LONDON: UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is expected to stay on as a backbench MP if his party does not win the general election, the results of which will be known on Friday. However there is a risk he could lose his seat, becoming the first serving PM to lose a general election and his seat at the same time.
In 2019, Sunak (44) won the Richmond and Northallerton seat with a majority of 27,210 and 63% of the vote.Political consultancy electoral calculus gives the Tories a 50% chance of holding onto the seat and Labour a 47% chance of gaining it.
No incumbent prime minister has ever lost their seat at a UK general election.
There is speculation Sunak may return to working in the financial sector, whether or not he stays on as MP, and spend more time in California, where he has a home. Sunak has flatly denied he plans to quit as MP and move to California if he wins his seat but loses the election and vowed to continue to represent his Yorkshire constituents. If the Tories are the second-largest party Sunak will be leader of the opposition.
A major survey for the Daily Telegraph by Savanta and Electoral Calculus last month suggested the Conservatives would be reduced to just 53 seats, their worse result in modern history, and Sunak himself would lose his constituency, which he has held since 2015 and where he is known as the “Maharajah of the Yorkshire Dales”.
The study projects a gigantic 382-seat majority for Labour, with Labour winning a staggering 516 constituencies.
A leadership election is likely to take place within the party even if Sunak keeps his seat. Priti Patel, Boris Johnson, David Cameron, Kemi Badenoch, and Suella Braverman are among those expected to stand. But Braverman and Patel are also in tight races for their seats.
Three Indian-origin MPs, Shailesh Vara and Gagan Mohindra, both Tories, as well as Labour’s Thangam Debbonaire, are predicted to lose their seats at this election, according to Electoral Calculus.
Other big Tory names whose seats are vulnerable include Jeremy Hunt, Liz Truss, James Cleverly and Penny Mordaunt.
Pro-India Tory MPs Bob Blackman and Theresa Villiers who have consistently defended India in the House of Commons are also forecast to lose their seats.
In 2019, Sunak (44) won the Richmond and Northallerton seat with a majority of 27,210 and 63% of the vote.Political consultancy electoral calculus gives the Tories a 50% chance of holding onto the seat and Labour a 47% chance of gaining it.
No incumbent prime minister has ever lost their seat at a UK general election.
There is speculation Sunak may return to working in the financial sector, whether or not he stays on as MP, and spend more time in California, where he has a home. Sunak has flatly denied he plans to quit as MP and move to California if he wins his seat but loses the election and vowed to continue to represent his Yorkshire constituents. If the Tories are the second-largest party Sunak will be leader of the opposition.
A major survey for the Daily Telegraph by Savanta and Electoral Calculus last month suggested the Conservatives would be reduced to just 53 seats, their worse result in modern history, and Sunak himself would lose his constituency, which he has held since 2015 and where he is known as the “Maharajah of the Yorkshire Dales”.
The study projects a gigantic 382-seat majority for Labour, with Labour winning a staggering 516 constituencies.
A leadership election is likely to take place within the party even if Sunak keeps his seat. Priti Patel, Boris Johnson, David Cameron, Kemi Badenoch, and Suella Braverman are among those expected to stand. But Braverman and Patel are also in tight races for their seats.
Three Indian-origin MPs, Shailesh Vara and Gagan Mohindra, both Tories, as well as Labour’s Thangam Debbonaire, are predicted to lose their seats at this election, according to Electoral Calculus.
Other big Tory names whose seats are vulnerable include Jeremy Hunt, Liz Truss, James Cleverly and Penny Mordaunt.
Pro-India Tory MPs Bob Blackman and Theresa Villiers who have consistently defended India in the House of Commons are also forecast to lose their seats.