UK PM Rishi Battles To Retain Power In Upcoming Elections

News Desk

London: With Britain gripped by the worst cost-of-living crisis in a generation and inflation running at more than 6 percent alongside anaemic economic growth, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is struggling to convince voters that the Conservatives deserve to retain power.

This year’s get-together is being held under the slogan ‘long-term decisions for a brighter future’, with Rishi arguing in a recent speech that it is “time to address the bigger, longer-term questions we face”.

Britain’s ruling Conservatives gather this weekend for their annual conference, with the Prime Minister bidding to revive the party’s flagging fortunes with an apparent reset.

The four-day event from Sunday in Manchester, northwest England, comes with a general election expected next year that Sunak’s Tories look set to lose to the main Labour opposition.

The UK leader, whose keynote speech next Wednesday will close the conference, appears to be shifting his beleaguered party onto an election footing by trying to refocus attention on a broader policy agenda.

The party is still reeling from damaging periods of turmoil under his immediate predecessors, Liz Truss and Boris Johnson.

Sunak also faces a challenge keeping its fractious membership unified, with dividing lines increasingly emerging over several key issues, including climate change, infrastructure spending, and taxes as some Tories demand tax cuts to boost their poor standing in the polls. Additional input from AFP/APP