The hidden problem with Labour’s attack ads

Both parties have mounted personal campaigns against their opponents in the past. So what’s different this time, asks Marie Le Conte

Mainstream politics no longer exists in the vacuum it once inhabited (Getty/Labour Party)

If they go low, must we always go high? That is the question currently consuming the Labour Party. Though the Conservatives have rarely had any qualms about landing low blows against the opposition, Starmer’s party had, until recently, only really played it straight.

This truce of sorts ended last week. “Do you think adults convicted of sexually assaulting children should go to prison?”, the Labour ad asked on Twitter. “Rishi Sunak doesn’t”. It went on: “Under the Tories, 4,500 adults convicted of sexually assaulting children under 16 served no prison time. Labour will lock up dangerous abusers.”

On a purely tactical level, it is fair to say that the attack has been a success. It was released at the beginning of the long weekend and, with no other significant political news coming out since then, has become the main show in town. I am writing about it now and, as far as I can tell, every other commentator robbed of their bank holiday has also had to opine on it.