Elections are unlike anything else in politics: a frenzy of politicians running around the country, town to town, city to city, trying to set the agenda and control public opinion.
Rishi Sunak will be photographed hundreds of times a day. Some of them will be rather unflattering, like this one of him on board the campaign plane on Friday afternoon. The exit? Not where he’s heading.
The Prime Minister had one big advantage going into this election: he knew it was coming, which meant he was able to get a head start on it right away.
In the past few days, I have visited Nottingham, Staffordshire, Belfast, Inverness and Barry with the Prime Minister.
- author, Nick Eardley
- role, Political reporter
Mr Sunak’s message is that the economy is on the up and coming and he has bold ideas for the country.
But as is often the case in political campaigns, things don’t always go according to script.
Before voters went to the polls, President Trump was forced to admit he would not be able to deliver on two key campaign promises: the Rwanda Plan and a plan to ban smoking for everyone born after 2009.
The Prime Minister was forced to deny having ignored the mother of one of the victims of the Manchester Arena bombing, who said she was “disappointed” after Sunak promised to tighten security at the venue before MPs’ summer recess – a promise he has said he will keep (if he remains Prime Minister after the Fourth of July).
And then there were campaign moments.
Local journalists in Northern Ireland noticed that Mr Sunak had chosen the Titanic area for the Belfast event, with one asking whether he was in charge of the sunken ship.
There was a moment in Wales when people at a brewery asked if they were looking forward to a summer of football – Wales had failed to qualify for the Euros – and an awkward silence ensued.
We also just left the site of a small but noisy protest at the university, where pro-Gaza demonstrators attacked the prime minister’s car and he had to be forced inside the building.
Oh, and then there was the moment that sparked this frenzy: the Prime Minister ignored questions about why she decided to announce the general election in torrential rain, with her team saying she wanted to do it “the right way”, which was outside Number 10.
But photos of a soaked prime minister are not the best start to the biggest fight of his political life.
Some of these things may seem small — a little mistake with football is no big deal — but when they add up, they can become a problem.
Journalists spoke to Mr Sunak on a flight from Belfast to the Midlands earlier in the day. He said he was in good spirits and committed to the campaign. I asked him directly whether he thought he would win. The answer was “of course”.
But with the Conservative Party trailing in the polls, Sunak knows how much work he has to do. He has a mountain to climb if he is to keep the keys to Downing Street. And so far, things haven’t gone entirely to plan.
