Sunak marched from his car outside Nottingham Trent University looking tense and grim – a contrast with Starmer,who strolled in beaming, pausing for a chat with some BBC top brass. A fresh arrival from Mars could not mistake which of the two is 20 points ahead in the polls.
Brassy, imperious fanfares then announced the final time these two will have to endure proximity until they sit on opposite sides of the House of Commons despatch boxes next month.
It was called, portentously, The BBC Prime Ministerial Debate, but there really wasn’t much prime ministerial behaviour from the individual who actually holds the title of prime minister. Rishi Sunak was in shin-kicking, finger-jabbing mode – a snappy cornered terrier with nothing left to lose and nowhere else to go but forward.
Inevitably, the first question was about the latest gambling scandals and loss of trust in politics. Sue, the questioner, shook her head sadly as she spoke.
Sunak, brow furrowed, claimed he had been “crystal clear” about this all along, despite taking 13 days to withdraw support from Craig Williams, his own bag carrier who had “a flutter” on the election date. Even less plausibly, he claimed loss of trust was caused by Starmer “changing your mind on every issue”, rather than Partygate and sundry other “gates”, from PPE contracts to gold wallpaper, from donors to peerages.
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