If you didn’t know there were elections coming this week, Rishi Sunak and Sir Keir Starmer used Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday to underline the stakes with thousands of council seats in play ahead of a bigger electoral test to come.
Thursday’s local elections including the mayoralty of London, and a by-election in Blackpool South, are a key test of how far Labour have come under Sir Keir and how far the Conservatives have fallen since the omnishambles of Liz Truss’s tenure.
With amazing timing, on Wednesday morning, the Home Office lined up a pre-PMQs gift to Mr Sunak as it posted video of the first Rwanda-bound deportees being rounded up in a series of raids following the passage of hard-fought legislation designed to “stop the boats”.
That came after the first failed asylum claimant went to the East African nation under a separate voluntary scheme, in return for £3,000 and five years’ free board and lodging. Cabinet minister Kemi Badenoch said that showed that Rwanda was a safe destination - in fact, safe enough to enjoy a gap year there.
Tory backbencher Sir Bill Wiggin congratulated the PM on getting the Rwanda bill through, tackling inflation and promising to raise defence spending among other things.
“If he carries on like this, he’s going to win the next [general] election!” the MP for North Herefordshire declared.
Mr Sunak smiled, somewhat ruefully perhaps in the face of opinion polls that continue to give Labour a lead of 20 points or more. But he was happy to take the free hit, declaring on the eve of the local elections: “It’s crystal clear, there’s one party that’s going to give tax cuts for working Britain and it’s the Conservative Party.”
Sir Keir revived Labour’s recent attempts to accuse the Tories of creating a £46 billion black hole with their aspiration to abolish employees’ National Insurance contributions, following two cuts of 2p each to the tax.
He had his own pre-election gift to show off as he introduced Dan Poulter to the Labour benches. The doctor and MP for Central Suffolk and North Ipswich quit the Tories on Saturday and crossed the floor in protest at the Government’s handling of the NHS.
“After nearly two decades as a Tory politician, and an NHS doctor, he’s concluded that if you care about the future of our country and our NHS that it’s time for change. It’s time for this changed Labour Party,” Sir Keir said.
Which party cares the most? Who’s changed the most? Voters will get their say on Thursday.
In London, they will be deciding whether to back Labour’s Sadiq Khan for a third term as mayor.
The PM was challenged over alleged Tory involvement in online anti-Ulez groups masquerading as grassroots activism that contain “Islamophobia and death threats” directed at Mr Khan.
Mr Sunak said he was “not aware” of the Facebook pages, some of which feature Conservative mayoral candidate Susan Hall as a member.
