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IT'S hard to fathom how a political party could be any worse at electioneering.
Since the very damp General Election announcement from Rishi Sunak outside 10 Downing Street, it has been catastrophe after catastrophe.
And the latest in that long line is an absolute doozie.
The Tories have now lost their campaign chief with just a fortnight to go until July 4 as a growing betting scandal engulfs the party.
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Tony Lee has taken a leave of absence from his role as director of campaigning, after he and his wife – a Tory candidate – were placed under investigation for alleged betting offences, the BBC reports.
It comes after the arrest of one of Sunak’s police protection officers and a Gambling Commission investigation into his parliamentary aide Craig Williams – also over betting allegations.
The mind boggles.
SNP’s Westminster Leader and candidate for Aberdeen South, Stephen Flynn (below) said the Tory campaign is “collapsing before our very eyes”.
(Image: BBC)
“It's gone from bad, to worse, to catastrophic - and in just two weeks time the Tories will deeply deserve the democratic drubbing that they are about to get,” he added.
"The Tories are finished and Sir Keir Starmer is set to swan straight into Downing Street.”
Is this the worst election campaign of all time? It must be in contention.
Three separate polls all published on Wednesday predicted the Tories could be on course for their worst defeat in their nearly 200-year history.
The party is facing the prospect of a near wipeout come polling day, surveys showed.
The only person who believes it will be anything but that is, laughably, Michael Gove who said today that he believes the opinion polls could be wrong and the Tories could win the General Election.
The Housing Secretary, who is stepping down, said he was “not convinced they’re right” as he expressed “optimism” about the Conservatives’ chances on July 4.
Ignorance is bliss indeed.
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