GE 2024

The death penalty is coming, isn’t it.

Imperial measures? The birch?

It's an act of utter desperation and an attempt to regain the narrative. It's akin to Theresa May promising to lift the ban on foxhunting if she won in 2017.

Sunak has had an awful week: no umbrella in the pouring rain, the visit to the Titanic and asking the Welsh if they were looking forward to the football. The simple fact is that he's not very good at politics. He succeeded in his career and his sense of entitlement is such that he cannot understand why people don't think he is a good PM.

National Service will play well with Tory members and a certain element of their base, but most people with kids will be totally against it as will grandparents. If this is the best then can come up with then they are effectively admitting defeat.

Apparently Sunak wants six debates with Starmer. That should be interesting as he is hopeless in PMQs and Starmer is a very capable debater thanks to his legal career. Neither has a personality to warm to, but Starmer should rip Sunak to pieces.

It’s no doubt also aimed at reform voters, but they are plain daft if they think all reform voters would vote Tory. Many wouldn’t under any circumstance.

And this will further alienate many moderate tories in the shires who don’t want to see their kids/grandkids forced into something so stupid.

Interesting that Reform think national service is a fucking stupid idea too.

I think he's on the "nothing to lose" path. Can't get much worse, and maybe Starmer makes a huge slip. Pours coffee down his shirt or something.

Starmer has already said no, they’ll have two, though. Normal enough - person who’s winning doesn’t want debates, person who’s losing wants as many as possible.

If Labour cock this up this place will be hilarious.

The country possibly less so but you've got to take the wins as and when.

Monkey Tennis!

Sunak doesn’t want weekly debates. He knows Starmer will decline so give him something to bleat about. He must know that if Starmer said yes, then Rishi would get his arse handed to him on a weekly basis and his petulance and unpleasantness will shine through.

We used to be left in the car with a bottle of fizzy sugary chemicals and a bag of Smiths crisps.

Kids today, don't know they're born etc.

Ed Davey has a very odd way of saying the two words 'Liberal Democrats', which, in the age of the media soundbite, would appear problematic.

I think he just needs to slow down slightly when saying the name of his party. Strange one.

I know what you mean…most people say it in 5 syllables (Lib-Ral De-Mo-Crats) . He seems to try to reduce to 3 (Libl Dem-Crats)
I blame his poor education.

Another good day for the Tories. Iain Dale, who stepped down from his job at LBC only a few days ago to stand for Rishi's lot in his home town of Tunbridge Wells, has pulled out of the race today after it was pointed out that he was on record as saying 'he'd never liked the place'.

He's lived there for close to three decades, so ought to be well qualified to comment.

Farage standing in Clacton and the new leader of Reform.