LONDON. England: The UK Conservatives had high hopes for Rishi Sunak, expecting him to stabilize both the party and the country after the tumultuous leaderships of his predecessors.
However, since assuming leadership in October 2022, Sunak has struggled to secure the party’s future, leading them towards a potential electoral disaster.
Sunak’s ascent followed Liz Truss’s brief and chaotic 49-day premiership, which collapsed due to market backlash against her tax-cutting proposals. Initially, Sunak managed to stabilize the economy but failed to address internal party conflicts or diminish the opposition Labour Party’s significant polling lead.
In a bold move, Sunak called for a snap election on July 4, 2024, hoping to catch right-wing competitors, particularly Reform UK, off guard and to reduce Labour’s 20-point lead. Unfortunately, his campaign has been marred by multiple setbacks, the most significant being his premature departure from D-Day commemoration events in France, which sparked widespread condemnation and alienated right-wing voters.
Compounding his troubles, Sunak had to apologize after investigations into Conservative candidates and campaign chief over alleged betting on the election date before its official announcement. This scandal further eroded his support, making his attempts to rally the party seem increasingly desperate.
Sunak’s personal background has also proven a hurdle. Despite his affluent upbringing and elite education, he struggled to resonate with ordinary voters enduring a severe cost-of-living crisis. His attempts to relate, such as claiming an austere childhood due to the lack of satellite TV, have been met with ridicule.
Sunak’s initial rise to power was meteoric; he became the youngest modern British prime minister at 42 and the first of South Asian descent. Born in Southampton to Indian immigrants, Sunak’s journey from an elite education to a successful finance career culminated in his election as MP for Richmond in 2015.
An early supporter of Brexit, he became finance minister in February 2020, navigating the economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic. His pandemic-era policies earned him praise, though his reputation was later tarnished by a police fine for breaching COVID rules and controversy over his wife Akshata Murty’s non-domiciled tax status.
Sunak’s resignation as finance minister in July 2022 was instrumental in precipitating Boris Johnson’s downfall. However, many Tories have never forgiven him for this, constantly undermining his leadership. Despite his insistence on a clear plan for Britain, Sunak’s tenure is overshadowed by internal dissent and a failure to connect with the electorate, potentially limiting his time in office to less than two years.
