It’s political conference season in the UK. The parties bring together their activists and their elected officials to discuss the direction of their family and close ranks. This Sunday, October 1, the congress of the Conservative Party, the government party and Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, opens. With great stakes, since the Tories, after 13 years in power, are largely weakened.
2 mins
With our correspondent in London, Émeline Vin
The conservative congress, which is being held in Manchester from this Sunday, October 1 until Wednesday, October 4, should be the last before the next legislative elections, which will be held at the end of January 2025 at the latest. in a slightly tense context, since in the polls, the Tories are given 20 points behind Labor, after more than 13 years in government.
Justin Fisher, professor of political science at Brunel University in London, details the importance of this edition: “ This is the last opportunity for the party to put forward new ideas before writing the electoral programhe says. The congress has no formal power, but it allows you to get an idea of the popularity of a particular person or policy within the broader party. Often, they use it to test ideas, to see how they are received. »
Sophie Loussouarn, specialist in the political and economic history of the United Kingdom, explains the challenges of the Conservative Party Congress for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.
The stakes are enormous, since he promised in January 2023 that he wanted to double British economic growth and halve inflation. It has already managed to reduce inflation, but growth remains weak. It is higher than that of France: 1.8%. So today, the Conservatives are back in the polls to 27% compared to October 2022, when Liz Truss left Downing Street, and Rishi Sunak aims to defend his record and will try to win over opinion while the Labor Party still has a lead of 20 points in the polls. Rishi Sunak recently renounced his promises on climate policy, he made an about-face on environmental protection, going back on the promises of Boris Johnson in 2019. Will this turnaround have an effect on conservative voters? It also abandoned its high-speed railway project between London-Birmingham and Manchester last week.
Sophie Loussouarn, specialist in the political and economic history of the United Kingdom, explains the challenges of the congress for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak
The challenge will be to show unity among the conservatives, and to restore the party’s image in order to limit electoral damage, according to Gideon Skinner, research director at Ipsos: “ Their popularity rating, on issues like their ability to govern, has halved compared to 2019underlines the survey specialist. 66% believe Rishi Sunak is not doing a good job as Prime Minister. He will want to show his party that he has a vision for the future of the Conservatives. »
The Conservative Party is in a crisis situation. The resignations of Boris Johnson and Liz Truss in 2022 showed the extent to which the party was in crisis after the drinking bouts during the Covid lockdown under Boris Johnson and after Liz Struss’s mini-budget last year. Today, obviously, the Conservative Party is very divided between supporters of Boris Johnson and supporters of Rishi Sunak. Rishi Sunak appears as a minister who has reassured the financial markets and who is trying to bring together the nation, more divided than ever. He has many advantages and he is also the first Asian and the first Hindu to enter No. 10, which can also convince part of the Asian electorate in the United Kingdom.
Sophie Loussouarn: “The Conservative Party is very divided”
Among the themes during this congress: subjects that worry the British such as the economy, public hospitals and immigration.
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