'Why Don't The People Want You?': Emma Barnett's Brutal Jibe At Minister As Polls Predict Tory Wipeout
BBC presenter Emma Barnett asked a Tory minister “why don’t the people want you” as a major opinion poll suggested Labour is on course for a 256-seat majority.
Mel Stride, the work and pensions secretary, admitted that Keir Starmer’s party could win as many as 460 seats in a Conservative wipeout.
The Ipsos UK poll of nearly 20,000 people suggested the Tories could be left with just 115 MPs after July 4.
On the Today programme this morning, Barnett asked Stride: “Do you think you’re going to win the election?”
The minister replied: “Well I don’t own a crystal ball and I think it would be very foolish of anyone to try and predict the outcome of any election.
“The polls have been stuck in a broadly in the same position for some time now and that shows us some way behind Labour.
“If you take those polls and extrapolate it into a result, you could end up seeing a Labour government with 450 or 460 seats, the largest majority virtually in the history of this country.”
Later in the interview, Barnett said: “You’ve been on four times on the Today programme since the election was called, why [don’t you] think the polls are moving if you’ve got such a strong story to tell? Why don’t the people want you?”
Stride replied: “We have got the best part of two weeks now before the general election day arrives. What we have to focus on is getting our message through. I’m confident if we get our message through, those polls will move, but we’ve got to keep working on getting the message through.”
In a further blow for the Tories last night, a billionaire businessman who donated £500,000 to the party at the last election announced that he was backing Labour this time.
Phones 4U founder John Caudwell also described Rishi Sunak as “an absolute dud”.