UK elections: Sunak’s Conservatives brace for defeat, predict Labour landslide victory

Key Points

• The Conservative Party virtually conceded defeat to Labour a day before the election, predicting a record-breaking Labour victory.
• Opinion polls indicate that the Labour Party is set for a significant win, potentially ending 14 years of Conservative governance.
• Both Keir Starmer and Rishi Sunak warned of economic consequences if the other party wins as they campaigned on the last day.
• Conservative minister Mel Stride acknowledged the likelihood of a historic Labour landslide and emphasised the need for a strong opposition.
• Survation’s analysis predicted Labour would win 484 out of 650 seats, surpassing Tony Blair’s 1997 victory, while Conservatives might secure just 64 seats.

 

Britain’s Conservative Party conceded defeat to Keir Starmer’s Labour on Wednesday, just a day before polling stations opened. They warned that the opposition party was on track for a record-breaking victory.

Polls Predict Labour Win

Opinion polls indicate that the centre-left Labour Party is poised for a significant win in Thursday’s vote. This victory would end 14 years of Conservative governance and place Starmer in the prime minister’s office at Number 10 Downing Street by Friday morning, according to Reuters.

Last-Minute Campaigning

Both Starmer and Conservative Prime Minister Rishi Sunak spent the final day of campaigning warning voters of dire economic consequences if the other party wins. However, facing predictions of their worst result in history, the Conservatives shifted their focus to damage control, aiming to retain enough seats to be an effective opposition.

Preparing for a Landslide

“I totally accept that where the polls are at the moment means that tomorrow is likely to see the largest Labour landslide majority, the largest majority that this country has ever seen,” Conservative minister Mel Stride told the BBC.

He emphasised the importance of having a strong opposition to scrutinise the government within Parliament.

Sunak’s Fight for Votes

When asked about Stride’s comments, Sunak told ITV, “I’m fighting hard for every vote.”

Polling analysis by Survation predicts Labour will win 484 of the 650 seats in Parliament, surpassing the 418 seats won by Tony Blair in his 1997 landslide victory. This would be the highest number of seats Labour has ever won.

The Conservatives, on the other hand, are predicted to win just 64 seats, the fewest since the party’s founding in 1834. Other analyses also forecast a Labour victory, albeit with varying margins.

Labour’s Final Push

Labour’s final campaign efforts focused on preventing voter complacency. Starmer expressed concern that voters might see the result as a foregone conclusion and either stay home or cast protest votes for smaller parties.

Also read: UK 2024 Election: The Stage, the Actions, and the Actors

He urged voters to participate, saying, “If you want change, you have to vote for it. I want people to be part of a change.”

Campaign for Change

Starmer’s campaign has centred on a promise of ‘change,’ addressing public discontent with Britain’s strained public services and declining living standards, issues stemming from a sluggish economy and political instability.

Also read: Key moments in UK 2024 election final debate: Sunak vs Starmer

Sunak, meanwhile, has argued that his 20 months in office have set the economy on an upward path following the external shocks of COVID-19 and the war in Ukraine. He warned that Starmer’s agenda would require higher taxes and that a larger Labour win would embolden Starmer to raise taxes further.

Boris Johnson’s Rally Appearance

In a bid to close Labour’s roughly 20-point lead in the polls, Sunak enlisted former prime minister Boris Johnson, whom he helped oust in 2022, to speak at a late-night Conservative rally on Tuesday.

Johnson, a prominent figure in British politics who led the party to a landslide win in 2019, made his first major public appearance of the campaign. However, his speech focused largely on his own achievements and offered little personal endorsement to Sunak.

“None of us can sit back as a Labour government prepares to use a sledgehammer majority to destroy so much of what we have achieved,” Johnson warned.

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