In the United Kingdom, there are only four weeks left before Britons go to the polls. In a risky gamble, Rishi Sunak called a snap general election scheduled for July 4. But after fourteen years of conservative governance, the party is at its lowest in the polls. This weekend, the head of government also found himself at the heart of a new scandal which has strengthened the opposition.
2 mins
The days pass and look the same Rishi Sunakanalyzes our correspondent in London, Sarah Menai. A week after the start of the campaign, Labor strengthens its lead over the Conservatives. The Labor camp now has a 20-point lead in the polls.
To make matters worse, Rishi Sunak finds himself at the heart of a new scandal: more than half of the British cities having received 20 million euros in subsidies happen to be cities run by the Conservatives. Only eight grants were awarded to towns in Labor strongholds. So Rishi Sunak is today accused of buying his electorate.
An electorate that the party is struggling to win back. Among Britons who voted for Boris Johnson in 2019, only 36% say they would vote for the Conservatives today.
The conservatives have a month left to convince. From Monday, Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer, the leader of the Labor Party, will face off in the first of two televised debates of the campaign. Observers agree that Sunak must win points if he does not want the election campaign to be one-sided.
Labor promises to cut immigration
This weekend, the leader of the Labor Party also hunted on Conservative lands. Keir Starmer has indeed promised to reduce immigration to the United Kingdom, in an interview with the tabloid The Sun. “ I will lower immigration numbers “, Keir Starmer told the Sunday edition of Sunwhile the Conservatives, in power for fourteen years, have long put the subject at the heart of public debate in the United Kingdom.
Net immigration amounted to an additional 685,000 people in 2023, according to official statistics, the second highest level, after the record reached the previous year (764,000 people). “ If you give me the trust to entrust me with the keys » from Downing Street, « I will make you this promise: I will control our borders and ensure that British businesses are helped to hire British people first “, said Keir Starmer. This is the first time that this former human rights lawyer has engaged in this area.