Oh dear. It’s been another bad day for the Tories. Shortly after Nigel Farage announced his return as leader of Reform, the first YouGov MRP poll of 50,000 voters dropped, showing Sunak’s party down to just 140 seats. But for one Conservative, things were about to get even worse. As Sky’s Sam Coates discussed the MRP poll on air, his phone rang and his Apple Watch lit up.
On it was emblazoned the name of Grant Shapps, the Defence Secretary. At Sophy Ridge’s insistence, Coates took the call, as the camera kept on rolling. ‘Hello Grant Shapps’, he said. ‘You’re live on Sky News.’ Amid background muttering and laughing from Shapps, Coates told him ‘I’m in the studio with Sophy Ridge. Have you seen you’re about to lose your seat, according to the Sky News-YouGov projection?’
There was a moment’s silence before the phone emitted a few beeps – meaning Shapps was no longer there.
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