Outgoing British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak acknowledged defeat for his Conservative Party on Friday morning, although he retained his seat in Parliament.
Sunak won 47.5 percent of the vote in his Richmond and Northallerton constituency in northern England. Although he won by a narrower margin, it was likely a relief for Sunak, who was reportedly worried about holding on to his previously safe seat in the days leading up to the vote.
But it was also a sombre moment, as Sunak acknowledged in his acceptance speech that his party had lost. “The Labour Party has won this general election,” Sunak declared, adding that he had called Keir Starmer, the Labour leader and incoming prime minister, to congratulate him.
In Richmond, few expected his removal from parliament. Sunak’s Conservative Party has long held sway in rural Yorkshire. Had he lost the election, he would have been the first sitting prime minister to lose his seat in parliament.
“If you put a goat in Richmond, the conservative party, he would come in,” said Lawrence Hathaway, 94. “He’s always been a conservative.”
But this year, Sunak — a billionaire who has been described by his opponents as someone who doesn’t understand the needs of ordinary people — was facing historic headwinds after 14 years of Conservative leadership. The party presided over a tumultuous exit from the European Union and Britain has struggled with a cost-of-living crisis for years, with inflation hitting 11.1 percent in 2022 and only recently returning to target levels.
Opinion polls indicated voters were also frustrated by the government’s poor handling of the coronavirus pandemic, worried about their healthcare system and exasperated by the leadership of Sunak’s predecessor, Liz Truss, who lasted just 45 days in office.
In Richmond, some felt Sunak was being blamed for problems that began before his premiership and that run far deeper than any prime minister could handle.
“Most people here like Rishi Sunak,” said Barbara Richmond, 70, who has a holiday home nearby although she does not vote in Richmond.
“For most people in Yorkshire, family comes first,” he said. “And he is a family man.”
But many were fed up with the scandals that have plagued the Conservative Party. There was the “Partygate” affair, in which Boris Johnson and his Downing Street staff breached the government’s own lockdown rules during the pandemic, helping to trigger Johnson’s downfall. There was the economic chaos unleashed by Truss’s ill-fated tax-cutting plan. And in recent weeks, Tory staffers have been alleged to have placed bets on the timing of a snap election.
“I’m so exasperated,” said Carol Sheard, a retired woman in her 70s who votes in Sunak’s constituency. “It’s like a circus.”
Even some of Sunak’s supporters were not particularly fond of him. During the election campaign, the prime minister made several mistakes, such as abandoning D-Day commemorations early. Immensely wealthy, he often seemed unable to connect with ordinary voters.
“It’s totally out of touch with reality,” said John Morrison, 86. But he added that he had voted Conservative nonetheless.
“Like many people, I held my nose and voted for Rishi,” he said. “He is the best of a bad bunch.”
