Sunday Musings

A dull performance from Starmer and Sunak’s major blow

They say a week is a long time in politics, and for Sunak, I bet it is dragging even more. He started with a strong performance against a rather bland Starmer in the ITV debate — I discuss my opinions on this here — but then ended up in the limelight for leaving the D-Day 80th Anniversary early, which by all accounts was a terrible decision.

Sunak really cannot afford mistakes in public perception. He is already trailing massively in polls behind Labour and has Farage looking to take chunks out of the Conservative Party with Reform. Yet, he made a dire mistake that even left Penny Mordaunt rather frustrated during the BBC debates that followed.

We live in a time when war in Europe has once again taken hold. Russia continues its invasion of Ukraine, reminding us that the horrors of war are not just miles away in the Far East but right on our doorstep. The invasion by Russia was a stark reminder of the way of life we owe so much to those who sacrificed during the Second World War. It was the invasion of Normandy that put a foothold into mainland Europe for the Allies. D-Day, a day when 4,415 Allied troops died fighting for the very freedom we take for granted today.

D-Day 80, the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landing, took place on the 6th of June 2024. This is likely the last major commemorative event featuring the heroes who landed on the beaches, who landed from the skies via parachute and gliders, who manned the armada of ships, and who piloted the planes.

Leaders from around the world attended, including United States President Joe Biden, French President Emmanuel Macron, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, and even Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Rishi Sunak joined the events with his focus on the British element of the anniversary but left early to partake in an interview for the election at ITV. Starmer was, of course, in attendance as well. It fell to David Cameron to attend events on behalf of the UK later in the day.

Rishi’s actions in leaving the event early have been met with furious backlash from members of the public, other parties, and indeed his own party. Frankly, I have liked Rishi and felt he has been somewhat tarred with the brush that Truss used to destroy our economy, and I have stood up for Rishi many times. However, I cannot defend his actions in this instance. His decision to leave early has destroyed any progress made in these elections and is likely to have sent many swing votes away. I want to know what his inner circle was doing. Why did they not advise against this? Why did they not explain the backlash? They have handed the sword for their own execution to the enemy.

I have since read many reports, some in defense of the Prime Minister and others twisting the blade. Johnny Mercer, a politician I have huge respect for, defended the Prime Minister by posting:

The recent events of last week were a dire strain on the already depleted political views of the Conservatives. Likely, the events will benefit the Reform Party in their aim to take as many seats as possible.

Time will tell, and yet another week lies ahead in this election campaign.

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