Rishi Sunak, the outgoing British Prime Minister, has managed to retain his parliamentary seat in North Yorkshire, albeit by a narrower margin than in the previous election five years ago.
Sunak won 47.5% of the vote in his constituency of Richmond and Northallerton in northern England. The result was likely a relief to Sunak, who was said to be worried about holding on to his once-safe seat in the run-up to the election.
Few in Richmond expected Sunak to be unseated. The Conservative Party has long dominated rural Yorkshire. A defeat would make Sunak the first sitting prime minister to lose his parliamentary seat.
“If they put a goat in Richmond as conservative, it would still win,” observed Lawrence Hathaway, 94. “This area has always been conservative.”
However, Sunak, a multimillionaire often criticized for being out of touch with ordinary citizens, has faced significant challenges this year after 14 years of Conservative leadership. During that time, the party has overseen a tumultuous Brexit process and the country has struggled with a prolonged cost-of-living crisis, with inflation peaking at 11.1% in 2022 before stabilizing recently.
Opinion polls showed voters were also disillusioned with the government’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic, worried about the healthcare system and frustrated by the short and turbulent tenure of Sunak’s predecessor, Liz Truss, who was in office for just 45 days.
In Richmond, some residents felt Sunak had been unfairly blamed for long-standing problems that predated his time in office and were too complex for a single prime minister to resolve.
“Most people here like Rishi Sunak,” said Barbara Richmond, 70, who owns a holiday home in the area but doesn’t vote locally. “For most people in Yorkshire, family comes first, and he’s a family man.”
Despite this, many were tired of the scandals that have plagued the Conservative Party. Among them was “Partygate,” in which Boris Johnson and his Downing Street staff flouted lockdown rules during the pandemic, contributing to Johnson’s downfall. Furthermore, the economic crisis caused by Truss’s ill-conceived tax cuts plan and recent allegations that Conservative staff had gambled on the timing of an early election have further tarnished the party’s image.
“I’m very exasperated,” said Carol Sheard, a 70-year-old pensioner who votes in Sunak’s constituency. “It’s like a circus.”
Even some Sunak supporters expressed lukewarm sentiments. During the campaign, Sunak made several missteps, such as abandoning D-Day commemorations early. His immense wealth often seemed to create a disconnect with ordinary voters.
“He’s so out of touch,” said John Morrison, 86, despite still voting Conservative. “Like a lot of people, I held my nose and voted for Rishi. He’s the best of a bunch of bad guys.”