Over the last week, Rishi Sunak has been conspicuous by his absence.
As an England fan of a certain age, many would understand if he has gone into mourning for the magnificent Graham Thorpe. Being equally charitable, he and his family deserve a holiday after the last few months. But as Keir Starmer has already discovered, personal plans and politics don’t always happily align.
Sunak hasn’t Tweeted since Sunday. Perhaps he doesn’t want to walk into the spat between his successor and his chum Elon Musk. His statement was easy for every Tory to support, condemning the “shocking scenes” as having “nothing to do with the tragedy in Southport”, made clear that “violent, criminal behaviour has no place in our society”, and that the police have our support.
Since then? Nothing. No interviews. No social media clips. No speeches, no calls for national calm, no demands for Parliament to be recalled. He has left it to his Shadow Home Secretary to trawl the broadcast studios to critique the Government’s plans and condemn the rioters as racists.
Other leadership candidates have taken their own approaches. Robert Jenrick has another punchy Twitter clip, Priti Patel has called for MPs to return, and Kemi Badenoch has argued with The Guardian and given a je vous ai compris interview to the Telegraph. Tom Tugendhat has limited himself to a single Tweet, which is more than Mel Stride seems to have done. In short, incoherence.
Does it matter? They say never to interrupt your opponent whilst they are making a mistake. If you look at these riots solely through a political lens, you can rub your hands with glee as Starmer deals with a collapse in governmental authority in his first month. Just look at those approval ratings! If the crime crisis continues, it will be a long five years. Winter of Discontent territory? Certainly.
As Cleverly suggested, Labour are learning that “they’re not in opposition any more” and that in government “you can’t just say stuff, you have to do stuff”. We told you it was a tough gig. Now it’s our turn to smile smugly from the sidelines as ministers find themselves overwhelmed and incapable.
But seriously. Look at those words collapse in governmental authority. As a party that prides itself on its support for law and order, the nation-state, and an integrative national community, this disorder is an utter abhorrence, for which we should be ashamed. We have been in power for fourteen years. As hopeless as Labour are proving, we bear our responsibility for Britain’s current state.
To treat the riots solely as a political opportunity, as something to which should be given a nod and a wink in the Faragist mould, would be an abandonment of our principles and of our right to be taken seriously again as a party of government. We cannot be seen to fudge, hedge, or sully our response.
Which makes Sunak’s lack of comment even more galling. He might now only be Leader of the Opposition. Many voters will not want to hear from us again. But he was also, only a month ago, Britain’s first ethnic minority Prime Minister. He is the most eloquent and prominent advocate for a successful multi-racial Britain this country has yet produced. Does he not have anything to say?
Every sane Brit should want to live in the Britain of which Sunak is proud: one where your skin colour, faith, and heritage don’t matter. Musk or no Musk, do we really want to be defined for the world by marauding mobs of bigots, looters, or sectarian thugs? Why doesn’t he say that? Provide a lead. Make a speech.
If Sunak hopes to spend the next three months limiting his appearances to a few self-deprecatory PMQs and Instagram posts, he is doing his party, his country, and himself a disservice. He cannot duck his responsibilities. He cannot skip party conference or leave it to his shadow ministers to do the tough stuff as he runs down the clock until his successor is elected. Santa Monica must wait.
He has vowed to stay around in British politics. He should prove his doubters wrong. Speak for England, Rishi.
Update 9:00 AM – Turns out Santa Monica couldn’t wait after all.