As Britain is all set to hold Parliamentary Elections on July 4, 2024; political analysts have hinted that it would be a difficult test for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and his Conservative Party. The Conservative members of the Parliament chose Sunak as the Prime Minister in October 2022. Hence, it would be his first General Election as the Prime Minister.

It would be the third Parliamentary Elections in Britain after Brexit in 2016. The Britons are yet to forget the wound inflicted by Brexit. Therefore, it is feared that Britain’s exit from the European Union (EU) may cast a shadow over this election. Moreover, the prices of essential commodities have increased uncontrollably during Sunak’s tenure as the Prime Minister. Inflation stood at 11% at the end of 2022, setting a precedent. However, the rate of inflation decreased a lot in March 2024. In April, Finance Secretary Jeremy Richard Streynsham Hunt claimed that the Sunak Administration successfully managed to control inflation by implementing its economic policies. However, his countrymen are still dissatisfied with the overall performance of the Government!

The post-COVID-19 situation in their country has also disappointed the Britons. According to some analysts, the tenure of the predecessor of Prime Minister Sunak may have a not-so-good effect on his future, as well! It may be noted that Mary Elizabeth Truss had served as the Prime Minister for just 49 days (from September 6 to October 25, 2022). However, her fiscal decisions left the middle class in trouble, apart from easing the British Pound against the US Dollar. Later, Sunak tried hard to repair the damage. Only time would tell how successful he has been in his venture.

The Oppositions have repeatedly demanded a fresh Parliamentary Poll in recent times. As per the rules, Britain must vote by January 2025. Earlier, Prime Minister Sunak claimed that elections would be held in the second half of 2024. In the fourth week of May (2024), the PM told the press that he decided to dissolve the Parliament after holding a meeting with King Charles III. On May 21 (2024), the PM stressed: “Earlier today I spoke with His Majesty the King to request the dissolution of Parliament. The King has granted this request and we will have a General Election on July 4.“

Sunak Faces Mass Exodus Of Party MPs
Sunak is facing a big problem ahead of the Parliamentary Elections as 78 Conservative Members of the Parliament, including some of the Cabinet ministers, former Prime Minister Theresa May, and senior party leaders Michael Gove and Andrea Leadsom, resigned on May 26 (2024). Those who resigned as MPs said that they were not willing to stand for re-election in the upcoming General Elections. Former Defence Secretary Ben Wallace confirmed that he would leave frontline politics!

Earlier, some of the Conservative MPs demanded that the election be postponed. They are of the opinion that the party has lost its popularity. However, the Prime Minister ignored the demand, claiming that his leadership could save Britain from the current financial crisis! However, Sunak’s assurance failed to convince his party MPs and they decided to resign, giving a huge blow to the PM.

Some political analysts are of the opinion that the Conservative MPs stepped down immediately after the announcement of poll date by the PM as they are well aware of the fact that their party would face defeat in the upcoming Parliamentary Elections. Analysts have predicted that the Labour Party would form the next Government in Britain.

Sunak’s Conservative Party suffered a huge blow in recently-held local elections, with the Labour Party winning more than 26% of votes. The Labour Party also regained the parliamentary seat of Blackpool South by winning a by-election. In the contest triggered by the resignation of former Tory MP Scott Benton following a lobbying scandal, Chris Webb of the Labour Party secured 10,825 votes, a majority of 7,607. Meanwhile, Tory David Jones finished second with 3,218 votes. He was just 117 votes ahead of Reform UK’s Mark Butcher. After his victory, Webb stated: “People no longer trust the Conservatives. Prime Minister: do the decent thing, admit you have failed and call a General Election.“

It can be seen that since the announcement of the election date, the Labour Party has heaped pressure on Prime Minister Sunak.

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Published by Koushik Das

Koushik Das (born on May 16, 1976 in Kolkata) is a career journalist. Based in the Indian capital of New Delhi, Koushik writes mainly about foreign policies and current geopolitical issues, and rarely about other topics. His own political ideas are highly influenced by Antonio Gramsci, Louis Althusser, Michel Foucault, Michael Oakeshott and others. English philosopher and political theorist Oakeshott (Dec 11, 1901-Dec 19, 1990) says that “in political activity, men sail a boundless and bottomless sea. There is neither harbour for shelter nor floor for anchorage, neither starting-place, nor appointed destination. But we have to keep afloat”. (Rationalism in Politics, 1962) As a student of Political Science, Koushik loves to share his views on issues, which have great impacts on his thought process (and also on India, South Asia and of course on the global community), with his readers through his website – Boundless Ocean of Politics. By doing so, he tries to keep himself afloat. You will find some of his articles in https://inserbia.info/today/ (https://inserbia.info/today/author/kou_das13_i/), as he has been trying to assess the global geopolitics since 2003. You can also mail him at kousdas@gmail.com View all posts by Koushik Das