Tory ‘common sense’ minister laughed at by audience after campaign claim backfires 

'Esther McVey failing miserably to read the room'

Esther McVey local campaign

The Conservatives so-called minister for ‘common sense’ was met with a devastating reaction from her constituents when she attempted to blow the Tories trumpet during her local general election campaign. 

In a video clip that has been widely circulated, Esther McVey is filmed telling the audience at a hustings meeting in Tatton that “the conservative party always gets the country back on its feet”. The immediate reaction from the audience was brutal, as her comment was met with an outburst of laughter from across the room.

McVey had to pause to let the laughter subside, before she rallied on in a desperate attempt to prop up her party’s reputation. However it seemed the audience were not being fooled. 

Tatton is historically a safe Tory seat, however Esther McVey is listed as one of the top Tories at risk of losing their seats in the general election, according to the latest YouGov MRP poll. Labour candidate Ryan Jude is in with a chance of overseeing a Labour win for the first time in Tatton. 

The reaction to McVey’s comment was widely shared online as a sign of public disdain for the Tories, while the episode was added to the expanding list of embarrassing Tory campaign moments.

“McVey’s seen the writing on the wall and is carving out a new career in stand-up,” wrote one social media user. 

Another person said on X: “Oh dear!  Esther McVey getting the kind of laugh a comedian could only dream of during local hustings.

“Her party is a joke.”

Writer Alastair Campbell wrote on X: “Sounds to me there was a lot of common sense in that room. Just not in the minister for said commodity (one of Sunak’s many many errors. If he was as good at hedge funding as he is at politics I am surprised he’s not broke … )”

Another X user who was at the meeting commented: “The Tories are a laughing stock”.

Someone else said: “Esther McVey failing miserably to read the room”.

(Image credit: Twitter screenshot)

Hannah Davenport is news reporter at Left Foot Forward

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