Two weeks before the British general election, nothing is going well for the Conservatives. Promised in the polls for a crushing defeat against Labor, it is now revelations on suspicions of fraudulent bets on the date of the legislative elections targeting party candidates which have further pushed Prime Minister Rishi Sunak into turmoil.
Pressed with questions by the public during a live television broadcast this Thursday, June 20, he said he was “terribly angry […] “If it turns out that someone has violated the rules, they must not only be held accountable to the courts, but also be expelled from the Conservative party,” he assured. .
While the British general elections will be held on July 4, polls predict a defeat for the Tories never seen before in nearly 200 years of existence against Labor. And now, the head of government finds himself attacked on the integrity of his troops.
“Unacceptable” behavior
Concretely, the commission responsible for regulating betting wonders if certain people did not take advantage of their proximity to Rishi Sunak to bet on the date on which this election would be held. Indeed, while everyone was expecting it in the fall, the Prime Minister announced on May 22, to everyone’s surprise, that the vote would take place on July 4.
The case took on a new dimension this Wednesday evening, when the London police indicated that they had received the case of an agent from the unit responsible for the protection of public figures. He was arrested then released on parole, while the police were seized.
Last week, it was a Conservative MP, advisor to Rishi Sunak, who was accused of having placed a bet of 100 pounds (118 euros) on elections in July three days before their announcement. Craig Williams, currently a candidate in a constituency in Wales, admitted an “error of judgement” without confirming that he had confidential information.
This Wednesday evening again, the BBC revealed that another conservative candidate was in the sights of the betting regulator: Laura Sanders, married to the campaign director of the ruling party Tony Lee. The latter, who would also be suspected, went on leave on Wednesday, in the final stretch before the vote. Laura Saunders “will cooperate with the commission” responsible for regulating betting, her lawyer said in a brief statement.
“It’s not great, and obviously the conclusions that many draw from it are not great,” conceded Conservative Minister Michael Gove, while MP Iain Duncan Smith, a figure in the Conservative Party, judged that such behavior was “unacceptable”.
Promise of “integrity”
This affair does not suit Rishi Sunak who did not manage to get his campaign off the ground in the space of these four weeks. This has been weighed down by a series of blunders, and above all by the distrust of the British in the face of repeated political crises, the difficulties of the health system, then the decline in purchasing power since 2022.
His party, which has been in power for 14 years but has become right-wing in recent years, has been further weakened by the progression of the campaign of the anti-immigration Reform UK party, boosted by the notoriety of its leader Nigel Farage.
The polls, although very varied, agree to give Labor (centre left) a very large majority of the 650 seats in the House of Commons, which should allow its leader Keir Starmer to easily enter 10 Downing Street . And the millions of Britons who vote by post have already started sending in their ballots, making it even more difficult for the Tories to catch up with their abysmal gap.
Delving into this new affair which is increasingly weakening the Conservatives, Labor and Liberal Democrats (centrists) have called for an investigation to determine the extent of the fraudulent bets and the suspension of the suspected candidates. “If these were my candidates, I would have gotten rid of them already,” said Keir Starmer, himself a 61-year-old former lawyer and director of the public prosecutor’s office.
“Once again, it appears that the rules that apply to Tory party members are not the same as those that apply to everyone else,” added Labor campaign coordinator Pat McFadden, in a mail to Rishi Sunak. He recalled the promise of “integrity” made by the head of government when he came to power in October 2022, after a series of conflicts of interest targeting the Tories and the party scandal at Downing Street during confinement, who contributed to the downfall of his predecessor Boris Johnson.