Trump-Style Tory Attacks on Keir Starmer’s Age Backfire

“Efforts by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s Conservatives to follow Donald Trump’s playbook by attacking Labour leader Keir Starmer over his age have fallen flat, an opinion poll found, as senior Tories criticized the US-style rhetoric used in the UK campaign,” Bloomberg reports.

“In the opening days of the general election race, Conservative officials sought to label Starmer ‘Sir Sleepy’ and ‘Sleepy Keir,’ an apparent reference to Trump’s infamous barb at ‘Sleepy Joe’ Biden, the 81-year-old US President. At 61, Starmer would be the oldest prime minister to take office in Britain in almost half a century.”

“So far, the campaign tactic has failed to move voters and may end up backfiring on Sunak’s Tories, according to a survey by More In Common that was shared with Bloomberg. Only 17% of the public think Starmer is too old to lead the country, a figure that drops to just 5% among the key swing voters who will decide marginal seats at the election on July 4, the poll found.”