Voting intention in the United Kingdom 2017-2024
As of June 27, 2024, 37 percent of British adults would vote for the Labour Party in the next general election, due to be held on July 4, 2024, compared with 17 percent who would vote for the Conservative Party. The ruling Conservatives have trailed Labour in the polls throughout 2022 and 2023, with a huge gap emerging in September 2022 when Liz Truss came to power. Truss' short time as Prime Minister was widely seen as a disaster for the country and her party, and she was succeeded by Rishi Sunak as Prime Minister that October. Labour has maintained their lead in the polls since Sunak became Prime Minister, and would win the next general election based on the most recent polls.
Sunak gambles on July election
On May 22, 2024, Rishi Sunak announced his decision to hold the next UK general election on July 4. Unlike many other democracies, general elections in the UK have no fixed date, with the power to call one resting with the Prime Minister, although this must be done at least every five years. While the last election in 2019 was held in the winter, this was mainly due to the political crisis surrounding the UK's exit from the EU. Sunak's surprise announcement came shortly after some positive economic figures were released in the UK. Sunak may hope this will improve his poor job ratings and perhaps boost the government's approval. The job of catching Labour in the polls by July may be a long shot for the Conservatives, especially as no ground was made up in 2023.
Sunak's five pledges - 2023
After a tough 2022, in which Britain suffered through its worst cost of living crisis in a generation, the economy was consistently identified as the main issue facing the country, just ahead of healthcare. To respond to these concerns, Rishi Sunak started 2023 with five pledges; halve inflation, grow the economy, reduce national debt, cut NHS waiting times, and stop small boats. Over a year on from this announcement, just one pledge can be said to be realized, with CPI inflation falling from 10.1 percent at the start of the year to 2.3 percent by April 2024. There is some ambiguity regarding the success of some of the other pledges. The economy shrank in the last two quarters of 2023 but has since started to grow again. National debt has increased slightly, while small boat arrivals are down from 2022, but still higher than in most other years. The pledge to cut NHS waiting times was not fulfilled either, with the number of people awaiting treatment rising in 2023.