From 15-minute cities to bananas: why do Tories seem to be bending the truth?

Rise in provably false statements by Rishi Sunak and his ministers adds weight to theory No 10 is sowing untruths for electoral advantage

His government, Rishi Sunak said, had scrapped plans to ban Christmas, Strictly Come Dancing, and puppies. This was a very obviously self-knowing joke. But at times at the Conservative conference, it can feel as if the joke might be on voters.

In the traditionally lighthearted speech to a dinner for Westminster journalists last week, Sunak had been mocking himself for claiming, amid a watering down of green policies, to have averted a series of policies that were never formally proposed, including mandatory car-pooling and seven different recycling bins.