Whisper it, but I think Rishi Sunak could win the next general election

PREDICTING the future in politics is a notoriously foolish endeavour. So at a dinner on Monday when asked about the next election by an erudite CEO, I took a large swig of red wine before replying.

- Emily Sheffield

In my humble opinion, I said, Rishi Sunak was going to swing it, before adding a few caveats.

I have long thought Sunak was the Prime Minister we needed for these extraordinarily troubled times. I wrote a column in this newspaper last February when Boris Johnson’s problems were spiralling, saying this country was soon going to need Sunak’s work ethic and sizeable brain. Even during that awful Tory leadership race, when it was clear that Liz Truss was going to win, I continued to argue that Sunak had the right attributes for the job, and she did not.

This certainly does not amount to ardent fervour or soothsaying. By Jan-uary, belief that our new Prime Minister had the ingredients for successful political leadership felt stretched to breaking point. The Conservatives remained damaged and split, with Sunak operating like a remote bot. Labour, meanwhile, appeared normal and decent, aping the cool confidence of winners.