General Election 2019: Red man to the left of me buffoon to the right

Something of a lull today in the election after two hectic days marked by Corbyn’s public evisceration by Andrew Neil, and Labour’s response of leaking hundreds of pages of government documents which it claimed were proof of Tory plans to sell of the NHS to  American companies.

The news that seems to have gained most traction has centred on an article Boris Johnson wrote some 24 years ago in The Spectator about the “appalling proliferation of single mothers”. The article which termed single mothers “uppity and irresponsible” and decried the “feebleness of modern Briton, [and] his inability to take control of his woman” is a bad look for Boris.

The revelations were awkwardly timed coming as Johnson unveiled a statue of the first woman to sit in the House of Commons, Lady Nancy Astor, while pledging to “support women to reach their full potential” and to recruit more women into the Conservative Party. The revelation has also sparked accusations of hypocrisy given the ongoing allegations about Johnson’s own private life.

More criticism may be on the way for Boris. A debate on climate change involving all political party leaders is taking place this evening on Channel 4. Johnson having declined to appear hoped to send a substitute but this was refused. Rumours circulated that Boris would not only face being empty chaired but that Channel 4 has gone so far as to commission an ice sculpture of Boris that will take his place and slowly melt over the course of the debate. In the end, they replaced the Johnson and Nigel Farage who also didn’t attend with two ice sculptures of planet earth facing each other from opposite sides of the studio.

Even just being empty chaired would not be a good look for a party leader who is already facing accusations of running scared from scrutiny after suggestions he might not in fact agree to be interviewed by Andrew Neil, despite the BBC reporting he had previously agreed to be.

Nevertheless, some Conservatives might still feel confident after the You Gov MRP poll published last night suggested they are on course for a 68 seat majority as things stand. However, Labour’s slow rise in the polls and surge in young voter registration seem to have caused some alarm among the Tories. Dominic Cummings, the éminence grise of Downing Street, now working at CCHQ for the election, has been alarmed enough to return to his blog an issue an agitated warning full of capitalisation and bolding that things will be closer than people think.

Meanwhile, the Labour anti-Semitism crisis also continued to rumble on. Today Scottish Labour removed its candidate for Falkirk, Safia Ali, over anti-Semitism. Indeed, Scottish parties generally seem hearteningly effective at expelling cranks. Both Scottish Labour and the Conservatives have already expelled another candidate apiece over anti-Muslim comments and anti-Semitic, Islamophobic and homophobic comments respectively.

In spending news, the Institute for Fiscal Studies has denounced both Labour and Conservative plans as “not properly credible”. According to the IFS the Conservatives would almost certainly end up spending more than they had pledged. Meanwhile, Labour would be unable to deliver on its spending plans without a raising taxes on the general population not just on the rich and larger companies. Meanwhile, the Liberal Democrats were deemed to have the “most fiscally prudent” plans combining large increases in spending with increased taxation.

In response Labour played defence and the Conservatives attack. Corbyn insisted implausibly that the Labour manifesto had been fully costed. Sajid Javid brushed over criticism of the Conservatives over attacking Labour for a manifesto that would lead to millions paying more taxes.

The impression that both parties are dishonest about their policies and plagued by scandal can hardly be heartening for most voters. One woman who seemed to capture the national mood was Molly Bennet, 86. When interviewed by a Sky News Reporter over who she planned to vote for she declared she wouldn’t be voting for “The Red Man” since he didn’t like Jews but was little more fond Johnson who she term “the Buffoon”. One suspects many voters share her judgement.