British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s days in Downing Street appear to be numbered. In recent years, the Tories have been rocked by scandals, defections and declining voter support.
Now opinion polls indicate that the party will receive just under 20 percent of the vote in Thursday’s election, far fewer than the disastrous election in 1997 when the Labor Party led by Tony Blair celebrated a landslide victory.
– We are witnessing a collapse of the Conservative Party in real time, commented Emma Levin, deputy director at the British opinion institute Savanta, in June.
“Hurry la vista, baby!”
Confidence in the Tory Party has fallen steadily since peaking in 2020 when then-Prime Minister Boris Johnson managed to push through Britain’s exit from the EU, after years of negotiations. But Johnson, a colorful politician and former mayor of London, quickly drew criticism for his handling of the Covid-19 pandemic. The criticism culminated with the so-called partygate scandal when Johnson and several party friends were seen partying at the government office during the lockdown. The anger led to Tory MP Christian Wakeford defecting to arch-rival Labor and Johnson forced to resign. In July 2022, he left the House of Commons with the famous words “Hasta la vista, baby!”
Successor Liz Truss survived only 44 days as prime minister, something the tabloid Daily Star poked fun at by comparing her short-lived career to the lifespan of iceberg lettuce. During his time in power, Truss tried to push through a “mini-budget” of large unfunded tax cuts that spooked financial markets and sent the pound crashing.
Sinking ship
When Sunak called the parliamentary elections in May, many observers saw it as a desperate attempt to keep a sinking ship afloat. Britain’s crumbling economy, record high tax withdrawals and sky-high living costs will further worsen the ruling party’s chances of retaining power, writes Politico.
Several high-profile conservative politicians have said they are not running for re-election. Two Tory MPs have backed the Labor leader Keir Starmer, tipped for victory, and as the icing on the cake, several people close to Sunak are accused of having, from insiders, bet money on the date of the election.
The opinion polls indicate that the Tory Party is reaching its lowest rating since the First World War, only a few percentage points behind the right-wing populist Reform Party.