the Titannic in an election campaign

[@chrispalmer7893]

@@pastyman001 Probably not, but he could get away with it not because of media bias in his favour but simply because the "sinking ship" metaphor doesn't apply to where he is right now. I imagine he'll steer clear of such places if he's fighting elections for a second or third term.

[@russodoni5331]

Polly literally mentioned not allowing a candidate to be photographed next to an exit sign last week, about 24 hours before Sunak did exactly that. There's just basic PR things that have been taught for 50 years which Sunak's team appear completely clueless about. The campaign IS disastrous and the party is literally fracturing at the seams six days in, with ministers sulking in Greece and ex-candidates endorsing Reform. Sunak is hopeless and out of control, making up policies on the fly and announcing them to the public before mentioning them to his MPs or his cabinet. It's a complete shitshow; this will be taught in politics degrees as examples of what not to do.

[@chrispalmer7893]

@@russodoni5331 Previous "worst campaigns ever" such as May in 2017, Foot in 1983 and Guiliani's run for President in 2008 seem slick and well-managed by comparison

[@pizzamad3334]

Voted Brexit? Vote reform. Finish what we started.

[@steveharrison4176]

How has Finklestein got this gig ? he is like a poor uni debater

[@metalthrashingmatt]

He's a failed Tory candidate.. the times are a pro Tory paper.

[@peterbalchin9077]

I like DF. Very easy going with a bit of laconity.

[@patmackenney9786]

Not hapless, no just hopeless.

[@RDHamel]

I was so confounded by the intellectually juvenile quality of the public facing Brexit campaign I went back and read gove’s gun starting article. He wanted to buy olive oil in pints or something. He was fundamentally a tabloid journalist. He had the gravitas of a plastic duck.

[@rossmurray6849]

The title screenshot for this video suggests: Tories 'not hapless.' In a sense that is correct. Hapless means someone is subject to misfortunes *beyond their control*. And the Tories' misfortunes are not that; they are almost entirely self-inflicted.

[@snowyowel7961]

The pandemic was unprecedented. That was followed by Afghanistan evacuation climate change war in Ukraine no fault of the tories.

[@rossmurray6849]

@@snowyowel7961 Unforeseeable events do not cause governments to become incompetent, corrupt, and dishonest.

[@snowyowel7961]

@@rossmurray6849 And what prove do you have of your accusations. You can't plan unforseen events unprecedented pandemic was the worst crisis since WW2. Seriously you are desperate.

[@tisI-yz4hu]

​@@snowyowel7961how about the billions lost in ppe, the further billion on the "covid app", the blatant and proven lies of Boris Johnson, the fact that todays tory party are all brexiteers pretending the pandemic and Ukraine are skewing the figures that come from cutting off trade to our largest market, the failure to get a trade deal with America (which was never on the table when they claimed it was)

[@ColinBarrett001]

@@snowyowel7961 How much bloody proof do you need? Isn't the last fourteen years of criminality and incompetent catastrophe enough? If you want to vote for these fraudsters then go ahead. Just don't try to inflict your insane delusions on other people.

[@chrispalmer7893]

On Gove, it’s a damning indictment that he’s considered something aspirational in terms of quality of ministers. Was genuinely amazed to hear people praise his willingness to listen to people who don’t agree with him - that never extended to people actually working in the fields affected by his changes. When he was at Education he positively revelled in the anger directed at him by the teaching profession and the whole system is still suffering the consequences over a decade later. And if he’s considered intellectual I genuinely fear for our political classes. His thinking is blinded by ideology and almost completely impervious to evidence.

[@alst4817]

Yes. But I never heard a single positive thing about Gove in the media all the time he was a minister. When he resigned I had a look at what he did and found that the vast majority of his colleagues in each of his posts thought he was very intelligent, diligent, and always on top of his brief. So he was a very effective minister. So what we are talking about is his policy views, which is fine, but not unexpected that people would disagree on policy, no?

[@jacob2808]

In his defence during this government he was the only person actually trying to do something useful

[@chrispalmer7893]

@@jacob2808 Wrote a longer reply but it got truncated. My response would be "useful to whom?" And to the suggestion he was an "effective minister", the only thing worse than an ineffective minister is an "effective" one whose changes are ill-considered, ill-informed and destructive. Yes, he got a lot done, but when what he got done was bad that's a mark against him. And the specific claim that he "listened to people who disagree with him" is a gross cariacature. If it means he has lunch with Peter and was friendly with some Lib Dems, maybe - but who cares? He made a point of not listening to any of the people directly affected by his policies, indeed he considered it to be a virtue when those people disagreed with him. I know a lot of people in education who encountered him personally during his time there, many of whom are conservatives in every sense of the word, and not one of them would endorse any of kinds words spoken in his defence. Indeed, one of the most rabidly Tory people I've ever met, a party loyalist to their dying breath, said he wished he could video their meetings because if people got to see Gove in action he'd be drummed out of public life forever.

[@jacob2808]

@chrispalmer7893 useful to anyone in leasehold flat. It was a very important issue to solve and he seemingly was the only one doing anything about it. In the end his proposal got massively watered down because Sunak and co didnt get behind him

[@chrispalmer7893]

@@jacob2808 So... not a very effective minister then?

[@martinmcgurk5150]

Get the SQUATTING SUNAK out of Downing Street 😂😂😂😂

[@malcolmmitchell6529]

All he is.

[@allmodcons2274]

How to win an election, don't be a tory monster.

[@poneill65]

Calling an election when your own HQ has 200 candidates to select (within two weeks!) is peak insanity! There MUST have been an urgent, motivating event for Sunak. The only thing that makes any sense is no confidence letters about to oust him

[@PrinceOfCats5]

Tories are going to start appealing to the young section of their electorate by removing VAT on Saga holidays

[@pms9838]

Loving every second of this circus

[@jeffreyjoshuarollin9554]

Steve Baker appears to be taken aback by the idea that no less than the very leader of the Conservative Party is a liar. Quite bizarre.

[@neverdiminished]

Way too much love for Gove here

[@BSJinx]

Contra your headline, the Tories are completely hapless. Utterly devoid of hap. Not a trace of hap to be found. Hap does not exist here.

[@anonUK]

Aim for an A*, get a B. Aim for a C, get a D at best. The Tories may no longer be in line for a U, as they were under Truss, but they're certainly not aiming for anything better than an E.

[@BSJinx]

I only know this scale from Harry Potter, but the Tories are definitely getting a T for Troll.

[@jsd8981]

Im glad they didden't give sunak an umbrella, he might burst into somg and danced down the street...

[@pupil8]

Sunakered 😂

[@rwo5402]

Rishied... somehow rolls better of the tongue

[@annishilcock4587]

At least people are talking about they're saying....I think that may be the problem!

[@michaelspencer6318]

In MR Murdochs dreams they have .

[@leonbell5141]

Nah he’s given up on the Tories

[@stephenhill545]

He's losing by 27%. So funny.

[@martinmcgurk5150]

Rotten Tories out😂😂😂😂

[@mrpocock]

It is hapless to facilitate and then not control those narratives.

[@ianwoodall4523]

1.Stablise the economy 2.Produce our own engery 3. Police the boarders 4. Resource the police 5. Fix the NHS 6. Put more teachers in classrooms. Clear enough Tory boy?

[@debbiegale9076]

Red wall seats largely voted Tory because of levelling up promise. Those who switched from Labour to Tory won't in large numbers support Reform, polling shows that.

[@SuzanneJones-qy3zh]

Tories on the way out cant think of a nything better

[@owencarlstrand1945]

Surely the acid test is that the client right wing press say it’s a disaster……..or, to quote Baldrick….”is it a cunning plan?” Which presumably is working😉

[@Absolumdan]

Not disastrous apparently!

[@TheLucanicLord]

What's the difference between a list of hints and tips for playing Rugby in the middle of the front row and Danny Finkelstein?

[@andrewwrench1959]

The importance of this campaign is overstated IMO. Many voters have decided they will not vote for the government, and that has built up over years and there is nothing the Conservatives can do because they cannot turn back time. The application of the decision will range from abstention to a deeply researched tactical vote. A (much) smaller number will equally have decided they will vote for the incumbent administration. Then there are the party loyalist who vote by identity who weren't changing anyway. The undecides are distributed around the country and they only matter in constituencies where they actually make a difference once the other two groups are summed up. Given that arithmetic the campaign if perhaps going to make a difference to about 40 seats?

[@drandrewallan]

Rishi’s campaign is a disaster!

[@williamthompson4389]

So why should England tremble!

[@snowyowel7961]

Do you think we would be better off with khan starmer seriously.

[@pizzamad3334]

Voted Brexit? Vote reform. Finish what we started.

[@chrispalmer7893]

@@snowyowel7961 Yes, I think we'd be much better off with Starmer. I think we'd be better off with almost anyone, to be fair, but Starmer should manage a basic degree of competence which by contrast to the last fourteen years will make him look like Gladstone.

[@snowyowel7961]

@@chrispalmer7893 I can't believe anyone would think we would be better off with the undemocratic hypocrite starmer He is a weak appeaser seriously keep khan starmer OUT.

[@countfosco8535]

After Brexit the only way is up.

[@marvellis6762]

Amateurs deliver amateur results. That's Rishi Squatter

[@ianwoodall4523]

And I note that Lib Dem Polly still prefers the Tories. They dont change.

[@jsd8981]

Not hapless you wanna bet !!!..

[@nigelthomas5843]

Every day another disaster for Sunak. Its been 14 yrs for the rest of us of Though😢

[@ajsctech8249]

The intro music to this Show is horrendous

[@poneill65]

If the Tories want to build this public service system,.. then start with the people who have taken the most, the over 60's, over 50's over 40's. Almost none of them have served, they've enjoyed the benefits of citizenship far longer than any 18 year old, they have the skills, and in many cases they have the time (being in less important management roles or retired). Unless the Tories are saying the youth of today are uniquely feckless, then all these older generations owe more and owe it first. Hey, maybe some of them can serve from fast catamarans

[@debbywilliams9172]

Your joking rishi bloody donak is a joke send him home

[@snowyowel7961]

You want be laughing if khan starmer gets into number ten seriously keep labour OUT.

[@tisI-yz4hu]

​@@snowyowel7961 because the last 14 years have been amazing right?

[@debbywilliams9172]

@@snowyowel7961 your having a laugh

[@ikr2377]

Rishi is in live with himself

[@malcolmmitchell6529]

Is it not????????????

[@trishtraynor]

Has Douglas Ross given up his seat in Westminster ?? We are paying him 2 salaries because he sits in both Westminster and Holyrood. He didn't win his seat in Edinburgh he got in because he was nominated by the Tories in the system of proportional representation. He stated he wouldn't stand again for Westminster after people realised he was allow by Boris to claim both seats. What a waste of public money. He also has another lucrative job as a football referee/ linesman famously missing important votes because he was going abroad.

[@andydarbyshir8699]

The problem with The conservative they put themselves first not the country vote for one leader get 3 leaders I wouldn’t call that Democratic

[@snowyowel7961]

We had just come through a world crisis. A vote for khan starmer would be out of the pan into the fire.

[@anyvoicespeaks]

Hahahaha, Hahahaha, Not hapless...hahahahah, pathetic conservative tripe still trying to pat itself on the back!!

[@steverichmond7142]

Soggy Sunak is a crook, and has been for years.

[@allip4226]

Delusional cope from the Times Tory propaganda machine. 😂

[@scottwalkerjnr]

Hard-right Tory client propagandist and Lord? Yeah, that's a really neutral source. #ToryClientMedia

[@TimesFM4532]

if that's not a disaster what would be

[@sol2746]

Hopeless.

[@timsimmons5953]

Handing the nation to a load scruffy unkempt Brexit pensioners is not a good idea. Just for the record I will be a pensioner in a years time.

[@snowyowel7961]

Better than handing them to the Muslim labour party.

[@countfosco8535]

@@snowyowel7961 So you are happy with poor Brexit pensioners? You are happy with pensioners who are poor as a result of Brexit?

[@snowyowel7961]

@@countfosco8535 I do have parents and grandparents who voted for brexit in fact more pensioner voted for brexit than remain.

[@countfosco8535]

@@snowyowel7961 For me as a pensioner Brexit has condemned me to a poorer old age.

[@snowyowel7961]

@@countfosco8535 How .

[@harryfoster6374]

It was not raining when he went out, What is the point he made his speech, I think the people looking out of the window one could have had the decency to bring out a brolly.

[@xanthias2001]

It was a visual metaphor. Tories don’t believe forecasts apply to them: • Financial forecasts • Electoral forecasts • Weather forecasts

[@AvocadoAfficionado]

Tories are mainlining copium right now. Love to see it.

[@joshuachapman247]

Brilliant, thank you.

[@karenwright8025]

Question from Brooklyn, NY, USA: I find the slick, “corporate” manner that Paula Vennells (Horizon Scandal) answers questions at the inquiry deeply unsatisfactory and blatantly dishonest, yet both Sunak and Starmer “made for t.v.”-style of appealing to the electorate equally distasteful. How can we insure that the crises in leadership (as displayed in the Horizon, tainted blood, Windrush and Hillsborough scandals) will not be repeated if we continue to tolerate a lack of candor in our elected officials?

[@nickcharnley19]

might be slightly off topic, I voted remain, culturally, sociably, seemed like the right thing to do b. yes we have to respect the democratic principle and the eu might collapse. but wish we were still in i hear we are close to something with India, can we stop shooting ourselves in the foot a

[@jonathangammond3019]

Are Labour going to say anything interesting or inspiring or just list what they are not going to do in a boring monotone for the next six weeks?

[@peterbalchin9077]

If it is going to be a defeat.

[@rohanharridge5579]

Getting caught out pretending to be interested in football could be a gaffe if it wasn't just standard Tory operating procedure. Cameron mixed up his 'own team' Villa with West Ham because they play in a similar looking kits. May was duped into a photo op holding up a Belgian shirt on the eve of an England Belgium match. 'Boris' the Kremlin asset snubbed the Welsh when they did qualify by wishing only Scotland & England good luck before adding "erm, er otuer home nations". The lettuce was an outlier, not really there long enough with matches called off on one of her six week shambles but in fairness she at least seemed to know which team she supported. Then normal Tory service is resumed by Risky inadvertantly rubbing it in when Welsh haven't qualified.

[@countfosco8535]

Great analogies, but what about Bayer Leverkusen and especially Zultem?

[@georgesdelatour]

Think of Roosevelt. Posh, rich, but trusted enough by the American working class to be elected four times. He never pretended to be just like the common man, by feigning some interest in sport or movies or pop music which he didn’t have.

[@ajrjackson]

Nigel Farage for PM

[@grahamwood7395]

You mean the bloke whose ruled himself out of the election, heading for the dollar in the USA? Unbelievable....

[@michaelcalder8431]

If you mean Post Mortem, ok.

[@snowyowel7961]

I agree he's the only one who is telling us what is going on.

[@countfosco8535]

Do you think he'd last as long as Truss?

[@travelvey]

Who give a toss about the rain. The real issue is whether Labour can be any better. And clearly they can’t

[@Mike20216]

😂

[@gio-oz8gf]

You'll have to explain that because I don't see anything that makes it clear.

[@michaelspencer6318]

do point out their policies that are worse

[@JupiterThunder]

Vote Reform UK.

[@countfosco8535]

Can anyone be worse than Johnson or Truss?

[@l.d.1385]

Maybe you should ask about the kids of your traitor son.

[@highlander62-xf4uo]

😂😢😅😂😅😢