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Rishi Sunak’s decision to leave D-Day commemorations early has reportedly been criticised by furious cabinet ministers as “wrong on every level” – with the mood at Tory headquarters described as “funereal”.
One insider told The Times they had “never heard it so quiet” at CCHQ after the PM’s decision to skip the international memorial, with one despondent Tory candidate saying Mr Sunak’s “made Theresa May’s 2017 campaign look competent”, adding: “It feels like the Reform crossover is inevitable now.”
Meanwhile, Mr Sunak vowed to axe stamp duty for first-time buyers on homes up to £425,000 after a fiery BBC debate between seven candidates, in which Labour’s Angela Rayner and the Tories’ Penny Mordaunt clashed over taxes, defence and the NHS.
Leading political figures also clashed on the issue of migration as Nigel Farage – who is well known for his views on the subject – accused both Conservative and Labour governments of not controlling migration as he pledged to “stop migrants from bringing their family members to the UK”.
Key Points
- Tory HQ ‘funereal’ after Rishi Sunak’s ‘spectacular’ D-Day misjudgement
- Sunak vows to axe stamp duty
- Rayner and Mordaunt clash on tax
- Mordaunt says Sunak was ‘completely wrong’ for leaving D-Day event early
Richard Tice accuses Tories of ‘dirty tricks’ in attempting to persuade Reform candidates to stand down
Reform chairman Richard Tice has accused the Tories of “dirty tricks” after one of his party’s candidates withdrew his papers to stand at the last minute and endorsed former cabinet minister Sir Gavin Williamson.
In a dramatic final 24 hours before nominations closed there had been fevered speculation that as many as six Tory MPs and other candidates could defect to Reform after Nigel Farage decided to stand in Clacton and become leader.
But instead no Tories switched and Tom Wellings, the Reform candidate for the new seat of Stone, Great Wryly and Penkridge in Staffordshire, quit and put out a statement endorsing Sir Gavin. It all meant that Reform are understood to have fielded 611 candidates just short of the 630 they had hoped for.
Our political editor David Maddox has the exclusive story:
Tice accuses Tories of ‘dirty tricks’ to persuade Reform candidates to stand down
Exclusive: A furious row has broken out after a Reform candidate’s last minute defection to the Tories
Andy Gregory8 June 2024 11:59 1717844288Farage accused of dogwhistle with ‘disgusting’ Sunak remark
Nigel Farage has been accused of a “disgusting dogwhistle” after claiming that Rishi Sunak “doesn’t really care, frankly, about our culture”.
The Reform leader made the remark in a video clip he posted on Friday about the PM’s decision to skip a major D-Day event in Normandy.
Labour councillor Josh Fenton-Glynn and Nev Fountain of Private Eye were among those who described the remarks about Mr Sunak as a dogwhistle.
Andy Gregory8 June 2024 11:58 1717842657‘What about the potholes?’ asks Ed Davey
Sir Ed Davey asked “what about the potholes?” as he criticised the Conservatives’ plan to support drivers.
During a campaign visit to Newbury in Berkshire, the Liberal Democrats leader was asked about the Tory pledge to reverse the Ultra Low Emission Zone (Ulez) expansion from inner into outer London.
“The Conservatives have had a year to do this since the Labour Mayor brought it in, they’ve not done it. It’s funny that they come up with these policies at election time,” he said.
“What’s really angered a lot of people I’ve spoken to, people in the home counties like Surrey and Sussex and Hertfordshire and Kent, who drive into London, who are paying for Ulez, they didn’t get any help for a car scrappage scheme.
“It was the Liberal Democrats championing their cause in Parliament, asking the Conservatives - they’d given help elsewhere to a car scrappage scheme. They didn’t in London. So, I’m afraid the Tories should look themselves in the mirror. And they claim to be the party of motorists - what about the potholes? What about all the roadwork delays?
“I can’t really take the Tories seriously given their record on potholes and roadworks.”
Andy Gregory8 June 2024 11:30 1717842039Sunak D-Day snub ‘a letdown for our whole country’, says Ed Davey
Sir Ed Davey has said Rishi Sunak’s snub of a major international D-Day event was “a letdown for our whole country”.
On a campaign visit to Victoria Park in Newbury, Berkshire, the Liberal Democrats leader told broadcasters: “I’ve felt pretty cross about this. I’ve talked to veterans and they feel quite angry. So, I think they need to do more.”
He urged the Conservatives to give some of the cash donated to the party by Frank Hester, a businessman who was embroiled in a racism row, to charity.
“I think the Conservative Party should give £5m of that donation to a veterans charity. I think if they did that, then people might be able to draw the line. But it’s such a letdown for our whole country and our history, particularly for our brave veterans.”
Andy Gregory8 June 2024 11:20 1717841643Reform draw level with Tories in Wales, polling suggests
Nigel Farage’s Reform party have drawn level with the Tories in Wales, polling by Redfield & Wilton suggests.
The polling, carried out between Wednesday and Friday, puts both parties neck-and-neck on 18 per cent after a three-point boost for Reform – with Labour streets ahead on 45 per cent.
Andy Gregory8 June 2024 11:14 1717841459Watch: Angela Rayner and Penny Mordaunt share laugh minutes after fiery clash at election debate
‘Mistake’ for Sunak to skip D-Day service, another minister says
Rishi Sunak made a “mistake” by skipping a major D-Day memorial event, another Cabinet minister has said, with the debacle continuing to dominate as campaigning entered its third weekend.
Mark Harper said he agreed “with what the Prime Minister himself said - it was a mistake for him to leave early”, but did not go as far as fellow senior Tory Penny Mordaunt in branding the decision “completely wrong”.
The transport secretary told BBC Breakfast: “I don’t know what the detail was of putting the prime minister’s schedule together, which, as he said, was done some time ago before the election campaign was called.
“But, look, it was a mistake. People make mistakes. The Prime Minister has made a mistake. He’s apologised for it. And he’s apologised to those that would have been particularly hurt by it.”
Andy Gregory8 June 2024 10:45 1717838760Mood at Tory HQ ‘funereal’ after Sunak D-Day misjudgement
An insider has described the mood at Tory HQ as “funereal” after Rishi Sunak’s D-Day misjudgement, with two furious cabinet ministers criticising the “very serious error” as “wrong on every level” and “a failure of leadership”, according to The Times.
Tory staff are reported to have shouted profanities at the television as the backlash grew, despite one staffer telling the paper that “I’ve never heard it so quiet” in Tory HQ as despondency set in.
“It’s a shitshow, a total disaster,” a Tory candidate expecting to lose their seat told The Times. “He’s made Theresa May’s 2017 campaign look competent. In an election that’s framed around defence and security it’s a spectacular misjudgment. It feels like the Reform crossover is inevitable now.”
Andy Gregory8 June 2024 10:26 1717837750Ex-Brexit minister Lord Frost warns Tories ‘can’t afford more mistakes in mishandled campaign’
Former Brexit minister Lord Frost has claimed the Tories “must give up the fantasy that governing from the centre can be a route to success”, as he warned that Rishi Sunak’s party “can’t afford more mistakes” in its so-far “mishandled” campaign.
Urging a lurch to the right, the influential Tory peer said: “I have been warning for two years that a meltdown was coming if the Conservative Party didn’t get back to conservatism. This week it arrived.
“The Party has to go in hard on Labour now, because it doesn’t have any other options left after this mishandled campaign. There’s plenty of material for it - but will anyone be listening?
“A lot is at stake in the next few days. The Party can’t afford more mistakes - and it must give up the fantasy that governing from the centre, and failing to offer voters a real choice, can be a route to success.”
His remarks were endorsed by Annunziata Rees-Mogg, communications chief at the hard-right Popular Conservatives (PopCon) group.
Andy Gregory8 June 2024 10:09 1717836563D-Day gaffe makes Sunak ‘look totally out of touch’, says pollster
Having been much-maligned at the start of last night’s debate, Rishi Sunak’s decision to leave this week’s D-Day commemorations early makes him look “totally out of touch” with the public, a pollster has said.
“If you had to design something that would cut through with voters in the most negative way possible, this D-Day fiasco would be it,” Scarlett Maguire, director at JL Partners, told Bloomberg.
“It makes Sunak look totally out of touch with the British public, and I suspect will fuel Reform’s surge in the polls.”
Andy Gregory8 June 2024 09:49 Newer1 / 5OlderDisclaimer: The copyright of this article belongs to the original author. Reposting this article is solely for the purpose of information dissemination and does not constitute any investment advice. If there is any infringement, please contact us immediately. We will make corrections or deletions as necessary. Thank you.
