On May 23, Rishi Sunak, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, surprised everyone with news that changed the course of British politics. When much of the world thought that upcoming elections They would be in the fall of 2025, the president decided to advance them to the next July 4th. No one knew, except, it seems, some of his closest associates. Three days before the announcement, his parliamentary private secretary, Craig Williams, candidate for Glyndwr in Wales, bet £100 on Ladbrokes that the new elections would be held on that date. He got it right, and insider trading netted him a wad of cash.
Williams quickly understood the mistake he made and came out to apologize. With his decision, he not only further delegitimizes the candidacy of the Conservative Party, but also calls into question his continuity as a candidate. In his statement, he confessed to his “huge error in judgment.” The worst, however, was yet to come. Laura Sandersanother of the candidates from Sunak’s bloc, would also have participated in a bet.
Sanders’ plot is especially delicate, as she is not only a candidate for power, but also the Tony Lee’s wife, party campaign director, who, knowing the controversy, canceled his social networks and was absent from any activity. The investigation also points to him as allegedly involved.
Reactions to the plot did not take long to arrive. The campaign is on and what happened only inflames the prairie more. The Labor leader, Keir Starmer, noted that all applicants who gambled should be punished with immediate effect. “This candidate (Saunders) should have been suspended. It is very revealing that Sunak has not done so. If she were on my lists she would not have set foot on the ground. There is something that transcends what happened, which is 14 years of division and chaos. It’s another case of conservatives feeling above the rest.”
Before these cases, the problem had already started, but it had not produced sufficient media impact. A Sunak bodyguard was also accused of placing bets on the election date, leading to his arrest and the end of his job. Many opponents of the prime minister question the rapid action against the security member and the ambiguities about the candidates.
One of them is Pat McFadden, Labor Party campaign manager, that is, who fights day by day with Lee to impose his strategy. “If a police officer is suspended from duty for placing a bet with confidential information, why are two candidates accused of the same offense allowed to participate in the July 4 elections?” In the same vein as Starmer, he warned: “This looks as if there are some rules for members of the Conservative Party and other rules for everyone else.”
Investigations continue and Sunak continues to receive attacks from all sides. Adding to his rising unpopularity is this episode. It is assumed that at least 20 people were aware of the electoral information. In addition to the prime minister, his main advisors, his campaign team and the security personnel in charge of organizing everything for that day would have been aware.
Discredit is costly for a man who is making every effort to reverse a dispute that seems impossible. The latest YouGov poll gives you the 39% of the votes for Labor and the conservatives only 22%. Everything indicates that the opposition force could reach up to 200 deputies, while several of Sunak’s ministers would be left out of any seat of popular representation.
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