Sunak Gambles on Snap Poll, Things Can Only Get Wetter

The phrase ‘pathetic fallacy’ might have been coined to describe Rishi Sunak’s rain-drenched announcement outside Number 10 that he was calling an early General Election. The Daily Telegraph’s front page the following day, dominated by a photograph of a soggy, sad-looking Sunak, summed up the dilemma that had faced him: ‘Sunak gambles on snap poll’ ran the strapline. That the poll was doomed to fail spectacularly was reflected in the prophetic headline – ‘Things can only get wetter’ – a clever pun on the song being played by a protester at the end of Downing Street – ‘Things can only get better’ – which threatened to drown out Sunak’s speech, and presaged the shambolic Tory campaign that followed.

Below, Gordon Rayner’s analysis neatly encapsulated the problem the Prime Minister had faced, and the challenges ahead, and, amid the headlines to be discussed by the opinion writers, Matt’s cartoon of lemmings jumping off a cliff summed up the state of play in the Tory party. “The Daily Telegraph’s striking front page brings together the perfect elements for a splash – a striking picture, a clever pun and a nation-defining story,” said the judges, praising the fact that “creative display led on analysis when the news is obvious.”