Rishi Sunak is holding out for an economic miracle before the next general election. Twin defeats on opposite ends of England show voters have little patience for his strategy to play out.
While Sunak vowed to stick to his plan after losing two seats and narrowly retaining a third on Thursday, ruling party ministers, lawmakers and advisers told Bloomberg News that the results mean much more is needed. They said Sunak must radically change tactics and his Cabinet — and unveil new policies at the Tory conference in October — to create dividing lines with the Labour opposition.
Failure to heed the warnings could result in a wipeout at the next general election, according to the officials, who requested anonymity discussing their personal views. Trailing Labour by about 20 points in recent polls, Sunak is mulling holding the national vote in November 2024 to give the economy as long as possible to recover while avoiding a winter election.