Mordaunt: We’re the underdogs but voters must not allow red mist to sway vote

Leader of the House of Commons Penny Mordaunt (Danny Lawson/PA)

Penny Mordaunt has acknowledged the Conservatives enter the General Election as the “underdog”, but warned voters against backing “ruthless socialists”.

The Commons Leader said the question is whether the public’s “red mist” over decisions made by the Government in “tough times” will “blind them to what is on offer under the red flag” of Labour.

Ms Mordaunt went on to launch an attack on Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer, labelling him “weak and unformed”, while she also dubbed Labour MPs as being part of the “Britain-bashing brigade”.

Speaking in the final business questions session before Parliament stops for the election, Ms Mordaunt told the Commons: “Democracy is an opportunity. It’s an opportunity to think about what we want our nation to be in the next decade and the decades to come.

“The UK has been through tough times but the choices we have made collectively have given ourselves the freedom to be ambitious, both at home and abroad.”

Ms Mordaunt said “so much is at stake” ahead of polling day on July 4, adding: “We on this side of the House are undoubtedly the underdog in this fight.

“But I go into this election – and I will be standing up and fighting – filled with optimism and hope because I am proud of our record.”

Ms Mordaunt said shadow Commons leader Lucy Powell and Sir Keir are “at a disadvantage” because they are “not proud of Labour’s record, they are trying to disown it”.

She added: “The Labour leader has been distancing himself from his own MPs and candidates: the anti-business, anti-Israel, anti-opportunity, anti-responsibility, Britain-bashing brigade that sit on the benches opposite.

“It says much about (Ms Powell’s) party that its sole campaign narrative is that the Labour Party are not really the Labour Party at all.”

Ms Mordaunt said: “The public have been angry at us because of what we have had to deal with and because we’ve put the country first.

“But the question is will that red mist blind them to what is on offer under the red flag: the burdens on business; Britain being tied back into the EU’s regulatory straitjacket; the undermining of Nato through an EU defence pact; the undermining of our border through an EU migration pact; higher taxes; less disposable income; and the wrecking ball that would be taken to our constitution; and the cuts to the NHS budget that Labour has so viciously done in Wales.

“The fact is that nothing matters more to the Labour Party than the interests of the Labour Party and their paymasters.

“Ruthless socialists led by a weak and unformed leader. In six weeks’ time we will know the answer from the British people.

“We Conservatives may be the underdog, but we’re on the right side and that is on the side of the British people.”

Labour’s Ms Powell earlier said Prime Minister Rishi Sunak called the election because he “thinks things will only get worse for him”.

She wished Ms Mordaunt well, saying: “She’s perhaps best known for carrying a sword but in this place she is highly regarded. She’s been a formidable opponent and I shall miss our weekly exchanges.”

Ms Powell joked: “I probably won’t miss some of her more tortured metaphors, if I may say, but I hope she has the chance to install that new boiler, get herself a decorator crab and have some time to put – these are her own metaphors – clothes on her action toy Ken, who of course has no balls.

“Those of you who were here will remember that one well.

“At least the election will give her ample opportunity to stand up and fight.

“We’ll be campaigning ferociously for different outcomes, but whatever happens I want to thank her for her co-operation and collaboration, making me raise my game in this place and reminding me how important a good blow dry is on these occasions.”

Ms Mordaunt previously claimed Sir Keir has “zero balls” as she compared him to Beach Ken from the Barbie movie.

Earlier this month, she also compared the Labour leader to a crab that selects “sedentary creatures and seaweed” to help “disguise its true form”, known as a decorator crab.