A recent public poll by YouGov showed a landslide victory for Labor.
London:
After nearly 15 years in power in the British parliament, Rishi Sunak’s Conservatives are expected to suffer a crushing defeat at the hands of Labor at the upcoming election. It reflects growing public dissatisfaction with Britain’s deteriorating state of affairs – with repeated policy failures, unfulfilled promises and rising costs of living. Chancellor Rishi Sunak risks losing his seat as the country battles an economic recession.
A recent public survey by YouGov, which interviewed 18,761 British adults between March 7 and 27, suggested a landslide victory for Labour. To win a majority in the UK Parliament, parties must win 326 seats out of 650. Labor is expected to win 403 seats nationally. By comparison, the Conservatives were only expected to win 155 seats. This puts them 169 seats below the YouGov MRP published in January 2024. YouGov claims that “the model predicts the coming wave will sweep away several leading Conservative figures.”
A Politico poll highlighted a similar trend, with 44% planning to vote Labor as of March 31, with the Conservatives trailing at 23%.
Mr Sunak’s campaign outlined the Conservative Party’s goals – to halve inflation, reduce the national debt, improve the National Health Service (NHS), stop illegal immigration and improve the economy. Various measures have been tried, such as higher immigration fees and stricter refugee deportation laws, but have proven unsuccessful. He also announced tax cuts in March.
Despite this, the Conservatives are expected to lose the local council and mayoral elections on May 2. Growing dissatisfaction among party MPs over his leadership could soon lead to Sunak facing a vote of confidence, requiring the signatures of 53 MPs to remove him. of distrust. Mr Sunak is an unelected chancellor who took over after the six-week term of former chancellor Liz Truss ended with her resignation. This has exacerbated a sharp decline in his popularity and a lack of trust in his abilities as prime minister.
Meanwhile, Labor leader Keir Starmer promised an opposition plan to reduce pressure on the country by increasing spending on sectors such as housing, transport and infrastructure to lower inflation and stabilize the economy. This is an implicit criticism of the Conservative Party for failing to address these issues.
Labor also called on Sunak to set a date for the UK general election, which has yet to be set. On March 15, Labor activists held a demonstration in Westminster, dressed as chickens and holding signs that read “Rishi, name the date now!” mocking the Prime Minister for not having done so yet. The Fixed Term Parliaments Act 2022 restores the Prime Minister’s ability to set an election date. However, general elections must be held every five years, so Mr Sunak has until January 2025 to set a date.
With public disillusionment with the government peaking and opinion polls pointing to a crushing defeat for the Conservatives, Mr Sunak is unlikely to be re-elected as prime minister.
