Ex-Tory bigwig launches Labour attack campaign amid activist anger over Sunak strategy

Ross Kempsell, who also formerly ran the Conservative Research Department, has shared clips by Louise Haigh and Emily Thornberry, drawing attention to their past comments on nuclear weapons and communist dictator Fidel Castro.

The new campaign comes as party activists told this broadcaster that they feel frustrated by the current Conservative strategy.

Asked if the account has been launched due to frustration with the Tory strategy, a source close to Ross told GB News: “He only discusses the Labour Party #LabourReceipts.”

Several party activists, many of them in influential campaigning positions, said that they were angered by the current approach, which has focussed on claiming that Labour has “no plan.”

Rishi Sunak has claimed in interviews that Labour has “no ideas and no plans.”

“We’re all being hung out to dry by a completely atrocious campaign from Rishi and his advisers,” said a London-based canvasser.

Referring to Mr Kempsell’s account, they added: “It shouldn’t be up to random social media accounts and blogs to be doing the Tories’ work for them.”

They continued: “If you’re unhappy with how the Tories have been governing then ‘no plans’ doesn’t sound like the worst alternative.

“Voters would be extremely concerned by proposals like votes at 16 and caps on ISAs and pensions allowances.

“The party needs to be driving home what the reality of a Labour government would be: they do have plans, a lot of them alarming to the traditional conservative voter.”

A former Tory HQ staffer said they were “past frustration and into despair” over the campaign’s failure to attack Labour policies.

“Not only are CCHQ making error after error, putting their careers and vanity before the country, party and even veterans, they are ignoring many specific problems in Starmer’s plan.

“It could be laziness, as by saying there is no plan they don’t have to rebut it, or it could be more blind misplaced self-belief that they don’t need to bother.

“With the election result looking clearer every day the real possibility CCHQ can’t or won’t challenge Labour on many areas of policy is very worrying for the country.”

The Conservatives has suffered further polling setbacks since the election was called, with a 21-point gap between the party across an average of polls.

There are rising fears in the blue camp that the party is leaking votes to Reform, which has enjoyed a polling boost since Nigel Farage returned as party leader.

YouGov polled the party at 17 per cent, Reform’s highest rating since it was known as the Brexit Party.