‘Rishi Sunak would be the coyote and Liz Truss the road runner,” said Debby, a 42-year-old procurement officer, when asked which animal the Conservative leadership candidates most resembled. To her, the Tory race — with its bitter briefing wars and screeching U-turns — is reminiscent of a Looney Tunes cartoon in which the former chancellor and the foreign secretary use increasingly desperate measures to try to harm their rival and end up damaging themselves.
The contest to choose Britain’s next prime minister seems more slapstick than statesmanlike to the members of the focus group in Esher & Walton, a Tory marginal seat in Surrey. Truss reminded Claire, a 55-year-old receptionist, of Tweety Pie, the canary who in the animation is constantly battling with Sylvester the
