You would imagine Rishi Sunak would have plenty of corporate job offers if he were to lose next week’s General Election and decide to step away from politics.

If he were to decide to exit politics and for any reason such job offers did not emerge, or if he simply did not fancy them, he could probably strike out on a new path as a stand-up comedian.

His insistence that the Conservatives have been good stewards of the economy, and should thus be allowed to continue in power for the good of us all, is undoubtedly laughable.

His attack on Sir Keir Starmer this week, specifically the comparison of the Labour leader with Liz Truss, who was briefly prime minister in the autumn of 2022, was also somewhat hilarious.

While it must be said that Sir Keir has been utterly unimpressive on the economy, and his decision to let the enormous Brexit damage continue unabated is absolutely lamentable, similarities between him and Liz Truss are difficult to identify, with the possible exception of quite radical shifts in their politics over the years. These shifts, in both instances, might be viewed by some as having been made with an eye on their personal progression.

Ms Truss, if you go back far enough, was once a Liberal Democrat.

And Sir Keir, back in 2019, was arguing vociferously and quite eloquently and rationally against Brexit. Now he is embracing the Conservatives’ hard Brexit somewhat enthusiastically.

Beyond that, however, it is difficult to see any parallels between Sir Keir and Ms Truss, apart from that drawn by Mr Sunak that he has found himself competing in contests with each of them.

What is interesting is that Sir Keir’s economic policies do not look that different from those of Mr Sunak’s administration. This is certainly not a New Labour 1997 situation. And, when it comes to the wilful intention of continuing the damage of the hard Brexit by ruling out rejoining the European Union, single market or even customs union, Mr Sunak and Sir Keir are like two peas in a pod.

It is difficult to see Sir Keir doing much to boost UK growth if he wins the election, taking into account his stance on Brexit and also given that it is difficult to see much difference between him and the current Conservative administration on attitudes towards public spending and taxation.

The Labour leader seems to have built up his big lead in the polls by doing as little as possible. He appears terrified to say or do anything significant in case it spooks the electorate, particularly those red-wall voters who switched from Labour to the Conservatives in the December 2019 election and whose support Sir Keir seems so, so desperate to secure.

Scottish First Minister John Swinney was absolutely right this week to call out Sir Keir for his failings on the Brexit front.

READ MORE: Kate Forbes says economic growth crucial, sees Brexit 'conspiracy of silence'

Delivering a speech at Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen on Monday, Mr Swinney said: “At this election, Labour is offering no real change. Keir Starmer says, just like Boris Johnson did, that he wants to keep both Scotland and the UK out of the EU, out of the single market, out of the customs union and out of freedom of movement.

“And his deputy, Angela Rayner, has gone further. She’s said during this campaign that Labour will never - never - rejoin either the EU or the single market.”

He added: “Given the damage that Brexit has caused, it is absolutely astonishing that none of the Westminster parties are interested in repairing that damage.

“They say they prioritise economic growth. But you can’t be a party of Brexit and a party of growth.”

Mr Swinney makes a very good point.

However, all of that said and returning to Mr Sunak’s scaremongering, that does not mean Sir Keir is about to unleash the kind of economic and financial market chaos delivered by Ms Truss.

The Labour leader looks set to deliver something entirely uninspiring on the economic front. This is not, of course, something to celebrate, especially given he has some easy wins he could pursue, such as rejoining the single market and being bolder on spending and taxation decisions to stimulate growth, while not spooking anyone on the public finances front.

READ MORE: Ian McConnell: Scottish income tax and the inconvenient issue that won’t go away

However, there is no sign of the Truss-type chaos from Sir Keir that Mr Sunak seems to envisage.

Appearing on The Sun’s “Never Mind The Ballots election showdown” this week, Mr Sunak said: “I spent a summer a couple of summers ago saying that what Liz Truss was proposing was wrong.”

He added: “I was right then when I warned about Liz Truss and that’s why all of you can trust me now when I also warn about the damage that Keir Starmer would do to our economy.

“In that election, everyone said I was going to lose, I was saying something that no one wanted to hear, but I was saying it because I believed it, and I’m telling you again now, it all seems a bit familiar, if Keir Starmer’s your prime minister the economy is going to suffer and all of you are going to suffer.

“I don’t want to see that happen. That’s why I’m carrying on going every day in this election. I believe in what I’m saying, and I want to stop those tax rises happening for all of you.”

Mr Sunak’s bizarrely amusing portrayal of the Tories as masters of the economy has not, of course, been confined to The Sun’s debate.

READ MORE: Ian McConnell: Muzzled dog, yes, but Swinney also hits nail on head

We also had the following from Mr Sunak on Monday: “Scotland deserves better than the SNP and Labour. The Conservatives will focus on your priorities and deliver for Scotland.”

This might seem like pure comedy to people in Scotland who have had to endure the Conservatives’ policies since 2010.

We have had the awful austerity, including savage and permanent welfare cuts and the public sector pay freezes and caps that prevailed in the years after the Tories came to power. The Tories’ failed austerity programme has hit Scotland very hard. We have also had the Tory hard Brexit, which was clearly against the wishes of a big majority of the Scottish electorate who voted remain.

On the UK stage, Mr Sunak has claimed credit for a fall in inflation. He has done so even though it was the Conservatives who played a big part in propelling annual UK consumer prices index inflation to a 41-year high of 11.1% in October 2022 with their ill-judged hard Brexit.

The Prime Minister’s version of events would be truly hilarious, if it were not for the utterly dismal real-world effects of the Tories’ economic policymaking.