Sunak will ‘absolutely’ remain Tory leader despite D-day blunder, ally says | General election 2024
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An ally of Rishi Sunak insisted the prime minister would “absolutely” continue to lead the Conservatives’ election campaign after his blunder at the D-Day ceremony sparked anger in the party.
The prime minister campaigned in Yorkshire on Sunday without media appearances after cutting short his attendance at the 80th anniversary of D-Day in France with other world leaders.
Mel Stride, the Work and Pensions Secretary, said Sunak would not resign over the move in the midst of an election campaign.
Asked if Sunak could hand the leadership to the Conservatives ahead of the July 4 election, Stride dismissed the idea.
“It shouldn’t be about anything but [Sunak continuing to lead the party]he told Sky News.
Stride said Sunak “deeply regrets” his decision to leave the D-Day events early, calling the prime minister “deeply patriotic” and committed to supporting veterans.
“He admitted he made a mistake. He deeply regrets it. He apologized unequivocally for that,” Stride said.
“The prime minister has accepted that he made a mistake. He apologized unequivocally for this.
“And I think he will feel that personally, very deeply, because he is a deeply patriotic man. He will be deeply embarrassed by what happened.
Sunak was criticized by politicians across the spectrum for his decision and sparked outrage in his party. The choice to return to the UK early to resume election campaigning left Keir Starmer, the Labor leader, and Nigel Faragethe leader of Reform UK, to take his place on the world stage in France.
However, Farage was also criticized for claiming that Sunak’s early departure demonstrated that the Prime Minister did not understand “our culture”.
Asked if he was trying to emphasize Sunak’s British-Asian background, Farage pointed to the contribution of the Commonwealth troops and suggested he was talking about the Prime Minister’s “class” and “privilege”.
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The Reform UK leader said on BBC One’s Sunday With Laura Kuensberg programme: “I know what your question is getting at – 40% of our contribution to the First World War and the Second World War came from the Commonwealth.
“It’s completely detached from class, from privilege, from how ordinary people feel in this country. He revealed this, I think impressively, when he left Normandy early.
However, Stride said Farage’s remarks were “embarrassing”, while Shabana Mahmood, the shadow justice secretary, said suggesting the prime minister was not part of “our” culture was code for “dog whistle”.
“I think it’s a classic Nigel Farage trick: bend down enough to signal a bit of dog whistling and then lean right back and sound perfectly reasonable and say something good about the contribution that Commonwealth soldiers, ethnic minorities have made for the war effort,” she said.
“We can all see exactly what Nigel Farage is doing. He has form; this is completely unacceptable. This is a guy who has a track record of seeking to divide communities, who just wants to do it with a touch of respect while doing it.”
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