Blackfriar: Theresa May's personal attacks are backfiring

“I know that’s an image that doesn’t bear thinking about, but actually this is very serious.”

There would be uproar and outrage.

He would rightly be accused of being sexist, misogynistic, crude and downright rude. His credibility levels would take a severe bashing and the Labour mandarins would have their heads in their hands.

The fact that Theresa May thinks it is perfectly acceptable to say this of Mr Corbyn does not make it right.

Yes we all know she was paraphrasing Aneurin Bevan, but her increasingly personal attacks weaken her, especially as Mr Corbyn has told his team he will not get involved in mudslinging.

The silence from his office after Mrs May’s comments says it all.

When asked about her “alone and naked” comments in a press conference on Wednesday, Mr Corbyn said: “I certainly wouldn’t use language like that myself. I think it’s totally inappropriate to describe anyone as naked, even me.

“We will approach the negotiations as I have set out, in a very serious way, primarily to gain and continue this tariff-free access to the European market.”

Something very strange is happening in this election.

Where has bonkers Corbyn gone and who is the suave, humorous, self deprecating fellow who has taken his place?

Meanwhile Theresa May is making Margaret Thatcher in her later years look quite sensible.

Mrs May has alienated her core voters - pensioners - with her U-turn on the “dementia tax”, her refusal to commit to the triple lock and her plans to means test winter fuel payments.

And why offer a free vote on fox hunting? Anyone who supports fox hunting is hardly likely to vote for Labour, the Lib Dems, the SNP or the Greens. All she has done is to alienate fox loving Tories.

It’s not a scientific poll, but a lot of the older, dyed-in-the-wool Tories I have spoken to are saying they simply won’t turn up to the polling station next Thursday.

Sir Lynton Crosby, the Tories’ campaign manager, must be pulling his hair out.

This is Theresa May’s election to throw away and she is doing a jolly good job of it.

Politicians from all sides of the house would do well to look how British business leaders conduct themselves.

Chief executives and managing directors do not make disparaging remarks about their rivals. There is a healthy respect and if anyone does say something belittling of a rival, it is seen by peers as a sign of their naivety.

On countless occasions I have seen the bosses at Morrisons and Asda being asked to comment on their rivals’ good or bad fortune and they have never once slipped up and said anything critical.

Mrs May could learn a lot from Yorkshire companies and their ethics.

The promotion of Sirius Minerals, the company behind the £10bn potash mine in North Yorkshire, to the FTSE 250 will be warmly welcomed by its small shareholders in Yorkshire. They put their faith in this company years ago and are now being rewarded.

Sirius Minerals has been on a long and arduous journey to gets its polyhalite mine off the ground. What once seemed an impossible achievement is now making great strides.

Inclusion in the FTSE 250 is expected to boost the firm’s share price​.

Sirius’ CEO Chris Fraser has gained local trust after going to extraordinary lengths to safeguard the natural beauty of the North Yorks Moors national park.

The mine, which is set to bring around 1,000 jobs to North Yorkshire, has faced serious concerns about its effect on the environment, but Mr Fraser has simply bowed to local worries and found a workable solution.

Sirius has done its shareholders proud.