Oh dear. It seems Health Minister Maria Caulfield failed to get the memo on government lines to take this morning, when she made the fatal error of assuming that her own party would be defeated in the next election. Speaking to Sky News as part of her morning broadcast round, she questioned the consequences of Labour’s environmental policies ‘when they get into government’.

Caulfield was being asked about Sadiq Khan’s expansion of the Ultra Low Emission Zone to the entirety of London, expressing her concerns about the impact of the draconian policy on working Londoners:

‘I think the worry that people have is if that’s what Labour do in London where they are in power, what will they do to the rest of the country when they get into government.’

Khan has announced a major widening of the scrappage scheme which provides grants for people to replace their non-compliant vehicles, a move Caulfield said ‘didn’t touch the sides of people’s concerns.’

Unfortunately for the Health Minister, she was then followed on Sky by Labour MP Alison McGovern, who commented that Caulfield ‘seems more complacent than me’ about a Labour victory.

As far as Mr S is aware, the outcome of 2024’s election is not yet a foregone conclusion but with the polls showing little sign of tightening, many Tory MPs are privately preparing for life in opposition. Caulfield is the first to go public.

Watch here: