Leadership

Yet again, I’m depressed by the quality of UK politics, especially so far as leadership is concerned. Before he became leader, Sunak seemed to have some admirable virtues - calm, clear-headed, trying to achieve some consistency. But in the present state of the party he seems obliged to go out on a limb, and perform extreme gestures in order to keep the membership onside.

It was fine, for instance, to attack Starmer’s changes of position, but who on earth persuaded him to echo the crude contempt of Johnson’s gibe that “he doesn’t know what a woman is.” As though identity really were a simple blokish fact of life, which only a fool would question. Even without Brianna Ghey’s mother hearing this, whether or not she had actually taken her place, makes very little difference. It’s just shabby, and he should be ashamed.

And then there’s Piers Morgan, who regards it as challenging politics to make a bet on air. I’d guess Sunak shakes his hand simply because he’s trying to be polite, doesn’t want to seem rude, without recognising that he’s putting himself on Morgan’s level, accepting that making an expensive wager is a masculine way of saying he thinks he’s right. And I’d love to say Starmer was better, but he’s just equally depressing in a different direction, constantly changing his mind while pretending that he’s being rational and consistent. Just pathetic.