Lions led by donkeys. That was the title of a book by the late Alan Clark on the men who fought for Britain in the First World War. He could have also used the phrase ‘The poor bloody infantry’. It’s the Conservative leafleters and canvassers I most feel sorry for. When you’re involved in an election campaign it’s a team effort. Party workers rely on their political leaders to do their job and be the public face of the campaign. They rely on the ‘professionals’ at party headquarters to supply the ammunition and raise the money.
In this election, Tory candidates and party workers have been let down by everyone. They’ve been let down by Conservative MPs who first elected Liz Truss, and then Rishi Sunak. Truss was never going to win an election so they went for Sunak, who had proved a total dud in terms of knowing how to fight an election campaign. They’ve been let down by the head of the campaign, who has been so hapless that no one knows what the strategy is as it changes every day. He's certainly no Lynton Crosby. Crosby was an inspirational leader, yet Levido, according to reports I hear, is going around telling anyone he comes across how the party will win fewer than 100 seats. If I had a campaign manager who did that I’d fire them. In addition, the money has dried up. It’s all been spent and donors are refusing to pour any more money down a very deep drain.
For a succession of cabinet ministers to go on the media and effectively give up the ghost half way through the campaign is not only unprecedented, but a complete disgrace. Why would any party volunteer go that extra mile and deliver another 100 leaflets just when it is getting dark. Why would they bother?
The only positive thing that’s happened this week is that the Conservatives have managed to make tax a bigger election issue. Unfortunately, for them though, it’s quite difficult to set off a 1992 style Labour tax bomb when you’ve presided over the highest rate of taxation for 70 years.
In recent elections, disgruntled Conservative voters had few viable options if they wanted to register any kind of protest. Reform UK is now offering them that opportunity. Opinion pollsters can’t seem to make up their minds how well they’re doing. Yougov reckon they have overtaken the Tories, yet Savanta have them on half the Tory per centage vote share. But there’s no doubt, Nigel Farage has livened up their prospects. And it’s all down to Piers Morgan goading him on Question Time, when he called him ‘frit’ for not standing himself. I remember seeing the look on Nigel Farage’s face, and I’ve never seen him squirm before.
So the result of this election may well come down to Piers Morgan. Ain’t life grand.
