As the days unfold, increasingly it’s impossible not to feel sympathy for Rishi Sunak.
Of course, he knew what he was leading. Of course, he sought the top job. But oh dear, did he ever suppose it would be as bad as this?
By now, if things had gone to plan, Sunak could be affording himself a pat on the back.
Always trailing Labour and Keir Starmer, with a week to go he’d managed to keep the Tory general election campaign on track. A cohesive party had focused attention on Labour’s supposed secret tax agenda, judged by the Tory strategists to be Labour’s Achilles heel.
At focus groups, time and again, the public’s lack of total trust in Starmer and his team was to the fore. They talked a good talk, undoubtedly did Labour, but underneath these mere words, could they really be trusted?
That was the intention, to keep the drive for votes on what a future Labour government might look like, and not to dwell on the past 14 years. That was the idea, anyway.
With a week to go, despite Sunak’s best endeavours, the polls all point in one direction. They may be wrong – they’ve been so before. But no matter how hard he tries, the Tories are not making inroads. Worse, it’s as if everything is conspiring against him.
From the off, it went wrong, with Sunak announcing the election date in the pouring rain. He could have retreated inside but didn’t. He could have held an umbrella but didn’t.
As it was, the pictures were bad, but the Tory spin doctors did their level best, claiming this was evidence of a determined leader, who knew his own mind, who would not shelter from even the most appalling weather. This was tough, undeterred Rishi, tackling issues head-on.
Missing on D-Day
Then came the D-Day celebrations and his early departure, and calamity. Even the most ardent spinners found that one hard to excuse.
No sooner were they getting through that storm than another swirling cyclone appeared: the entry into the contest of Nigel Farage. Suddenly, previously loyal voters were indicating they would switch to Farage and his Reform party.
Fortunately, Farage made errors, that they were able to turn. Declaring Vladimir Putin was provoked by the West into invading Ukraine invited those moving to Reform to consider what they were doing, to examine the character of the man they were voting for.
Not only that, the Sunak supporters were able to say, a vote away from the Tories for Reform played directly into Labour’s hands, bringing the prospect of a super-majority nearer. This brought them back to firmer, more confident ground, to raising that trust question.
The word from the constituencies was that their tactic had started to make inroads, this twin-pronged attack, on Farage and sowing fear as to what a Labour landslide could really bring.
Controversies remembered
Tories were returning to the fold, pulling back from Farage and anxious to avoid a one-party state.
Then, disaster. The betting scandal erupted and Sunak and his inner circle were left despairing. Nothing could shake-off the image of a group of entitled Tories with privileged access to No 10 attempting to enrich themselves, by behaving in a venal manner that simply would not occur to others.
What was especially galling was that Sunak’s planners had managed to keep the old sore of the Tories equating to the nasty party hidden.
Apart from occasional mentions, little had been said in the public hustings about the coronavirus lockdown parties. Similarly, the accusation of favouring friends with PPE contracts had also not been so prominent.
The treatment of the Post Office workers was bad, but this also took in Ed Davey, the Lib-Dem leader and his time as a coalition minister – it was not hitting the Tories so hard.
One issue they could have done without, Labour’s intention to impose VAT on school fees, was outside their control. By and large, Sunak and his political colleagues steered away from a tax that would affect only a small percentage of the population and one that could already afford to educate children privately.
It was the media, more than Tory politicians, who kept this dispute alive – possibly because newspaper bosses with children and grandchildren to educate, would be caught by the levy.
Nevertheless, it did not play well on doorsteps, protesting about a charge for the wealthiest section of society. Claims that state schools would be harmed and not all privately-educated children necessarily hailed from money, largely fell on deaf ears. There was, though, little Sunak and his team could do about it.
The betting affair was altogether different, immediately bring back memories of the Downing Street get-togethers in defiance of the pandemic rules, Dominic Cummings’ drive to Barnard Castle, and the likes of Matt Hancock’s pub landlord winning lucrative PPE contracts.
Moral compass
What unites them all is the answer to how could they? Because they could.
If the leadership is partying, if the then Prime Minister’s closest adviser is driving when he shouldn’t, if pals can take advantage of a VIP fast-lane to win PPE orders and the only thing that qualifies them is that they are pals, then what hope is there?
Sunak appeared to be cut from another cloth. He was no Boris Johnson, no Liz Truss.
Most of those who had inside information about the election date knew it was wrong to rush to the bookmaker. Some, though, either knew it was reprehensible and did not bother, or they did not even know. In any event, they went ahead and placed bets that were guaranteed to deliver.
It’s the lack of a moral compass that is especially telling, and worrying. These were people, don’t forget, close to the very pinnacle of power. If they did this, what else might they be capable of?
I found myself feeling sorry for Sunak. But then, he chooses the company he keeps.
More coverage from the Future Forum
The specs
Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel
Power: 579hp
Torque: 859Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh825,900
On sale: Now
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St Andrew's Church Mussaffah branch
St Andrew's Church Al Ain branch
St John's Baptist Church, Ruwais
Church of the Virgin Mary and St Paul the Apostle, Ruwais
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SPEC SHEET
Display: 6.8" edge quad-HD dynamic Amoled 2X, Infinity-O, 3088 x 1440, 500ppi, HDR10 , 120Hz
Processor: 4nm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1/Exynos 2200, 8-core
Memory: 8/12GB RAM
Storage: 128/256/512GB/1TB
Platform: Android 12
Main camera: quad 12MP ultra-wide f/2.2, 108MP wide f/1.8, 10MP telephoto f/4.9, 10MP telephoto 2.4; Space Zoom up to 100x, auto HDR, expert RAW
Video: 8K@24fps, 4K@60fps, full-HD@60fps, HD@30fps, super slo-mo@960fps
Front camera: 40MP f/2.2
Battery: 5000mAh, fast wireless charging 2.0 Wireless PowerShare
Connectivity: 5G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.2, NFC
I/O: USB-C
SIM: single nano, or nano and SIM, nano and nano, eSIM/nano and nano
Colours: burgundy, green, phantom black, phantom white, graphite, sky blue, red
Price: Dh4,699 for 128GB, Dh5,099 for 256GB, Dh5,499 for 512GB; 1TB unavailable in the UAE
SPECS
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2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, Leon.
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
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Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
How to wear a kandura
Dos
- Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion
- Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
- Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work
- Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester
Don’ts
- Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal
- Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying
ABU DHABI ORDER OF PLAY
Starting at 10am:
Daria Kasatkina v Qiang Wang
Veronika Kudermetova v Annet Kontaveit (10)
Maria Sakkari (9) v Anastasia Potapova
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova v Ons Jabeur (15)
Donna Vekic (16) v Bernarda Pera
Ekaterina Alexandrova v Zarina Diyas
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The biog
Name: Shamsa Hassan Safar
Nationality: Emirati
Education: Degree in emergency medical services at Higher Colleges of Technology
Favourite book: Between two hearts- Arabic novels
Favourite music: Mohammed Abdu and modern Arabic songs
Favourite way to spend time off: Family visits and spending time with friends
Profile Idealz
Company: Idealz
Founded: January 2018
Based: Dubai
Sector: E-commerce
Size: (employees): 22
Investors: Co-founders and Venture Partners (9 per cent)
Analysis
Maros Sefcovic is juggling multiple international trade agreement files, but his message was clear when he spoke to The National on Wednesday.
The EU-UAE bilateral trade deal will be finalised soon, he said. It is in everyone’s interests to do so. Both sides want to move quickly and are in alignment. He said the UAE is a very important partner for the EU. It’s full speed ahead - and with some lofty ambitions - on the road to a free trade agreement.
We also talked about US-EU tariffs. He answered that both sides need to talk more and more often, but he is prepared to defend Europe's position and said diplomacy should be a guiding principle through the current moment.
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INDIA V SOUTH AFRICA
First Test: October 2-6, at Visakhapatnam
Second Test: October 10-14, at Maharashtra
Third Test: October 19-23, at Ranchi
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A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
What is an FTO Designation?
FTO designations impose immigration restrictions on members of the organisation simply by virtue of their membership and triggers a criminal prohibition on knowingly providing material support or resources to the designated organisation as well as asset freezes.
It is a crime for a person in the United States or subject to the jurisdiction of the United States to knowingly provide “material support or resources” to or receive military-type training from or on behalf of a designated FTO.
Representatives and members of a designated FTO, if they are aliens, are inadmissible to and, in certain circumstances removable from, the United States.
Except as authorised by the Secretary of the Treasury, any US financial institution that becomes aware that it has possession of or control over funds in which an FTO or its agent has an interest must retain possession of or control over the funds and report the funds to the Treasury Department.
Source: US Department of State
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Essentials
The flights
Whether you trek after mountain gorillas in Rwanda, Uganda or the Congo, the most convenient international airport is in Rwanda’s capital city, Kigali. There are direct flights from Dubai a couple of days a week with RwandAir. Otherwise, an indirect route is available via Nairobi with Kenya Airways. Flydubai flies to Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo, via Entebbe in Uganda. Expect to pay from US$350 (Dh1,286) return, including taxes.
The tours
Superb ape-watching tours that take in all three gorilla countries mentioned above are run by Natural World Safaris. In September, the company will be operating a unique Ugandan ape safari guided by well-known primatologist Ben Garrod.
In the Democratic Republic of Congo, local operator Kivu Travel can organise pretty much any kind of safari throughout the Virunga National Park and elsewhere in eastern Congo.
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UK-EU trade at a glance
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Co-operation on security initiatives and procurement of defence products
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Smoother border management with use of e-gates
Cutting red tape on import and export of food
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Company profile
Name: Fruitful Day
Founders: Marie-Christine Luijckx, Lyla Dalal AlRawi, Lindsey Fournie
Based: Dubai, UAE
Founded: 2015
Number of employees: 30
Sector: F&B
Funding so far: Dh3 million
Future funding plans: None at present
Future markets: Saudi Arabia, potentially Kuwait and other GCC countries
Directed by: Craig Gillespie
Starring: Emma Stone, Emma Thompson, Joel Fry
4/5
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Bharat
Director: Ali Abbas Zafar
Starring: Salman Khan, Katrina Kaif, Sunil Grover
Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars
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BMW M5 specs
Engine: 4.4-litre twin-turbo V-8 petrol enging with additional electric motor
Power: 727hp
Torque: 1,000Nm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 10.6L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh650,000
