Last weekend it was reported that Penny Mordaunt’s supporters are claiming that Downing Street is “locking her up” during the election campaign because Rishi Sunak’s team sees her as a threat.
Now the Speaker, who had a spectacular televised debate with politicians from six opposition parties, is completely out of the running – and should not be put back in.
Her opening words in the 90-minute showdown were shocking: she declared that the Prime Minister was “completely wrong” to cut short the Normandy landings ceremony early. She pulled no punches.
She said the Prime Minister had been wrong not once, or twice, but three times. No wonder Downing Street sees her as a threat. If this was an audition for the post-election leadership race, her friends would argue she passed with flying colors.
But after pulling a black high heel off the Prime Minister’s back in her opening remarks, she launched into a relentless attack on Labour’s policies on tax, immigration and crime.
Her most aggressive response was to the Conservatives’ controversial claim – first made by Rishi Sunak in a televised debate with Sir Keir Starmer on Tuesday – that they planned to impose a £2,000 tax if Labour won the election.
The attack sparked the most heated exchange of the entire debate, with Mordaunt getting into a heated argument with Labour’s Angela Rayner over tax, which continued long after presenter Mishal Hussain tried unsuccessfully to stop them.
The exchange became even more heated as the pair stood side by side at the back of a queue of seven leading politicians, including Nigel Farage, Daisy Cooper of the Liberal Democrats and Stephen Flynn, the Scottish National Party’s Westminster leader.
For the rest of the debate, Mr Rayner was a little subdued, as was Sir Keir on Tuesday with the Prime Minister. Mr Rayner didn’t even openly attack Mr Sunak about D-Day. Ditto for Daisy Cooper. Like Sir Keir, his deputy needs to try harder.
In addition to Mordaunt, Senator Normandy (at the time) …
Mordaunt also slammed Rayner for her past voting record against the renewal of Trident. And while the brightness of Rayner’s red dress didn’t match up with a standout performance in the debate, her performance improved as the debate went on. Incidentally, Mordaunt wore Thatcher blue. Anyone remember?
During the debate, Mr Farage was as mischievous as ever, calling Mr Starmer “very boring” and “unattractive Mr Blair” and joking that the Prime Minister was “sly Mr Sunak”. Admittedly, Mr Farage has made such quips before, but the audience enjoyed it.
Stephen Flynn had his good moments, particularly his attack on the Conservative and Labour parties on Brexit, which entertained the audience.
But this debate was about Penny Mordaunt. The list of performers was long, but it was her show. If she had ever been locked up by Number 10, the Prime Minister’s allies would have revelled in her attacks on Angela Rayner and Labour policies.
But they probably wouldn’t have appreciated her forthright and entirely unsolicited criticism of the prime minister’s snub at the Normandy landings, the big news story of the day.
It was a story about the Prime Minister’s own blunder. It was not a gaffe or an accident. It was sheer poor planning, terrible political judgement, embarrassing and hugely damaging to Mr Sunak and the Conservative campaign.
Apparently that was Penny Mordaunt’s view. And she said so. Number 10 wouldn’t be happy. A threat? Right.
