LONDON — There were tears, anger and frustration as Conservative lawmakers digested their leader Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's decision to call a British election much earlier than they had ever expected. Some of those who are fighting to retain their seats feared the six weeks left to convince sceptical voters to back them would not be enough.
British PM Rishi Sunak said the economy was turning a corner with inflation down, energy bills falling, wages rising and increasing growth.LONDON — There were tears, anger and frustration as Conservative lawmakers digested their leader Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's decision to call a British election much earlier than they had ever expected.
Sunak remained adamant on May 23 that the timing was right, telling workers at a distribution centre in an English town that the economy was turning a corner with inflation down, energy bills falling, wages rising and increasing growth. After the shock of the decision that only a handful of close advisers knew about, those Conservatives who are planning to run started to realise how much of an uphill battle they faced to retain their parliamentary seats.
He added that morale was the lowest he had known in five decades of being involved in local politics.It does not bode well for a party which has been in power for 14 years. The Conservatives have consistently run about 20 percentage points behind the opposition Labour Party since July 2023.
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