Rishi Sunak, the outgoing British Prime Minister, retained his seat in the North Yorkshire parliament after winning by a majority of 1,500 votes. there is a smaller margin than five years ago.
Mr Sunak won 47.5 per cent of the vote in his constituency of Richmond and Northallerton in northern England. It was likely a relief for Mr Sunak, who was reportedly concerned about retaining his once safe chair in the days leading up to the vote.
Few in Richmond expected his ouster from parliament. Mr Sunak’s Conservative Party has long held power in rural Yorkshire. Had he lost the race, he would have been the first sitting prime minister to lose his seat in parliament.
“If they put a billy goat in for Richmond, Conservative, it would go in,” said Lawrence Hathaway, 94. “It’s always been Conservative.”
But this year, Mr Sunak — a multimillionaire who has been branded by opponents as incompetent to understand the needs of ordinary people — has faced historic headwinds after 14 years of Tory leadership. The party presided over a tumultuous exit from the European Union and Britain has grappled with a cost-of-living crisis for years, with inflation hitting 11.1 per cent in 2022 and only recently returning to target levels.
Opinion polls showed voters were also frustrated with the government’s mismanagement of the coronavirus pandemic, worried about their health system and irritated by the leadership of Sunak’s predecessor, Liz Truss, who served just 45 days in office.
In Richmond, some felt Sunak was being blamed for problems that began before he took office and were far bigger than any prime minister could address.
“Most people here like Rishi Sunak,” says Barbara Richmond, 70, who has a holiday home nearby, although she does not vote in Richmond.
“For most people in Yorkshire, it’s family first,” she said. “And he’s a family man.”
But many were fed up with the scandals that had plagued the Conservative Party. There was “Partygate,” in which Boris Johnson and his Downing Street staff broke government lockdown rules during the pandemic, setting in motion Mr. Johnson’s downfall. There was the economic chaos caused by Ms. Truss’s ill-conceived tax cut plan. And in recent weeks, Conservative Party staff were said to have been placing bets on the timing of the snap election.
“I’m really annoyed,” said Carol Sheard, a pensioner in her 70s who votes in Mr Sunak’s constituency. “It’s like a circus.”
Even some of Mr Sunak’s supporters were lukewarm about him. The prime minister made a number of missteps during the campaign, including an early exit from the D-Day commemorations. He was immensely wealthy and often seemed out of touch with ordinary voters.
“He’s so out of touch,” said John Morrison, 86. But he said he still voted Conservative.
“Like many people, I held my nose and voted for Rishi,” he said. “He’s the best of a bad bunch.”
