Sunak’s desperate dodging of the HS2 question tells us everything we need to know

The PM’s disastrous round of local radio interviews was not just excruciating listening as he repeatedly swerved questions about HS2, says Tom Peck. At times, it was like a desperate pitch for a reboot of TV game show ‘Take Your Pick’

Fixing potholes, Sunak said, is what people really care about (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

It’s not easy doing seven different eight-minute-long live local radio interviews, so Rishi Sunak should be forgiven for becoming temporarily confused on a number of occasions and imagining himself to be taking part in a reboot of the former ITV game show Take Your Pick.

He was, to his credit, extremely good at it. Time and time again, he answered the same very straightforward “yes or no” question – but not once did he give them what they wanted.

If, for any reason, the ghost of the late Des O’Connor was hanging around in the studios at BBC Radio Cornwall, Manchester, Three Counties or anywhere in between, then the great man’s gong went forlornly unbanged.