'It's a bit tragic’
Tory Minister Mel Stride has been absolutely destroyed during a final interview of the election campaign over his party’s ‘politics of fear’ tactic attempting to warn voters of a Labour ‘supermajority’, rather than saying anything positive about the Tories 14 year record.
Mel Stride made a striking statement on the morning broadcast rounds today (3 July) as he conceded Tory defeat and that a Labour landslide was “likely”. He claimed Labour were on course for “the largest majority this country has ever seen” and bigger than in 1931.
The extraordinary claim has been called a wild exaggeration of the current polling and Keir Starmer has accused the Tories of talking up the chances of a Labour majority as a “voter suppression” tactic.
Starmer commented on Wednesday morning: “It is more of the same. It’s really voter suppression. It’s trying to get people to stay at home rather than go out and vote.”
After Stride had made his warning about a Labour majority during an interview with Sky News anchor Matt Barbet, the presenter said back: “When was it decided Mel that, with a 14 year record, the politics of fear and trying to make people afraid of what comes next was the best tactic?”
Stride insisted the party had “achieved a great deal” including furlough in the Covid pandemic and getting inflation down, but that it was “right” to highlight the alternative as he went on to push the Conservative attack line claiming tax rises under Labour.
But Barbet dealt the Tory a further brutal response: “It’s a bit tragic isn’t it that you can’t refer to a 14 year record and be positive about the future when coming into a general election.”
He went on to refer to the appearance of Boris Jonhson at a Tory campaign rally in Chelsea on Tuesday evening.
“I know you talked about dealing with Covid, but of course the former Prime Minister that we heard from last night was given a police caution because of his behaviour during Covid, you gave money to conservative cronies, the other prime minister David Cameron that you mentioned was famous for austerity and cutting public services,” said Barbet.
He went on: “Perhaps the most damning fact of all is wages have been stagnant the whole time. We now have about the same amount of money in our pockets as 2010.”
In another car crash appearance for Mel Stride, who has become a regular on the morning media rounds on behalf of his party this election, he went on to insist “I think we have a positive story to tell Matt,” before repeating himself on Covid and inflation.
(Image credit: Sky News / YouTube screenshot)
Hannah Davenport is news reporter at Left Foot Forward
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