Rishi Sunak will remain leader of Britain’s Conservative Party if he loses today’s election to ensure an “orderly transition” of power to Labour. There had been fears in the country that the party would descend into an internal struggle for the party chief’s chair. The Cabinet has already directly asked the prime minister to stay on as party leader until September, The Times reports. (Updated at 11:12 a.m.)
British voters go to the polls Thursday for a crucial general election seen as a referendum on 14 years of Conservative rule.
The snap vote, called by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, is being held months earlier than necessary and has caught most of his Conservative Party members by surprise. The opposition Labour Party suffered its biggest defeat since 1935 in the last general election but has since recovered under the leadership of Keir Starmer.
Thursday’s vote comes after a six-week campaign that has seen all the main parties scour the country for votes. Much of the debate has centred on the economy, the cost of living, the state of Britain’s public services, tax and immigration.
Polls of Brits
A YouGov poll, the latest in the UK before today’s election, has revealed that Labour will achieve its highest representation in the UK since 1832, breaking Tony Blair’s 1997 record.
According to the poll, the Labour Party will win 431 of the 650 seats in Parliament, a mono-majority. A number of other opinion polls show that the gap will be huge at all, Labour could take 484 seats.
For the Conservatives the polls show an unfavourable picture – about 20%, and the Reform UK Party could take about 16%.
Candidates’ positions on the Ukraine issue
The positions of the first two parties on Ukraine are not particularly different: Sunak promises to support Ukraine “whatever it takes”, Labour leader K. Starmer says their support is “ironclad.” Labour is also prepared to work “to create a path to Ukraine’s NATO membership” and to “diplomatically isolate Russia”.
Meanwhile, Reform UK Party Leader Nigel Farage believes Ukraine and Russia should begin negotiations through mediators. He also criticises NATO’s eastward expansion, believing that Ukraine should be a buffer state.
As early as Friday morning, the leader of the winning party is due to appear at Buckingham Palace in front of King Charles III, ready to form a Government.
Predictions of the election outcome are already coming true and opinion polls are confirming them. The Conservatives are losing the trust of voters and unfulfilled promises on Brexit could cost the party the general election.
