POLITICAL DISCOURSE
The Great British PR Gamble
The upcoming UK general election is offering a tantalising opportunity for rebellious Conservative voters
It has been just over a year since Conservative Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was appointed prime minister by King Charles on 25 October 2022.
Installed as the candidate favoured by Conservative MPs after the disastrous short tenure of Liz Truss as PM, Sunak’s popularity then plummeted in the months that followed.
According to YouGov, after one year in the position, 50% of UK voters polled by the organisation agreed that Sunak had been a poor or terrible PM (50%), while just 11% thought that he had been good or great. Meanwhile, 33% considered him average (which is also the prevailing opinion among Conservative voters, at 48%).
In addition, three in ten Tory voters (29%) rated Sunak’s first year in office badly, while only 20% thought that his performance had been positive.
The argument put forward by Sunak’s supporters at the time of his political coronation was that the former chancellor would be a steadying force as leader of the country, as well as (and here comes the important bit) a good political manager.
