Rishi Sunak’s own-goal launch of his election campaign with the slogan: ‘No We Can’t’

Tom Peck watches in amazement as the PM sets fire to his future on live television in a bizarre bonfire of his party’s commitment to net zero

Is it possible to feel sorry for Rishi Sunak? (Getty)

Most people, these days, watch the news with the sound off. It’s just there, on some muted TV in the corner of the office.

For anyone who happened to glance up at the prime minister on Wednesday afternoon – perhaps on their way to an airport departure gate – and saw him wearing a look that could have been painted on by whichever Disney animator it is that specialises in drawing baby animals learning that their mother has sadly died, they may very well have texted friends to ask why it was that Rishi Sunak was resigning.

But he wasn’t resigning. This was, in fact, the prime minister launching a flagship policy. The thing that he reckons can change the narrative, turn back the tide.