UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s early call for a general election on July 4th has stunned many in Westminster, who are anticipating his downfall. The poll will decide –in this nation– whether the conservative party’s 14-year reign will reach its conclusion or pave the way for the center-left labor government headed by Keir Starmer or if sunak will shock everyone and retain himself as another member of the conservatives.
In the forthcoming general elections, each of the U.K.’s 650 constituencies shall elect one Member of Parliament (MP) to represent local residents in the House of Commons. Polling stations will open between 07 am and 10 pm on election day while others might prefer postal voting prior to that. Under “first past the post” system, any candidate with majority votes in each constituency will be elected as MP for that area. More than 4000 candidates are running for July 4th ballot making it a record number.
Call For Early Election By Sunak
Sunak could have called an election anytime until December with vote being held within following month. Despite some suggestions that this would happen during H2 2024 he remained silent further fueling speculation at Westminster. With difficult choices such as bad economic indicators and a controversial programme to process refugee claims outside Rwanda, he eventually made up his mind about holding an election after getting some good economic news.
Who Will Emerge Victorious?
The current assumption is leave that Conservatives Party should be prepared to lose since Labour had a strong lead throughout opinion polls since late last month. Numerous scandals including Partygate which led to Boris Johnson’s resignation and Truss’ chaotic short six-week rule have damaged Conservative brand name.
Yet despite their strong lead in voter surveys, rishi sunak’s campaign team still clings onto certain underlying numbers. Even though keir starmer trails sunak when respondents are asked who they would prefer as prime minister, the gap is much smaller than the overall difference in party voting intentions. The “me and him” narrative has been used by sunak to benefit from this.
However Sunak hasn’t been able to turn around opinion polls since he took over the leadership and the gap has stayed constant since the beginning of this race.
How does UK choose Prime Minister?
Britons will cast their votes on July 4th, with results being announced early on Friday morning. In the United Kingdom voters elect Members of Parliament who represent them in their local constituencies and a majority of these members decides who becomes prime minister forming government.
If no single party obtains an outright majority, they may operate as a minority regime or join forces with each other. Though the king Charles III formally has a role in approving government formations, deciding about elections and dissolving parliament but he cannot oppose prime minister nor can he nullify election results.
Key Issues in the UK
Labour is expected to construct the election as a referendum on the Conservative party’s 14 year rule, pointing out public weariness of having had multiple prime ministers from this party; Brexit; poor economy; and other scandals. Starmer’s focus is likely to be on the cost of living and the state of NHS.
On the other hand, Sunak would stress migration, especially his anti-boat pledge called “Stop the Boats” and Rwanda policy while trying to persuade that he has improved economy and changing government would be risky. Also early indications suggest that Sunak will make leadership a key issue as well, emphasizing his experience as finance minister during Covid-19 pandemic and criticizing Starmer’s record.
The following are key players and parties contesting in this critical national poll:
Keir Starmer
Keir Starmer, leader of the Labour Party aged 61 years old who used to work as human rights solicitor or prosecutor general, is tipped among pollsters for winning at the next election and becoming a prime minister.
Starmer has been commended regarding his steering of his followers to political center after taking over from Jeremy Corbyn who was leftist starting from April 2020 until now when it became free of antisemitism within its ranks.
His supporters see him as a practical or dependable leader capable of pulling Britain out of recession.
However, critics claim he lacks charm and has remained indecisive such that in a cautious campaign he failed to articulate a clear vision for Britain.
Born in London to working parents—his father was an auto mechanic while his mother worked as a nurse—Starmer received his unusual first name due to his socialist parents who named him after Keir Hardie—the founder of Labour Party. Sir Keir Hardie is passionate about football which explains why Arsenal football club also enjoys his support. For all these efforts towards crime control Sir Keir Hardie was awarded by Queen Elizabeth II with knighthood but he never uses “Sir” in front of his name.
Rishi Sunak
After being appointed Conservative leader and PM by his fellow MPs, Rishi Sunak aged 44 years old is hoping to win a personal mandate from the British people. He replaced Liz Truss who only lasted 49 days after her economic policies of tax cuts that worried financial markets, leading her to lose support among members of her own party.
Sunak, who has Indian background, happens to be Britain’s first ever Prime Minister of British Asian and Hindu descent. The ex-financier is credited with bringing some calmness into government following the turbulence under Truss and Boris Johnson as well as successfully fighting inflation.
However, he has failed on numerous commitments such as reducing waiting lists at hospitals, cutting down on illegal immigration or deporting immigrants to Rwanda.
However, since then his campaign has been unexciting marked by missteps starting from his rain-soaked election date announcement to criticism over absence during main D-Day anniversary commemoration. His approval ratings are among the lowest for any prime minister according to opinion polls.
Nigel Farage
60-year-old Nigel Farage, an ex-member of European Parliament, is a controversial figure in Britain’s politics. Being known for his taste for alcohol and tobacco, he played a considerable role in persuading the majority of British people to vote out of the European Union in 2016 with Donald Trump dubbing him ‘Mr Brexit’.
Despite being able to influence the outcome of the Brexit referendum, Farage has never won election as a Member of Parliament after participating in at least seven contests. Presently he leads Reform UK which is extreme right wing and this may make it difficult for Conservative Party to retain power.
Recently however, there was racism scandal involving Farage and his party when some activists from Reforms were seen on camera making racist and homophobic comments. Following these remarks over the weekend, three Reform candidates were disavowed by their own party. Also criticized was Farage for suggesting that west “provoked” Russia into invading Ukraine.
Swinney, Davey and Denyer
However neither John Swinney’s Scottish National Party (SNP) nor Ed Davey’s Liberal Democrats are expected to win outright but they could still have a major say in how things turn out. Aged 58 years old, Davey hopes to stop conservatives from winning by taking many seats in southern England then surpassing SNP thereby becoming third largest political group in parliament while playing both serious issues related campaigns as well as tricks that are lighthearted designed to gather attention.
On the other hand Swinney is 60 year old not being an MP but rather being Scotland’s first minister based at Edinburgh. Where Scottish Parliament meets after he took over as leader of SNP from Humza Yousaf who resigned in May. There has been growing competition between resurgent Labour Party in Scotland against SNP whose ambition might be compromised by its desire for independence lasting generations.
Meanwhile one of Green Party’s co-leaders Carla Denyer is fighting to claim Bristol Central, a newly created constituency, as her party seeks to extend its number of MPs from one to four.
