Rishi Sunak. Photo: Collected
The UK Conservatives hoped Rishi Sunak would stabilise the party and country when they made him leader following his predecessors' chaotic tenures. Instead, he has led them to the brink of electoral wipeout. The party's MPs installed the 44-year-old former financier in October 2022, after Liz Truss's 49-day premiership imploded when spooked markets moved against her tax-slashing plans.
Sunak succeeded to a point in stabilising the country's economy, but failed to stop bitter Tory infighting, or to make a dent in the persistent polling lead held by the opposition Labour Party. Buoyed by rare pieces of economic good news, Sunak called the July 4 election in late May, despite not having to face the voters until early 2025.
He hoped the shock announcement would catch right-wingers Reform UK by surprise, and Labour's 20-point polling lead would shrink during the campaign. But Sunak's campaign has lurched from one disaster to another. By far the most damaging was Sunak's decision to leave early from D-Day commemoration events in France, provoking unilateral outrage and alienating the right wing whose votes he desperately needs.
Now they look set to vote en masse for Reform, led by Brexit talisman Nigel Farage. He also had to apologise after Conservative candidates and the party's campaign chief were put under investigation over alleged bets placed on the date of the election before it was called.
All of which has left Sunak cutting an increasingly frustrated figure, shorn of the bullish rhetoric of the early campaign but still insisting the election result is not a foregone conclusion.
Messenger/Disha
