Tim Bale, Professor of Politics at Queen Mary University of London, said Sunak’s newspaper-friendly tactics seemed aimed at mobilising the Conservatives’ core vote, thus limiting losses at a general election where the party is currently polling around 20 points behind Labour. “There’s a degree of following [Tory strategist] Lynton Crosby’s mantra of getting the barnacles off the boat – the government is entering an election, so get rid of anything that they think might be unpopular,” he said.
The Guardian