Is Rishi Sunak any good at politics?

Is Rishi Sunak any good at politics? In recent days Labour sources have been putting it about that they no longer fear the prospect of the Chancellor stepping up to take over from Boris Johnson if he is forced out by partygate.

According to one briefing to the left-wing New Statesman, Keir Starmer’s team has concluded that ‘Little Rishi’ is ‘crap at politics’ after observing his response to the cost-of-living crisis and now thinks that Liz Truss may prove a more formidable successor to Johnson in electoral terms at least.

With politics being surpassed only by espionage as a theatre for the use of misinformation and double-bluffs, it may be that Labour’s onslaught against Sunak indicates the very opposite – that in fact he really is the Tory they think they cannot beat and they are attempting to trash his ratings in the short-term.

But it is certainly true that since the advent of Rachel Reeves as shadow chancellor, Labour has closed the gap on perceived economic competence in the eyes of the electorate.