On May 23, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, drenched in rain and his voice drowned by opposition protests, shocked many by calling for an early election despite polls putting the Conservatives behind the Labour Party. Weeks later, the move proved to be a damp squib as Keir Starmer’s Labour Party swept the UK polls, winning 410 seats to bring a crushing end to 14 years of Conservative rule.
Britain’s first Indian-origin prime minister took responsibility for the worst performance of the Conservative party in the polls, which saw it being reduced to just 119 seats.
“The British people have delivered a sobering verdict tonight… and I take responsibility for the loss,” Sunak said while apologising to defeated Tory candidates.
Even though Sunak held on to his constituency of Richmond with a reduced vote share, the election defeat is likely to mark the end of his career at the top of British politics.
“I will return here to my family’s home and I look forward to spending more time with you all in the weeks, months and years ahead,” Sunak said about his immediate plans ahead.
WHAT NEXT FOR CONSERVATIVES AND RISHI SUNAK?
A battle to seize the leadership of the party has already started even though a formal announcement from the Conservatives about Sunak’s resignation as their leader is awaited.
The leadership battle will be easier said than done as several top Conservative MPs, including eight Cabinet ministers, have lost their seats in the general election.
Penny Mordaunt, tipped as a future Tory leader, also lost her Portsmouth North seat to Labour. UK media reports said Business Secretary Kemi Badenoch, former Home Secretary Suella Braverman, Priti Patel and Tom Tugendhat were the frontrunners to lead the Conservative Party.
However, Sunak will remain an integral part of the Tories as it attempts to bounce back following the poll drubbing.
The foremost job of the Conservatives and Sunak will be to win back the support of the people who have voted for the Reform UK party led by Nigel Farage.
The Reform has claimed about 15% of the vote, draining support from the Conservatives. Meanwhile, most of the seats in the south have gone to the Liberal Democrats.
Sunak has on several occasions underscored that he would continue as an MP for a full five-year term even though there have been reports that he might return to his financial sector job in California.
However, Sunak has denied reports that he would shift to the US, where he has a home.
WHY RISHI SUNAK’S CONSERVATIVES LOST THE POLLS?
Chaotic governance, scandals, a cost of living crisis, inflation and a tumultuous exit from the European Union are believed to have contributed to the Conservative party’s worst performance in its history.
However, the results are also part of a trend in British politics where the Labour and Conservatives are alternatively voted to power after 10 to 15 years. The Tories ruled from 1979 to 1997, and the Labour Party from 1997 to 2010. The Conservatives again ruled from 2010 to 2024.
The fact that the UK has had five prime ministers since 2016 and three in the last two years alone helped accelerate the decline of the Tories.
However, the problems for the Conservative Party started even before Rishi Sunak, being seen as the “fall guy”, took over as Prime Minister in 2022.
Successive scandals, including Boris Johnson being seen at parties during the Covid-19 lockdown and Liz Truss’s slew of tax cuts causing a market sell-off, had already eroded voter trust.
Truss quit as Prime Minister after just 45 days at the helm and Rishi Sunak took over. However, his 20-month tenure has been marred by allegations by the opposition of him being a multi-millionaire who failed to understand the needs of ordinary people.
In fact, Sunak is the richest man in the House of Commons, richer than King Charles.
Sunak and his wife, Akshata Murty, are worth a combined $830 million, according to the latest Sunday Times Rich List.
Apart from the economic woes, Sunak also came under fire over his immigration policy that proposed sending undocumented immigrants to Rwanda. The opposition Labour attacked Sunak, calling the policy “inhumane”.
The Oxford and Stanford-educated Sunak, the youngest UK Prime Minister in over 200 years, also failed to improve the deteriorating living standards.
Even though the rate of inflation fell to 2% in May after peaking at 11.1% in October 2022, real wages have continued to decline. On top of that, food prices have risen.
Lacking a political charisma and being out of touch with ordinary citizens have been a bugbear for Sunak throughout his tenure. It remains to be seen if Sunak can provide a healing touch as the Conservatives eye a comeback in the 2029 polls.
