Allies enraged and enemies emboldened – Sunak’s campaign is already a fiasco

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The beleaguered PM maximised the only weapon he had left – surprise. But the ruse will worsen his prospects, not improve them, says Guardian columnist Gaby Hinsliff

Rishi Sunak takes part in a Q&A with people at William West & Sons distribution centre, Derbyshire, 23 May 2024.Rishi Sunak takes part in a Q&A with people at William West & Sons distribution centre, Derbyshire, 23 May 2024.The beleaguered PM maximised the only weapon he had left – surprise. But the ruse will worsen his prospects, not improve themRishi Sunak

His bet on turning the country around hasn’t worked out, so he’s unwinding his position; dumping his stocks and getting out. On Wednesday, Sunak had the air of a man who is tired of waiting for the inevitable and would rather. What he doesn’t seem to have realised – although judging by their seasick expressions as they lined up behind him, plenty of his cabinet ministers have – is how much politics is not like banking.

What next? Well, lights are flashing red all over the criminal justice system: this week it emerged that police chiefs privately discussed asking forces tobecause the jails were too full, thanks to the Tories failing either to build more cell space or reform sentencing in time. Prisoners are alreadyto ease hellish overcrowding, and from this week some sentences will be cut short by up to 70 days, to victims’ understandable distress.

Though Wednesday’s election announcement took them by surprise, the slickness of Keir Starmer’s initial launch suggests his team are as ready as they’ll ever be for a campaign they have war-gamed intensively, though they have still to finish selecting candidates in dozens of seats (But Labour thinking still looks unfinished in some key manifesto areas, the party remains uncomfortably divided over Gaza, and Angela Rayner still faces aninto the sale of her old council house.

 

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