The spouse of one of Britain’s major party leaders would be forgiven for feeling both queasy and furious about Labour’s wave of attack ads against Rishi Sunak.
Not Akshata Murty, aka Mrs Sunak, who has already been through some very rough stuff about her and her husband’s tax affairs – but Victoria Starmer, wife of Keir, on the basis that those who dish it out must expect to have to take it back in kind and without complaint.
Politics is the proverbial rough old trade at the best of times, but there is now every sign that the looming 2024 general election will be one of the dirtiest ever.
People of a Conservative disposition have been invited in recent days to express outrage on behalf of the Prime Minister, depicted by Labour as not believing child molesters should go to jail on the basis that 4,500 convicted paedophiles have been spared custodial sentences under the Tories.
Given that it turns out the prevailing sentencing guidelines were drawn up by a panel that included one Sir Keir Starmer when he was Director of Public Prosecutions, this smear is likely to rebound on Labour and on him.
Perhaps the two men will spend the election campaign arguing about which of them has been the more faithful friend to nonces everywhere. And what an edifying spectacle that would make.
According to Labour, Sunak doesn’t believe thieves should be punished either. Or that adults convicted of possessing a gun with intent to harm should be jailed.
But rather than sympathising with the...
In a Nutshell A warm, conversational AI style made people trust an assistant more, even when it was spreading false health information. Simply showing users a “verify this” option did almost noth...