Sunak's Campaign Director Steps Down
In an unexpected turn of events, Rishi Sunak casually revealed in May that the British elections would be happening on the 4th of July. This piece of info seemed to be common knowledge amongst some in Sunak's inner circle, as there are rumors that a few of them used their inside scoop for betting purposes.
The Conservative Party's campaign chief, Tony Lee, has stepped down two weeks before the parliamentary election, as per the British Press Agency PA. Previously, it was known that his wife, Laura Sanders, who's running for the Conservatives, might have placed a bet on the election date.
A week prior, there were whispers that one of Sunak's close associates was under the radar for betting on a July date. Adding to the intrigue, a police officer assigned for Sunak's personal protection is also under suspicion and briefly detained.
Initially, the elections were anticipated, but the exact date was shrouded in mystery. For a long time, people speculated about a fall date, but Sunak's announcement in May took everyone by surprise, revealing that the parliamentary election would actually take place on the 4th of July. The British Gambling Commission is currently looking into whether betting on insider info about the election date was unlawful. In Britain, betting on inside info is considered a criminal act.
Potential Scandal for Sunak?
Labour Party leader, Keir Starmer, called on Sunak to immediately suspend Saunders as a Conservative Party candidate. "It's telling that Sunak hasn't done that yet," Starmer commented on the sidelines of a press conference. The alleged misconduct is said to be the result of 14 years of political chaos and division.
Analysts predict that the Conservative Tories will likely lose their parliamentary majority at the election. The Labour Party, led by Starmer, has a good chance of breaking a record number of seats in the British House of Commons, according to several surveys. According to a survey by the Institute YouGov, published on a Wednesday, the party could bag as many as 425 of the 650 seats in the British House of Commons. Surveys by Savanta and Electoral Calculus predict the Labour Party with 516 seats. This would be twice the number of seats they had at their best result, when Tony Blair won the election in 1997.
The approval ratings for the ruling Conservatives have reached an all-time low in the surveys: The Conservative Party of Prime Minister Sunak can thus only expect to win 53 seats at the July 4 election.
