It’s hard to think of anything Rishi Sunak could have done that would cause greater offence to the British sensibility. You do not, not if you’re the British prime minister, sack off the D-Day commemorations in Normandy to return home early under any circumstances – least of all in order to do an ITV interview on tax. It’s not just disrespectful to the fallen. His early exit suggests that this is all just a game for Sunak. It seems to send a message that he stands for precisely nothing – beyond being prime minister.
Can you imagine Boris Johnson – whom Sunak knifed so expertly on his way to the top – doing the same thing? Of course not – it’s unthinkable. Say what you like about Boris, but he understood the fundamental importance of patriotism and that respect for elders – particularly those who made the ultimate sacrifice – is the very basis of British culture. Liz Truss would also have remained in Omaha. Keir Starmer would have (and did) stay. Nigel Farage stayed. But you don’t need expert political judgement for this. You could pick anyone at random on a British street, put them in that situation and their basic intuition would tell them to stay. Only Sunak would think that breaking a campaign truce to give an TV interview was a higher priority.
Yesterday, Lord Ashcroft published the findings of polling research he has conducted on which election issues the British public have taken most notice of. Largely, it seemed to show nothing has really cut through – certainly not prior to the late entrance into the race of one Nigel Farage. The ludicrous seeming suggestion the Tories would introduce national service should they win came top – it was noticed by 24 per cent of respondents. The pension triple lock plus proposal got 7 per cent, and the ruling out of by both parties of tax increases 4 per cent. It’s a snooze fest.
We shall remember, though. One thing I would venture everyone in this country will remember – now and for the rest of his political life – will be the moment Rishi looked around at the nonagenarians assembled proudly in their military fatigues and medals in Normandy and thought: ‘sod this, I’ve got somewhere else to be.’ When Jeremy Corbyn would not turn out properly for such events, people noticed. David Cameron once effectively chided Corbyn for this lack of respect in the House of Commons, saying his mother would have told him: ‘put on a proper suit, do up your tie and sing the national anthem’. It is unfathomable that anyone would need to tell a British Prime Minister to stay for the Normandy commemorations.
Farage, of course, was there. Not just because he wanted to take advantage of the publicity opportunities on offer – but because he is a second world war history buff who makes regular pilgrimages to the graveyards in France. Like many of us, Farage now seems almost unable to believe what Sunak did yesterday.
Leaving Normandy early was a howling error – worse than Gordon Brown calling a Labour supporter a bigot – and one from which Sunak won’t recover.
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