Tories’ thoughts are turning to defeat

Ever since Rishi Sunak became Prime Minister, his aides have worried that May would be the month of mutiny. His mandate over the party has always been weak, since he lost the summer’s leadership race to Liz Truss. He was also certain to preside over heavy losses in the local elections, so the aftermath of that defeat was seen as the ideal time for a rebel to strike. As if to tempt fate, Sunak invited more than 200 Tory MPs for drinks in the No. 10 garden on Monday night. He attempted to lift spirits with jokes at Keir Starmer’s expense.

‘He was meant to be writing a book about his ideas for Britain,’ Sunak said. ‘But – and I’m not making this up – he has had to return the advance to the publisher because he couldn’t come up with any.’ His guests laughed, but a few grumbled that Sunak himself gives a good impression of someone running out of ideas.