The Conservatives perhaps could not have found a better time for this: Sunak’s government decided to use the estimates of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which upgraded the forecast for British economic growth and reported that inflation indicators had returned to 2021 levels. However, opinion polls show that Albion residents are disillusioned with both the government and Sunak himself. During their 14 years in power, the Conservatives have failed to keep their promises.
Sunak’s attempts to dig the party out of the electoral hole appear to have failed. Despite positive economic results, Britons complain about the high cost of living, unreliable transport links and rising crime. The number of migrants in the country continues to grow, especially due to refugees crossing the English Channel. Sunak’s plans to temporarily relocate asylum seekers from Albion to Rwanda have faced legal difficulties and fierce criticism. The National Health Service is overwhelmed by the influx of patients, with seriously ill patients having to wait long periods on emergency lists. According to YouGov public opinion polls, more than half of Britons (52 percent) expect positive changes to the economy from the new government, 50 percent are concerned about healthcare, more than a third are demanding changes to immigration policy and a quarter are concerned about housing issues.
Only 24 percent of Britons are willing to support Sunak’s Conservative Party.
Several polls conducted over the weekend showed the same results: only 24 percent of respondents would support Sunak’s Conservative Party. The majority (39 percent) is likely to vote for Labour. Forecasts promise them at least 400 of the 632 seats in Parliament. In this case, the next prime minister will be the party leader and former Director of Public Prosecutions in England, Keir Starmer, 61. He has spent the last four years working to bring the Labour Party back into the political spotlight. At the same time, the politician is cautious by nature; the British even say that he is a bit boring. In its election manifesto, his party promises to review its industrial strategy and reduce taxes, shorten queues for medical care by extending working hours, strengthen border security and improve relations with Europe. Labour’s shadow foreign secretary, David Lammy, promised to continue the Conservative government’s line of support for Ukraine.
Ten percent of Britons are willing to vote for the Liberal Democrats. They also propose making friends with Europeans, increasing the number of jobs in medical institutions, fighting climate change more harshly and increasing defence spending. The new right-wing party Reform UK, with its leader Nigel Farage, who is calling for tougher measures in immigration policy, as well as the Scottish National Party (SNP), which advocates secession from the kingdom, could take votes away from the Conservatives. In general, parties with strong regional support can play a decisive role in forming a coalition government.
The Russian diplomatic mission in London has refuted information spread by the Conservatives about alleged interference by Moscow in the British elections, calling such rumours a crisis of ideas among the Conservatives. “It seems that they have nothing else to attract the electorate and shore up their plummeting popularity ratings. Russia, unlike Britain and other Western “civilizers”, has no habit of interfering in the internal affairs of other sovereign states,” the diplomats explained.
