Why it looks like British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is about to lose his job

NBC
July 2, 2024, 2:52 PM EDT
By Patrick Smith

RICHMOND, England — Rishi Sunak has a habit of making history. He’s United Kingdom’s first British-Indian prime minister, its first Hindu leader, and at 42 he was the youngest to take the job in over 200 years. He’s also probably the richest person to govern from No. 10 Downing St.

Now 44, Sunak is about to mark new and less flattering records at the U.K. general election on Thursday. After a campaign beset by scandals, PR failures and alleged insider betting, he may very well lead his Conservative Party to its worst-ever defeat.

How did it come to this? Hanging over the electorate is a feeling that there is one set of rules for the elites in London— and another for the rest of Britain after years of Conservative Party rule. Living standards are being squeezed. The gap between the very rich — which includes Sunak — and the rest has continued to widen. There is the widespread perception that public services are not just struggling but are on the verge of failing.

The backlash against the Tories — the nickname for the Conservatives — is so strong that Sunak may lose his own constituency, which no prime minister has done before. The Conservatives have held the seat since 1910.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/british-prime-minister-rishi-sunak-conservative-election-loss-defeat-rcna157497