Shadow minister refuses to endorse Labour attack ad on Sunak
Good morning from London.
Labour has managed to end its week focusing on crime and antisocial behaviour into a row over an advert posted on social media on Thursday afternoon.
Next to a photograph of Rishi Sunak, it says: “Do you think adults convicted of sexually assaulting children should go to prison? Rishi Sunak doesn’t,” and then features the PM’s signature, a throwback to adverts run by the treasury when he was chancellor.
It received heavy criticism yesterday from both its own MPs and members of the commentariat – former shadow chancellor John McDonnell urged the party to withdraw it tweeting: “This is not the sort of politics a Labour Party, confident of its own values and preparing to govern, should be engaged in….We, the Labour Party, are better than this.”
The New Statesman’s senior editor George Eaton branded it “one of the worst political adverts in recent UK history”.
Now this morning a member of the shadow cabinet, Lucy Powell, has declined to endorse the tweet although admitted it was “everybody’s taste” and said it was the “cut and thrust nature of politics”.
The shadow culture secretary told BBC Breakfast: “What I stand by is what that graphic is trying to show, which is that the prime minister of our country is responsible for the criminal justice system of our country and currently that criminal justice system is not working.”
As Playbook’s must-read morning email points out, the element of the advert referring to the number of adults convicted of sexually assaulting children serving no prison time includes 2010-2015. At the time Sunak was a hedge fund manager. It’s hard to attribute blame to him with a straight face.
But it is a sign of an openly aggressive Labour operation – featuring members of its backroom team who worked in the Blair and Brown governments. More recently it is a throwback reminiscent of the party’s “Controls on immigration” mugs in the run up to the 2015 general election which was used to claw back Conservative and UKIP voters.
Meanwhile the Easter getaway at Dover continues as passengers continue to face long delays – and as the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement approaches on Monday, one of its architects Bertie Ahern says that a review of the peace accord is possible – but only if the DUP returns to Stormont.
Former DUP first minister Arlene Foster has interviewed Ahern for GB News in an interview that will be aired on Easter Sunday, perfect viewing for the post-roast dinner food coma.
I’m sitting in for politics blog stalwart Andrew Sparrow this week, and you can get in touch with any comments or tips, either by emailing harry.taylor@guardian.co.uk or my DMs are open on Twitter where you can find me @HarryTaylr.
Key events
More that 1,300 offshore oil and gas workers are to stage a 48-hour strike in a dispute over pay.
Unite warned that dozens of oil and gas platforms will be brought to a “standstill” by the walkout that begins on 24 April.
The union has previously warned of a “tsunami” of industrial unrest in the offshore sector over pay and conditions.
Unite general secretary, Sharon Graham, said: “Oil and gas companies in the offshore sector are enjoying record windfall profits.
“There’s no question that contractors and operators can easily afford to give Unite members a decent pay rise.
“The scale of corporate greed in the offshore sector has to be challenged.”
Shadow minister refuses to endorse Labour attack ad on Sunak
Good morning from London.
Labour has managed to end its week focusing on crime and antisocial behaviour into a row over an advert posted on social media on Thursday afternoon.
Next to a photograph of Rishi Sunak, it says: “Do you think adults convicted of sexually assaulting children should go to prison? Rishi Sunak doesn’t,” and then features the PM’s signature, a throwback to adverts run by the treasury when he was chancellor.
It received heavy criticism yesterday from both its own MPs and members of the commentariat – former shadow chancellor John McDonnell urged the party to withdraw it tweeting: “This is not the sort of politics a Labour Party, confident of its own values and preparing to govern, should be engaged in….We, the Labour Party, are better than this.”
The New Statesman’s senior editor George Eaton branded it “one of the worst political adverts in recent UK history”.
Now this morning a member of the shadow cabinet, Lucy Powell, has declined to endorse the tweet although admitted it was “everybody’s taste” and said it was the “cut and thrust nature of politics”.
The shadow culture secretary told BBC Breakfast: “What I stand by is what that graphic is trying to show, which is that the prime minister of our country is responsible for the criminal justice system of our country and currently that criminal justice system is not working.”
As Playbook’s must-read morning email points out, the element of the advert referring to the number of adults convicted of sexually assaulting children serving no prison time includes 2010-2015. At the time Sunak was a hedge fund manager. It’s hard to attribute blame to him with a straight face.
But it is a sign of an openly aggressive Labour operation – featuring members of its backroom team who worked in the Blair and Brown governments. More recently it is a throwback reminiscent of the party’s “Controls on immigration” mugs in the run up to the 2015 general election which was used to claw back Conservative and UKIP voters.
Meanwhile the Easter getaway at Dover continues as passengers continue to face long delays – and as the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement approaches on Monday, one of its architects Bertie Ahern says that a review of the peace accord is possible – but only if the DUP returns to Stormont.
Former DUP first minister Arlene Foster has interviewed Ahern for GB News in an interview that will be aired on Easter Sunday, perfect viewing for the post-roast dinner food coma.
I’m sitting in for politics blog stalwart Andrew Sparrow this week, and you can get in touch with any comments or tips, either by emailing harry.taylor@guardian.co.uk or my DMs are open on Twitter where you can find me @HarryTaylr.
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