Sometimes the bear traps of politics are signposted with a big yellow arrow. Sometimes, they come in the cunning form of a matey exchange on a Piers Morgan talkshow. An interview with an astute tabloid bruiser on Talk TV last night was plainly intended to show Rishi Sunak could present himself as is one part bloke to many parts nerd-technocrat. The trouble, for a figure about to embark on a lengthy de facto election campaign from the Budget date in March, is that this kind of quick-fire format can skitter into a series of “gotchas”. And duly, the PM was got.
It began when the Rwanda plan was broached by Morgan, who claimed he didn’t “get” why the the intention to remove failed asylum applicants via this convoluted route was a good idea – or indeed likely to happen at all. The result looked like the kind of awkward interaction you might experience when computer software hasn’t been upgraded.
Morgan offered a £1,000 bet on it not being delivered. Sunak, in fairness, did not verbally accept the offer, haltingly repeating that he “wanted to get people on the planes”. But – a fatal flaw in political jousting – he didn’t refuse the wager either and shook Morgan’s outstretched hands, which, in cable TV blokeworld, is a contractual obligation.
The outrage machine loves this kind of blooper and many Sunak detractors set out making it sound even worse than it was. Even though Morgan had stipulated that he would give the proceeds of the £1,000 bet if he won it to a refugee charity, there is an ick factor to the Prime Minister risking a large sum of his own money on the success of a policy which would send luckless asylum seekers to a less than certain fate. And while no one doubts that Morgan could afford to lose a grand and shrug it off, the specificity of a large sum reminded viewers of something Team Sunak is keen to keep attention away from, namely the the high-income world in which the PM and his wife have lived before he opted for the thin financial gruel of politics (for now, at least).
Labour were sort-of appalled and sort-of delighted by the faux pas. Stephen Kinnock, the shadow immigration minister, added that it was “the least prime ministerial thing I’ve seen in nine years in Parliament”. This is a not wholly convincing line if you remember aspects of the Boris Johnson and Liz Truss years. But then Rishi Sunak is there precisely because they failed in the role, and he needs a certain seriousness to commend him as PM. “It just shows that Rishi Sunak is totally out of touch with working people,” echoed Jonathan Ashworth, another front bencher, parroting a refrain which is going to become achingly familiar as an attack line.
My guess is that Sunak, a tee-total, healthy living, weekly fasting chap, is not the kind to leap into office sweepstakes on the outcome of the Grand National or who will win The Traitors and was simply blindsided by the Morgan moment. It was well prepared to make his guest look like he did not believe his Rwanda policy could be delivered if he hesitated, or sound a bit callous if he accepted it. Sunak’s agitation showed us that he knew he was in a bind, but he did not react fast enough to say this was not a matter for betting on, which was the only escape route.
All politicians, even at the high level, make mistakes when being peppered by questions in an interview (at least, as a political interviewer, I hope they do, otherwise our jobs would be mighty dull). But there is also a level of role, of which prime minister is the most senior, when you are expected to have enough experience and nous not to agree to things you did not mean to accept.
That is the fundamental problem that Sunak and his campaign team have as they enter into the full frontal hostilities of this year, with a well-oiled Opposition team showing its ruthless side in tough and at times unfair deployment of social media memes and selective clips to make hay with any Tory failing. Sunak has been such a fast riser in politics that he has not had the benefit of the “match practice” that helps combatants get their message across, without falling into unforced errors.
Having him as a podcast guest late last year, I was struck by the fact that the PM is both naturally communicative and benign in taking challenges. But agility is not yet his A game, and that will need to change fast to make his defence of a difficult Tory case and counter-case to Labour sound like a conversation fed-up voters would like to give their time to.
The “bet” moment will probably fade from memory, unless as Morgan mercilessly pointed out, Sunak does indeed fail to get the Rwanda flights off the ground. That pledge doubled down on jeopardy for the PM, who “wants” his policy to materialise, but looked pretty uncomfortable guaranteeing that it would. Such, for students of political rhetoric, is the definition of a debating trap. The core skill of political combat is to see when one lies ahead – and avoid taking the bait.
Anne McElvoy hosts the Power Play podcast for Politico
Rishi Sunak walked right into Piers Morgan’s trap
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06.02.2024
Sometimes the bear traps of politics are signposted with a big yellow arrow. Sometimes, they come in the cunning form of a matey exchange on a Piers Morgan talkshow. An interview with an astute tabloid bruiser on Talk TV last night was plainly intended to show Rishi Sunak could present himself as is one part bloke to many parts nerd-technocrat. The trouble, for a figure about to embark on a lengthy de facto election campaign from the Budget date in March, is that this kind of quick-fire format can skitter into a series of “gotchas”. And duly, the PM was got.
It began when the Rwanda plan was broached by Morgan, who claimed he didn’t “get” why the the intention to remove failed asylum applicants via this convoluted route was a good idea – or indeed likely to happen at all. The result looked like the kind of awkward interaction you might experience when computer software hasn’t been upgraded.
Morgan offered a £1,000 bet on it not being delivered. Sunak, in fairness, did not verbally accept the offer, haltingly repeating that he “wanted to get people on the planes”. But – a fatal flaw in political jousting – he didn’t refuse the wager either and shook Morgan’s outstretched hands, which, in cable TV blokeworld, is a........
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