UK Tories face huge election loss: Polls
3 Min Read
New findings come as a series of surveys suggest a dire outcome for the Conservatives in the upcoming election.
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Britain's Prime Minister Rishi Sunak speaks to the media outside 10 Downing Street in London on May 22, 2024. (AP)
The British Conservatives are expected to suffer a historic loss in July’s general election, ending their 14-year rule of the UK, according to three major polls on Wednesday.
A poll by Savanta and Electoral Calculus for the Telegraph forecasts the Tories winning only 53 seats out of 650 in July’s vote, marking an all-time low for the Conservative Party. The poll also predicts that current Tory leader and Prime Minister Rishi Sunak could lose his seat in Richmond and Northallerton, an unprecedented setback for a serving PM.
A More in Common survey for the News Agents podcast showed the Tories heading towards 155 seats. Despite being the most optimistic of the three MRP polls, this would still put them well below their current 344 seats and fewer than the 165 seats they had in 1997 when they last lost the leadership to Labour.
Meanwhile, YouGov predicted the Tories would drop to 108 seats. All three MRP polls projected that the Conservative Party would face a worse outcome than their disastrous 1906 result, when they lost to a landslide Liberal victory, securing only 156 seats to the Liberals' 397.
Labour may win over 400 seats
The surveys all forecast that the Liberal Democrats will achieve their best results in years. YouGov predicted the Lib Dems would secure 67 seats, marking their best-ever general election result. More in Common estimated 49 seats, while Savanta projected 50.
All three surveys suggested Labour Party leader Sir Keir Starmer is on track to become the next Prime Minister, with predictions of his party winning over 400 seats – surpassing the party's record historical win in 1997.
On May 22, Prime Minister Sunak surprised many in his party by announcing early elections, contrary to widespread expectations that he would wait until later in the year to allow time for improving living standards after the UK struck its highest inflation rate in 40 years.
Rishi Sunak was elected by Conservative MPs as their new leader in October 2022 after Liz Truss resigned from the premiership just weeks following her election.
Under the Tory leadership, the UK became ranked the weakest economy among Western European countries and is forecasted to remain so due to high interest rates and the lasting impacts of last year's inflation surge.
