Economy needs low interest rates more than a Euros win

On the first day of the election campaign, Rishi Sunak journeyed to Barry in Wales. He asked a group of workers if they were looking forward to the coming Euro football finals. Not really, they said, seeing as Wales hadn't actually qualified.

- CHRIS BLACKHURST

It was a classic gaffe from an accident-prone prime minister. But it showed that football was on his mind.

Despite his insistence that he supports Southampton, Sunak never gave the impression of being a keen follower of the sport if he was, he would surely have known not to raise the subject of the 2024 Euros in Wales. More proof came later in the campaign when he turned up at a training session for youngsters at Chesham United. Shall we say, his dribbling skills left a lot to be desired - he managed to stumble over a traffic cone - and the resulting picture was not what he or his PR advisers had hoped for.

Still, there is no doubt that the ex-PM and his strategists had factored the football in as possibly adding to a feelgood factor, one of the reasons why he chose to go early with the choice of polling date, along with inflation coming down and the prospect of lower interest rates.

Alas, Sunak was typically unlucky. England's early performances did not inspire, attracting negative headlines and resigned expectation that another major competition would have been and gone.

Now, look. England are in Sunday's final. Late in the day but not too late to win, they're playing with a style and swagger that was lacking previously. Not only that, but they also managed to beat Switzerland on the dreaded penalties. In Germany.