Even if the minister concerned genuinely believed what they were saying? There is after all no suggestion that Donolan knowingly lied, merely that she wasn't sufficiently diligent about fact-checking, and was too keen to publish stuff publicly.
Not knowingly lied, but made unfounded accusations, quite possibly for political reasons. There was absolutely no reason to make unsubstantiated accusations about these academics.
Out of interest, if you regard someone stating something that turns out to be untrue and defamatory on social media as making that person 'vile and disgusting', what words would you use to describe - say - someone who actually does commit acts of terror or murder or rape? That after all seems to me orders of magnitude worse than simply writing something that's false about someone, but I'm not sure what language you can use that's much stronger than 'vile and disgusting'.
Ah, the "they're not Putin, so they must be OK" argument.
Also, it's not just "someone", it's a government minister who has a special responsibility to act properly. This is the same argument I have made about statements made by the likes of Anderson and Braverman in the past, though I believe Donelan has committed a far worse wrong than either of those two (believe it or not!)
At this point I can't see why they would go any earlier than next winter. The only hope they have is 'something turns up'
A January election would be absurd and insane, and the electorate would deeply resent them for it.
Can you imagine a Christmas campaigning period? Forcing people out to the polls when it's cold, wet, dark and perhaps snowy?
It'll probably be October, but if we're lucky it might be May.
I can't see why they would want to hold on for an extra three months, most of which is Christmas, its run-up and its aftermath anyway, so no real time for any new legislation. And remember January is when fuel bills are likely to bite. "Blue Monday", supposedly the most gloomy day of the year, is in late January. It would be an absolutely crazy time for an incumbent party to hold an election, if they want to maximise their chances.
If they want 10% in the polls, then yes, by all means they can go for a January election. If they want 30%, I'd suggest October. And if they want 35%, I'd suggest May.
This government are past their sell-by date and have no new ideas, they should for heaven's sake just go. Every month the unelected Sunak squats in 10 Downing Street is another month the country makes no forwards progress whatsoever, and if anything regresses backwards.