UK Chancellor Rishi Sunak: Disappointment was a common sentiment among Conservative MPs following the decision
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's decision to stake his Conservative Party's future on an unusual summer election was so secretive that even his Chancellor of the Exchequer, Jeremy Hunt, was surprised by the plan.
People familiar with Treasury matters said Hunt's aides were not fully aware of the general election that Sunak called for Wednesday, leaving some to worry that a rumored big announcement would mean the finance minister would be replaced in a reshuffle.While the prime minister was preparing to hold a press conference outside 10 Downing Street to announce his decision, Hunt was busy cancelling media appearances to talk about the morning's inflation data and cutting short a trip to a Group of Seven meeting of finance ministers in Italy on Thursday.
Some ministers supported the decision to hold an election, and regions secretary Michael Gove praised the move, according to a person familiar with the discussions.But there was widespread disappointment among Conservative lawmakers, including some ministers, at the risk of losing dozens of seats in an election that would leave Hunt the most vulnerable of his cabinet.
Many had long ago accepted Mr Sunak's call to “stick to the plan”, interpreting it as waiting for economic conditions to improve as expected later this year. It depended on a series of economic events that signaled that Britain had turned a corner.
As recently as last week, Mr Hunt had hinted that he might cut payroll taxes again in his autumn budget report, leaving it up to the next government to decide. Foreign Secretary David Cameron, a former prime minister and current member of the House of Lords, on May 12 backed plans to wait until the end of the year to hold an election.
The lack of support in the summer vote raised questions about the party's appetite to oppose Labor leader Keir Starmer's bid to become prime minister. One sitting cabinet minister, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the July 4 date was a terrible idea given the Conservatives' 20-point lead over the main opposition Labor party. Another cabinet minister said the timing suggested Mr Sunak had given up and no longer wanted to be prime minister.
For months, Mr. Sunak's aides had avoided saying when exactly an election would be held, frustrating Conservative lawmakers who were frustrated that he was using threats to keep them from joining efforts to replace him as leader. Conservative rebels had argued the party was facing oblivion, squeezed by the left-wing Labour and Liberal Democrats and the right-wing Reform Britain party, founded by Brexit campaigner Nigel Farage.
Some Conservative MPs have criticised the timing of the election on social media, with Tracey Crouch and Dehena Davison writing to X that they were disappointed that they would not be able to deliver what they had hoped to achieve in Parliament. Indeed, the surprise election means that some key legislation promised at last year's Conservative conference and in the King's Speech is likely to go unfulfilled, such as a gradual ban on smoking.
Instead, Mr Sunak appears to have calculated that he would be better off voting to coincide with flights to repatriate asylum seekers to Rwanda, and he wants to make this issue a central part of his campaign. Mr Sunak said he hoped the first planes would take off by early July, giving a talking point to counter the main thrust of the vote for reform.
Anger within the Conservative Party is not just about the timing of the election. Anger was also directed at the way Sunak made his announcement. Mr Sunak was soaked in the rain outside Downing Street, almost drowned out by the music of the protesters. Several Conservative politicians, including cabinet ministers, told Mr. Bloomberg privately that he should have brought an umbrella or made his statement indoors.
Home Secretary James Cleverley spoke to a room of about 100 Conservative MPs and campaigners in east London late on Wednesday, arguing that Mr Sunak was the right person to lead them through the election. “We need a leader at the head of government who is willing to make the right choices,” Mr Cleverley said, echoing Mr Sunak's argument that the country would be less safe under a Labour government.
Mr Cleverley noted that grants to cushion the economic blow of Covid-19 had boosted Mr Sunak's approval ratings during his time as chancellor, and said “inflation is now back to where it should be”, adding that this was “because of the choices Rishi Sunak made when he was chancellor and the choices he made when he was chancellor”.
One lawmaker, speaking on condition of anonymity, said it was a good move and he was happy about it. Another said it was either a stroke of political genius or incredibly selfish. They said they didn't know which.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
