Labour figures think Sunak 'is c**p at politics, and are confident of victory if he becomes PM'

Rishi Sunak’s plan to help people with the cost of their energy bills has led figures close to Labour leader Keir Starmer to think the Chancellor is “crap at politics”.

Figures in the Labour party suggest that Sunak’s plan is to lumber Boris Johnson with a highly unpopular policy in the form energy bill loans, in order to sink the Prime Minister and for the Chancellor to come along at a later date to cancel the measures.

This may explain the oppositions strategy of lumping Sunak into attacks on Boris Johnson, labelling him as the “loan shark” chancellor, or describing the PM and Sunak as “the Tory Thelma and Louise”.

Could this mean the Labour party consider Rishi Sunak to be their next biggest threat after Boris Johnson, or merely just the most likely successor?

Labour figures believe the Chancellor is “vain” and makes political miscalculations, such as attempts to rebuff criticisms from Rachel Reeves, whilst only resulted in a Barbara Streisand effect of amplifying what the shadow chancellor has been saying.

Ailbhe Rea writing in the New Statesman suggests Labour think Rishi Sunak is now less likely to succeed Boris Johnson as premier, seemingly less worried if he does.

She went on to say someone close to camp Starmer has pointed to “an amusing statistic” from the US that the taller candidate “tends to win”, which obiviously doesn’t favour the diminutive Rishi Sunak. “So bring on little Rishi,” she wrote that a senior Labour figure had said “with a grin”.