[Bones McCoy]

Sunak’s potential successor waiting in the wings that Labour fears the most is err?
Vaguely remember Labour concerns that voters might mistake Sunak for a competent and reasonable centrist whizz kid in the Blair mould. They don’t even have anyone who could put on a performance, Gove and Hunt are box office poison and the rest are halfwits, hacks and fruitcakes.

Are you implying that Inaction Man isn't the final boss?

I'm sure Jacob R-M (cosplaying Baron Samedi in full regalia) still fancies his chances.

[Tubby Isaacs]

This is quite amusing. If he thinks the media aren't sufficiently supportive of his premiership, he ought to give Gordon Brown a ring. Or indeed Emmanuel Macron.

[Youngian]

This is quite amusing. If he thinks the media aren't sufficiently supportive of his premiership, he ought to give Gordon Brown a ring. Or indeed Emmanuel Macron.

Little Rishi’s boots have been nipping him. This kind of petulance is reminiscent of Corbyn, not up to the job.

[mattomac]

That article is utterly brilliant, it includes some fantasy about how Tech Bro Sunak (and man who doesn’t know how to use contactless) will somehow outperform Starmer on an election campaign.

His only major campaigns of note he both lost, one was against Liz Truss, the other a pitiful local elections campaign. A man who works from 7.30am - 11.30pm and tells you, is usually doing very little work.

Included in all that is a nugget on how he can demonstrate his ability to outwit Starmer at PMQs, the guy in the last two has used Johnson insults (that were crap the first time) and mentioned Corbyn meanwhile whenever Starmer addresses him he stirs at the floor.

The only two bits which aren’t from the Conservative press office are Anthony Wells (well respected pollster) basically giving verdict on Sunak’s route to winning as zilch and a bit of polling that suggests 55% of voters could still vote for another party, Opinum (from where it came from) later added the caveat that the majority of those polled that currently say this are currently saying they will vote Conservative.

I do wonder who the Conservatives are speaking to, Labour are talking to Brown, Mandelson and Blair three people who know how tough it is to win power.

Has Sunak reached out to Major or Clarke or any of that team from 1992, has he spoke to Howard or Hague on how defeat feels. I think the reason we get all these articles about the “Real Rishi” is none of them know a true close up election loss. Their strategic guru won in 2019 but he was also in charge of Goldsmith’s utterly woeful campaign. There reliant on things that don’t exist.

[Andy McDandy]

If by outwitting Starmer at PMQs, they mean his comprehensive defence of the government record and merciless attack on Labour when answering question 6, that's an inbuilt advantage for the incumbent.

Occasionally Starmer has blindsided him by raising an issue that's either got cross-party consensus (such as Ukraine), or is the sort of fun or poignant thing only a cunt would turn into an attack.

[Tubby Isaacs]

Ha ha ha. How shit is this?

[Tubby Isaacs]

How shit is this, part 94?

I thought the enhancements they were doing between northern cities were NPR, according to them? I don't think they admitted that they'd scrapped anything. A dedicated high speed line between Liverpool and Leeds is going to be way more of a vanity project than HS2. All that urban demolition won't be cheap.

[Tubby Isaacs]

Lord Ashcroft has advice for Sunak. Release the "chokehold of the left", apparently. And create something called Sunakism which is really popular.

[davidjay]

Either they project the will of the people or they're in opposition. I wish they'd make up their minds.

[Youngian]

Lord Ashcroft has advice for Sunak. Release the "chokehold of the left", apparently. And create something called Sunakism which is really popular.

Would this vision be about cutting taxes by any chance?

[mattomac]

He has requested from all government departments long term policies that he can announce at conference in three weeks.

None of that suggests “long term”. I assume they were hoping to steal some of Labour’s.

[Andy McDandy]

The great thing about long term policies is that you don't have to put measurable targets on them.

[Tubby Isaacs]

Would this vision be about cutting taxes by any chance?

Haven't read it. But that's probably a good bet, as well as ending "woke" and "making the most of Brexit opportunities". And probably "taking the gloves off".

[Watchman]

Lord Ashcroft has advice for Sunak. Release the "chokehold of the left", apparently. And create something called Sunakism which is really popular.

Sunakism? What’s that then; marry a billionaire’s daughter with dodgy tax arrangements?

[Abernathy]

News to me - and nearly everybody, I'd guess - that Britain is in the chokehold of the left.

[Malcolm Armsteen]

News to me - and nearly everybody, I'd guess - that Britain is in the chokehold of the left.

I wish.

[Youngian]

This all sounds like the Benn Diaries through the looking glass. Ashcroft really means an innate small c conservatism of the civil service which ministers with back of a fag packet ideas find difficult to penetrate. Politicians with radical policies that are well thought out and workable don’t have such a hard battle on their hands.
Used to have time for Lord Ashcroft but cannot recall why. He’s been freebasing too much Brexit powder and now just a rambling junkie.

[Bones McCoy]

Would this vision be about cutting taxes by any chance?

Haven't read it. But that's probably a good bet, as well as ending "woke" and "making the most of Brexit opportunities". And probably "taking the gloves off".

Gloves, aren't they "rolling up their sleeves" any more.

[Bones McCoy]

News to me - and nearly everybody, I'd guess - that Britain is in the chokehold of the left.

It's all relative, depends where the viewer is standing.

[Tubby Isaacs]

- How are the polls? I bet Labour have collapsed now that I've exposed some made up number about Labour asylum policy.

- Um, I think the electorate have more, er, concrete concerns at the moment, Prime Minister.

(Not to say that Sunak's lying won't swing polls in his direction, of course).