Tories deploying Coutinho, Trott and Mercer as fresh faces in election media battle
‘Tory election strategist Isaac Levido is telling the Cabinet that the election campaign would be presidential,’ writes Katy Balls
Sunak was picked not because of his seniority – there were plenty of higher ranked ministers they could have asked. Instead, they decided he was the best communicator for the voters they wanted to reach.told the Cabinet that the election campaign would be presidential. That led to some internal sniping – with ministers complaining that Sunak’s approval ratings aren’t high enough for such a strategy to work.
Coutinho, 38, ought to come as no surprise to Westminster watchers. She has long been a rising star under Sunak – serving as his special adviser and then once an MP, as his PPS. Trott is viewed as key player in doing this. “Laura is down-to-earth and her brief is very important for us,” says a colleague. What both Trott and Coutinho have working in their favour is relative youth – both were elected in 2019 so help to suggest the Tory party has some life in it yet.
Then there’s the reliable Mel Stride, the work and pensions secretary who has been a regular sight in the studios. When No. 10 were braced for a potential coup against the Prime Minister in the wake of local election results, it was Stride who they sent out to sit in the BBC’s Politics Live studio for hours and field the difficult questions. Benefits – which fall into his brief – is also an area where they want to have a fight with Labour. It means Stride has a busy six weeks ahead.
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