‘Tories haven’t any report to boast of – combating soiled was inevitable’

Smears are desperate

With no record to boast of, it was inevitable the Conservatives would fight a dirty, cynical election campaign.

The tone was set by Rishi Sunak with his repeated lie that Labour will raise everyone’s taxes. The Prime Minister has persisted with this line of attack even though he was warned by the most senior official in the Treasury that it was based on distorted figures.

Desperate Tories have also pushed advertisements on social media that claim Keir Starmer’s victory would be welcomed by Russian tyrant Vladimir Putin. This would be laughable were the intention not so malign.

Labour campaign strategist Jonathan Ashworth today fears the Conservatives will start to target Mr Starmer personally.

He is right to be worried. The Tories have a history of playing the man rather than the ball, whether it is accusing Tony Blair of being a devil in disguise or claiming that Gordon Brown was on the side of criminals.

Hopefully voters will see through their smears and realise they are resorting to gutter tactics because they are bankrupt of ideas.

Cyber terrors

The NHS is still dealing with the consequences of a devastating cyber attack that targeted it earlier this month.

As a result of the hack on the NHS provider Synnovis, hospitals in London have been forced to cancel hundreds of operations and outpatient appointments. The NHS also had to make an urgent appeal for blood donations because of the software breakdown.

It is has now emerged the hackers, reported to be a Russian group called Qilin, posted online the personal data of patients, including their names and dates of birth. The country’s readiness to deal with a cyber war needs to be as robust as its readiness for a real war.

Tragic Mike

Items at a lavish Tory fundraiser included tickets for a Magic Mike male strip show.

The bare-faced cheek on display is nothing compared with the party’s election promises.