UK Election 2019: So far around 129 MPs have announced they will not stand for re-election.
London:
The British Parliament dissolved itself on Thursday ahead of a July 4 general election that is likely to bring the Labor Party to power after 14 years of Conservative rule.
The five-week campaign officially began when 650 parliamentary seats became vacant at one minute after midnight (23:01 GMT), in line with the election schedule.
The first week of the campaign got off to a rocky start after Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s rainy election announcement, with many observers calling the downpour a bad omen.
Sunak scheduled the election for July 4, rather than later in the year as widely expected, in what observers said was an attempt to regain momentum as his party slumped in public opinion polls.
After 14 years in opposition, Labor now has a chance to regain power under its leader Keir Starmer, a former human rights lawyer.
– Mass exodus –
The ruling party, losing its double-digit lead over Labor in the polls, also faced a mass exodus of MPs, with some of them giving up in the face of bleak chances of victory.
So far, approximately 129 MPs have announced that they will not run for re-election. Among them are 77 conservatives, representing an unprecedented exodus for the ruling party.
Some Tories running for re-election did not hide their irritation at the surprise of the July election date.
Steve Baker, Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, stood by his decision to continue his holiday in Greece, saying he would prepare his campaign there.
Signs of infighting also came to airy when a Tory MP supported the candidate of the right-wing populist Reform UK party in her constituency and was immediately suspended by the Conservatives.
– Indigent start –
After the election was called, Sunak traveled around the country promoting the Conservatives as the “unthreatening” option.
His campaign was met with some early hiccups, including a visit to the site where the Titanic was built and his leadership being compared to commanding a sinking ship.
Sunak’s campaign, focused on older voters and right-wing supporters, included promises to restore national service and a £2.4 billion ($3 billion) tax break for pensioners.
But Sunak’s week of intense campaigning and attempts to wow the country did little to win him favor.
Polls show Labor on average 45% of the vote compared to 23% for the Tories, suggesting that, given the straightforward majority voting system, Labor will be a very huge winner.
In an attempt to turn things around, Sunak hopes to score points in his scheduled debates with Keir Starmer, the first of which will take place next Tuesday on ITV.
– More internal conflicts –
Meanwhile, Labor is trying to capitalize on public fatigue with the Conservatives, who have had five prime ministers since 2016 alongside a string of scandals and economic problems.
After gaining the support of 120 industry leaders this week, he tried to focus on moving to the “natural side of the business.”
After an abject defeat under left-wing leader Jeremy Corbyn in 2019, Starmer pushed the party towards the center in a bid to win back voters, including by purging Corbyn and taking action to stamp out anti-Semitism.
However, the past week has exposed long-standing factional divisions within the party, with MP Diane Abbott expressing her dismay at the party’s willingness to prevent her from standing.
Starmer insisted the fate of Abbott, suspended last year for comments about racism, had not yet been decided. But the treatment of the respected 70-year-old, who was a member of parliament for 37 years, sparked weighty criticism.
Starmer has also faced condemnation from left-wing voters who accuse him of backtracking on promises made during his successful leadership campaign.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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