Perhaps the most significant advantage that a ruling party has under the current British political system is the ability to decide the timing of the general election. This confers three benefits: You can leap on favorable economic news, make sure your troops are ready for combat and catch the enemy unprepared. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has not only squandered this advantage with his decision to call the election in July rather than in November, as most people expected; he has also caught his own party rather than Labour with its trousers round its ankles.

So far, all the unforced errors in the campaign have been made by the Conservatives rather than Labour, from Sunak’s rain-soaked election announcement to his photo opportunity at the Titanic museum in Belfast. A sitting Tory MP, Lucy Allan, has announced that she is backing a Reform candidate in her constituency of Telford. As of this writing, 78 MPs have announced they are standing down in the election, more than the postwar record of 72 in 1997, including Michael Gove, a 56-year-old who, in better circumstances, might have played a key role in reviving the party after July 5.

QOSHE - Rishi Sunak Squandered the One Big Advantage He Had - Adrian Wooldridge
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Rishi Sunak Squandered the One Big Advantage He Had

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31.05.2024

Perhaps the most significant advantage that a ruling party has under the current British political system is the ability to decide the timing of the general election. This confers three benefits: You can leap on favorable economic news, make sure your troops are ready for combat and........

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