Laura Kuenssberg pressed Mark Harper over "desperate" Tory campaign tacticsLaura Kuenssberg laid into transport secretary Mark Harper on Sunday and said the Conservatives’ campaign tactics are “desperate”.
The Tories have been trailing in the polls for weeks now – YouGov even put them in third place behind both Labour and Reform on Thursday.
The Conservatives have responded by telling voters supporting any party other than them is the same as giving Labour a “blank cheque” for a huge majority.
So, on her show, Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, the presenter said: “The message shifting somewhat in the last few days, not so much necessarily to say, ‘let’s win this,’ but to say ‘you should worry about a big Labour majority to stop the other side romping home’.”
She showed viewers one of the Tories’ more recent social media adverts, which predicts a Labour victory with 490 seats.
Kuenssberg showing Harper the Tories' own attack ad, which gives 57 seats.“You seem to be resorting to just spooking people into some kind of massive majority.
“Isn’t that an admission of defeat, when as you said, not a single vote has been cast, apart from a few postal votes?” the BBC presenter asked.
The minister replied: “It’s not, it’s simply doing what you did before with me, just to point to the polls.
“All we’re doing is if you look at the polls, and if people voted the way the polls are suggesting, that’s what you’d get.
“And we’re saying to people is that what you want? And actually I don’t think it is what people want.”
He claimed the Tories are still fighting for every vote, and there’s still plenty of undecided voters.
According to research from consultancy firm More in Common, about 15% of voters are still undecided.
Kuenssberg hit back: “Isn’t that exactly the point?
“There are still millions of people in this country, probably many of them watching this morning, who haven’t decided what they’re going to do yet, and they’re hearing from you, is not ‘hey here’s our positive vision’.
“What they’re hearing is, ‘oh well you can’t give the other side everything they want so stick with us.’
“Isn’t that something that sounds a bit desperate?”
“Not really,” Harper said, and claimed broadcasters often talk about polls.
