Rishi Sunak was elected. But he bears the responsibility for the party’s biggest ever defeat and conceded victory to Labour.
Rishi Sunak is leaving his future for later. It will be in London, where he travelled after admitting defeat, where he will speak more “on the results” of the elections that caused a catastrophe for the Conservative Party. According to projections, it will be the worst result in the history of the party.
The British Prime Minister, who decided to bring forward the elections to July 4, surprising the country, nevertheless won his electorate. But all commentators take for granted his resignation as party leader and there are already those positioning themselves to take his place.
For now, even before the official results confirmed the Labour Party’s absolute majority, they admitted defeat. And he apologized, assuming his responsibility. “The Labour Party won this general election. I called Sir Keir Starmer to congratulate him on his victory.” “Today power will change hands in a peaceful and orderly manner,” which “should give us confidence in the stability and future of our country.” Jeremy Hunt, current Finance Minister who also managed to be re-elected (by less than a thousand votes), contrary to what was predicted by the projections, also referred to the event and thanked democracy and the way changes are made in democratic countries.
The Conservative Party is now talking about learning the lessons of this election. The most vocal was Suella Braverman, former Home Secretary and eventual candidate for the party leadership. She was re-elected and so kept this possibility open. But she stressed the need that “we need to learn the lesson because if we don’t we will have many more bad nights in the future.” She stressed: “We have to do better and I will do everything in my power to restore trust.” But the real kicker came in her statement: “There is only one thing I can say: I am sorry. I apologise that my party did not listen to you. The Conservative Party has let you down, the great British people, who voted for us for 14 years and we have not kept our promises. We acted as if we were entitled to your vote.”
She was not the only one to speak out. Kemi Badenoch, the Equalities Minister, who has also been mentioned as a possible Conservative candidate, also spoke of reinvigorated vigour and energy. “It is a difficult night for the Conservatives,” she said, adding: “People spoke and said loud and clear that the Conservatives have lost confidence. And they have lost confidence in politicians, which is a big risk.” Kemi Badenoch also managed to get elected, unlike another potential candidate who is now losing ground in this race. Penny Mourdaunt, the Leader of the House of Commons, lost her seat in the election in her constituency. In her emotional speech after announcing her defeat, she declared: “Whoever is disappointed, democracy is never wrong.” She spoke about the reasons for the Conservatives’ defeat. “If we want to be in power again, the values must be people.” “Our country needs us all,” she declared, thanking her supporters and wishing everyone luck.
Sunak also left the message that “there is much to learn and reflect on”, taking “responsibility for the defeat” and apologising for the defeat. But he left the idea that he will take his place in parliament. Speaking directly to his voters, he assured that “I look forward to continuing to serve you as a Member of Parliament”, with the intention of spending more time in North Yorkshire (his constituency) in the “weeks, months and years ahead”. It was anticipated that when he stopped being Prime Minister he might also leave parliament. But the speech, delivered alongside his wife Akshata Murty, showed otherwise.
Rishi Sunak thus goes down in history as the Conservative leader with the worst ever result, if projections are confirmed. The Conservative Party is expected to have 131 seats, a figure worse than the 156 mandates achieved in 1906 under the leadership of Arthur Balfour. In recent history, the worst result occurred under the leadership of John Major, in 1997, when he had 165 MPs. A result that was described as catastrophic or a massacre. “A bitter pill to swallow,” said Hunt.
At least nine government officials lost their seats, including Penny Mourdaunt and the defence secretary, Grant Shapps. They could lose 241 seats when the results are finalised. At this stage there are still many more to fill. “A worrying verdict,” said Sunak.
Source: Observadora
