UK Election: Conservatives Concerned Over Polls and GDP

The United Kingdom is heading towards a significant political event that is yet to have a set date. From the latter half of 2024 and the early part of 2025, the UK will conduct general elections. The conservatives, who have been in power since 2010, appear to be encountering their most challenging political period in recent times.

Recent news from February raises questions about whether the current Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, will maintain his residence at 10 Downing Street, which is the official domicile of the British PM.

On February 15th, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) in the UK reported that the country has entered a technical recession. This is due to the fact that the UK has seen two successive quarters of economic decline.

In the last quarter of 2023, the UK’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) fell by 0.3%, following a 0.1% decrease between July and September. The GDP saw a slight increase of 0.1% compared to 2022 when viewed on the year-to-date basis.

The main reasons for the economic downturn from October to December include declines in commercial sales, household spending, and state purchases. Additionally, a doctors’ strike and a drop in school attendance in the services sector contributed to the poor GDP performance, leading to a 0.8% decline in the education segment.

Another setback for the Sunak administration came in the form of a survey published by The Mirror. The survey suggested that the Labor party might secure its largest victory in the upcoming national elections since Tony Blair’s win in 1997.

The survey, conducted from January 24th to February 12th, showed that Labor received 42% of the voting intentions, while the Conservatives received just 22%.

If the voting patterns seen in the survey are reflected in the actual elections, the current opposition could end up with 452 seats in Parliament (a significant increase from the 202 seats won in the 2019 election). In contrast, the Conservatives could be left with only 80 seats (a considerable drop from the 365 seats they won in the last national election).

Further adding to the Conservative party’s misfortune in February, they lost by-elections for two seats in Parliament: Wellingborough and Kingswood, both of which went to Labor.

Given the challenging economic situation in the UK and the recent by-election results, the Labor party is already claiming a victory. Keir Starmer, the leader of the opposition party, asserted that the UK is in desperate need of change.

Starmer highlighted that the NHS (National Health Service) isn’t functioning well, and the public is grappling with a cost-of-living crisis. She believes that the public has concluded that the Conservatives have failed after 14 years in power.

A report by the Independent reveals that Sunak’s supporters are urging the Prime Minister to implement key measures to reverse the current circumstances before the election. These include tax cuts to boost the UK economy and stricter immigration policies.

In a recent article for the Telegraph, Sunak indicated his intention to adopt these measures and called for unity among UK conservatives.

Despite the optimistic mood within the Labor party, they experienced a setback on Thursday (29). A by-election for the Rochdale constituency was won by George Galloway, a pro-Palestine candidate from another left-wing party, the Labor Workers’ Party. Great Britain.

The Labor party, which previously held the seat, finished in fourth place. The party had withdrawn its support for its candidate, Azhar Ali, after videos emerged of him accusing Israel of enabling Hamas terrorist attacks on October 7. The Conservatives finished in third place in Rochdale.