Tom King

I'm about to go submarine. Under the rules, TV journalists aren't permitted to say anything material about politics on election day. So this is my last chance to offer a few reflections as the most maddening and absurd election battle of my life draws to a close. Here, in no particular order of importance, is a list of just a few of the events I never expected to see in an election period but did. 1) Revelations that Tory candidates and officials bet on the date of the election, rather than concentrate on winning the election, and that a Labour candidate bet he'd lose 2) A PM turning his back on free publicity that campaign money can't buy, through his early departure from a D-Day gathering of world leaders that was held to celebrate our brave war veterans 3) A wannabe Tory leader, Suella Braverman, saying that Rishi Sunak's attacks on racist remarks by Reform leaders and candidates have less force because the Tory party kept millions of pounds from a donor who made racist remarks 4) A Tory leader seemingly conceding defeat weeks before polling day by saying that the vote is all about making sure Labour wins only a normal majority, not what Sunak calls a "super" one 5) A prime minister drowning in the pouring rain when announcing the dissolution of parliament, for want of an umbrella And here are the big issues that would have been discussed in a healthy functioning democracy but were downplayed or ignored by Labour and Conservatives 1) how to manage the risks and rewards of the most far-reaching industrial revolution of modern times, the generative AI industrial revolution - that will require radical changes to our schools, welfare system, healthcare, employment, media rules and taxation 2) what kind of military and defence capability is necessary to protect ourselves from the military threats of Putin, China and the wider cyber threats of other bad actors 3) how to avoid deep cuts in public services after 2025, that are baked into spending plans underwritten by the Tories and Labour, at a time when prisons are overflowing, waiting lists for NHS treatment are still rising, teachers remain demoralised 4) whether it's sensible to commit to freezing all rates of direct personal and business taxation, when rates for those on average incomes are lower than they've been since 1975 and when public services are crying out for investment 5) how to end the strikes in the health service once and for all I could go on, and on, and on. It was in keeping with the systemic displacement activity of the campaigns that the final argument just before polling day has been about whether Keir Starmer should be allowed to have Friday nights with his kids if he becomes prime minister. In what universe do Rishi Sunak and the Tories believe that voters who are thinking of voting Labour, Reform, LibDem or anything but for him will be swayed by Starmer saying he wants to preserve space to be a dad? Anyway here is the nutshell of the two parties' arguments, if we can dignify them in that way. Tories: "Labour will put up your taxes and we'll cut them. Don't ask us how we'll fund public services, or our confidence levels in our plans to cut immigration." Labour: "We won't put up taxes and we'll encourage investment by promoting economic stability and dismantling planning restrictions. Don't ask us how we'll fund public services, or our confidence levels in our plans to cut immigration." Does any of what we've witnessed matter? I suspect not. The die for tomorrow's vote was probably cast long before Sunak announced 4 July would be the day. My thesis, which I will discuss with you after the votes have been counted, is that if history is made in this election - and that looks likely - the big causes go back to 2015, and there have been a series of sub-causes and triggers in the past few years. I'll explain more in coming days, as a special treat

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