UK Conservative MPs Flee 'Sinking Ship' Before General Election [View all]

(Bloomberg) -- More UK Conservative Members of Parliament are standing down ahead of the looming general election than at any national vote since the party plunged to a landslide defeat in 1997.

Before Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has even set a date for the election, some 63 members of his ruling Tories have already said they don’t plan to defend their seats — the most since 72 stood down in the run-up to the vote 27 years ago.

The high turnover suggests there’s pessimism in the Conservatives about their chances of winning. They’ve trailed Keir Starmer’s opposition Labour Party by a double-digit margin in national polling throughout Sunak’s tenure, and there’s little sign of a turnaround: A YouGov survey this month put Tory support at 19% — matching the low registered under his predecessor, Liz Truss.

“It looks like rats fleeing a sinking ship,” said Robert Ford, Professor of Politics at the University of Manchester. Ford said he expects twice as many Tories to lose their seats than to retain them in the general election.




https://www.yahoo.com/news/uk-conservative-mps-flee-sinking-050000240.html