At PMQs we saw the next year of politics condensed into a few seconds. Sir Keir Starmer asked the PM why he declined to call an election. ‘My working assumption is that the election will be in the second half of the year,’ said Rishi. So there it is. A date in October rather than January 2025. And he confidently expects to lose which is why he urged Labour’s Dan Carden to ‘chat with his shadow chancellor about her plan to impose £28 billion of tax rises on everyone.’

Sir Keir harried the PM on Rwanda which he called ‘a gimmick’ constantly. The g-word, clearly favoured by focus groups, was thrown across the aisle five times, and Rishi offered no substantial defence. Rwanda is a gift-wrapped, triple-layered vote-winner for Labour. First, on funding, second, on timing, third, on efficiency. Sir Keir is free to pluck figures out of thin air when he estimates the budget of the failed deportation scheme. He used to tell us that it cost millions, then tens of million, then hundreds of millions. It keeps ascending, endlessly, like an escalator at an empty departure lounge. If Sir Keir stood up and said that ‘Rwanda costs £350 million a week – let’s spend that on the NHS instead’ no one would bat an eyelid. Today he invented a new figure, ‘£600 million’, which he claimed would remove a mere 300 claimants. ‘The Prime Minister likes to spend a lot on jet-setting but that’s some plane ticket.’

More likely, teleportation will have been perfected before Rwanda accepts asylum-seekers from Britain

Not only is Rwanda a win for Labour but it’s a depressant for the Tories. They might as well believe in flying reindeer as in Rwanda. The first plane that takes off will be full of pensioners who’ve grown old on the Bibby Stockholm.

QOSHE - Sketch / PMQs is getting sadder and sadder - Lloyd Evans
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Sketch / PMQs is getting sadder and sadder

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20.03.2024

At PMQs we saw the next year of politics condensed into a few seconds. Sir Keir Starmer asked the PM why he declined to call an election. ‘My working assumption is that the election will be in the second half of the year,’ said Rishi. So there it is. A date in October rather than January 2025. And he confidently expects to lose which is why he urged Labour’s Dan Carden to ‘chat with his shadow chancellor about her plan to impose £28........

© The Spectator


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