Close Menu
WTX News
    Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
    Trending
    • I’m A Celeb 2025 line-up: The latest rumours so far
    • First people charged with supporting Palestine Action due in court today
    • Patricia Crowley, star of Port Charles and Dynasty, has died aged 91
    • Trump sues New York Times
    • Cricketkind has received one of its greatest threats
    Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram YouTube
    WTX News
    • Live News
      • US News
      • EU News
      • UK News
      • Politics
      • COVID-19
      • Business
      • Tech zone
    • World news
      • Middle East News
        • UAE News
        • Palestine News
      • Europe
        • Italian News
        • Spanish News
      • Africa news
      • South America
      • North America
      • Asia
    • News Briefings
      • UK News Briefing
      • World News Briefing
      • Live Business News
    • Sports
      • Football News
      • Tennis
      • Women’s Football
    • MY World
      • Climate Change
      • In Review
      • Expose
      • Special Reports
        • Conscience Convoy
        • Rohingya Report
    • Entertainment
      • Insta Talk
      • Royal Family
      • Gaming News
      • TV Shows
      • Streaming
    • Lifestyle
      • Fitness
      • Fashion
      • Cooking recipes
      • Luxury
      • Money Saving Expert
    • Travel
      • Culture
      • Holidays
    • Sign Up
      • Log In
    WTX News
    • Live News
    • World news
    • News Briefings
    • Sports
    • MY World
    • Entertainment
    • Lifestyle
    • Travel
    • Sign Up
    Home - News Briefing - Is Sunak’s election campaign the worst in history?
    News Briefing Updated:May 26, 2024

    Is Sunak’s election campaign the worst in history?

    By David Pike4 Mins Read
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Telegram WhatsApp
    Is Sunak’s election campaign the worst in history?

    Is Sunak’s election campaign the worst in history?

    He is soaked in Downing Street on his launch, drowned out by triumphant Blair’s anthem, his MPs are fleeing the battlefield and he visits a Titanic museum. When you think things cannot get worse for Rishi Sunak, they do. Is this the worst start to an election campaign in history?

    Those with a distant memory can recall Michael Foot’s 1983 election campaign for Labour with the manifesto described by the late Gerald Kaufman as “the longest suicide note in history”. But what went down in folklore as the worst-ever election campaign – one which nearly saw the destruction of Labour – may have found its match in catastrophic miscalculations and farce.

    Michael Gove doing his best impression of a rat abandoning the sinking ship yesterday told a story in itself

    There are a number of people apparently giving Mr Sunak advice – but whoever was responsible for getting the prime minister to visit Belfast’s Titanic Quarter should be sacked already. If the image of an unsinkable ship holed by an iceberg and sinking inexorably to the bottom of a deep blue ocean is not a metaphor for what is happening to the Tories before our eyes, then nothing is.

    Of course, the Titanic infamously did not have enough lifeboats for the passengers to escape. This may explain why so many Conservative MPs have declined to board Mr Sunak’s election campaign ship and decided not to run again. The fact that as of last night 78 of them have decided to quit is a shocking indictment of the party.

    Michael Gove doing his best impression of a rat abandoning the sinking ship yesterday told a story in itself. It takes a special kind of contempt for a leader to abandon him without warning when he is fighting for his political life and that of the party.

    In the three days since the election was called, 10 Tory MPs have given up and said they will not run. The fight has ebbed out of the party if it was ever there at all.

    Previous election campaigns have had their hiccups. Both Labour and the Conservative manifesto launches in 2017 tried to outdo one another in calamity. Gordon Brown’s sullen performances in the TV debates in 2010 were a low point. John Prescott actually hitting a voter in 2001 was extraordinary. Neil Kinnock’s appalling Sheffield rally proved terminal in 1992.

    But it is hard to think of a single election campaign where almost every move has been so misjudged.

    But it is hard to think of a single election campaign where almost every move has been so misjudged.

    The prime minister’s chief advisers are consultant strategist Isaac Levido (a man who has quietly been recruiting Labour people to his Fleetwood company); chief of staff Liam Booth-Smith (a protege of Dominic Cummings); deputy chief of staff Will Tanner (currently busy trying to be selected for Stratford-upon-Avon); political secretary and best pal James Forsyth; head of strategy Jamie Njoku-Goodwin; party chairman Richard Holden (trying to find a seat as his own is being abolished); and director of communications Nerissa Chesterfield.

    You would have thought that one of these people would have had the gumption to tell Mr Sunak that standing in the rain alone outside Downing Street in the pouring rain would not provide the best of starts. Or perhaps mentioned that football banter about the Euros was not the best idea in Wales where the team failed to qualify. Or even seen the issue with the Titanic museum. Or realised planting a Tory councillor in a high-vis jacket might get found out.

    Today’s news summary - Paper Talk: Tough 48 hours ahead for Rishi Sunak

    This is before we get to the fact that apparently nobody had warned party headquarters (CCHQ) that there might be an election, meaning that they still had to find almost 200 candidates in the next few days. It says a lot that the party chairman (Richard Holden MP) is supposed to coordinate the campaign but still does not have a seat.

    The problem is that at an average poll gap of 21 points behind Labour, there was no room for error for the Tories or Mr Sunak. Instead, we have witnessed a series of gaffes and desperately poor strategy. Not surprisingly the Techne weekly tracker suggests that that gap has grown even more since the election was called.

    There are five-and-a-half weeks more of this to go. Some Tory MPs are bravely standing and fighting. For them, and for the good of his party, Mr Sunak and his top team need to turn things around quickly. If not the apocalyptic predictions of fewer than the 156 Tory MPs returned in 1906 (the worst in the party’s 346-year history) may actually come true.

    https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/rishi-sunak-general-election-campaign-b2551413.html

    Downing Street Editor's Picks featured London Rishi Sunak The Independent UK featured UK News briefing UK politics
    Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email Telegram WhatsApp
    Previous ArticleSunak promises to bring back national service for 18-year-olds
    Next Article Mapped: List of all the MPs standing down at next election as Michael Gove and John Redwood join the exodus
    David Pike

    David Pike is an experienced news journalist with over 20 years experience as a UK News editor for WTX News and other news publications.

    Related Posts

    First people charged with supporting Palestine Action due in court today
    London

    First people charged with supporting Palestine Action due in court today

    Trump sues New York Times
    UK News

    Trump sues New York Times

    Teenager arrested after boy, 15, stabbed to death in Manchester
    Manchester news

    Teenager arrested after boy, 15, stabbed to death in Manchester

    JD Vance hosts Charlie Kirk Show in tribute to influencer and claims ‘left-wing extremism’ a factor in assassination
    UK News

    JD Vance hosts Charlie Kirk Show in tribute to influencer and claims ‘left-wing extremism’ a factor in assassination

    Leave A Reply Cancel Reply

    You must be logged in to post a comment.

    Advertisment
    News Headlines
    First people charged with supporting Palestine Action due in court today

    First people charged with supporting Palestine Action due in court today

    Trump sues New York Times

    Trump sues New York Times

    Save 70% on VIP subscription
    News Briefings - the way to a better life
    News Briefings - the way to a better life
    Advert by Sponsors
    More from WTX News
    The latest gaming news - with game reviews and tips and tricks. updated 24 hours a day.
    The latest gaming news
    Hot off the press!
    • I’m A Celeb 2025 line-up: The latest rumours so far September 16, 2025
    • First people charged with supporting Palestine Action due in court today September 16, 2025
    • Patricia Crowley, star of Port Charles and Dynasty, has died aged 91 September 16, 2025
    • Trump sues New York Times September 16, 2025
    • Cricketkind has received one of its greatest threats September 16, 2025
    WTX News latest breaking news sports and travel
    Latest News and analysis - Deciphering through the BS with exclusive News Briefings
    Facebook X (Twitter) TikTok Instagram

    News

    • World News
    • UK News
    • US News
    • EU News
    • Business
    • Opinions
    • News Briefing
    • Live News

    Company

    • About WTX News
    • Register
    • Advertising
    • Work with us
    • Contact
    • Community
    • GDPR Policy
    • Privacy

    Services

    • Fitness for free
    • Insta Talk
    • How to guides
    • Climate Change
    • In Review
    • Expose
    • NEWS SUMMARY
    • Money Saving Expert

    News delivered to your inbox

    Copyright WTX News 2025

    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.