Rishi Sunak needs to put the UK out of its misery by calling a general election – Scotsman comment

A bad result in the May local elections in England could see Rishi Sunak bounced into calling a general election to avoid being ousted by his own MPs

It’s fair to say that Rishi Sunak helped stabilise the good-ship United Kingdom after it was wilfully run aground by the previous captain. He and Chancellor Jeremy Hunt restored the UK’s credibility with the financial markets and stopped a government-inflicted crisis from spiralling out of control. They will always have that.

However, looking good in comparison to the disastrous Liz Truss is not hard. Some Tories saw signs of promise when Sunak took over in October 2022. As Chancellor, he was the driving force behind the bold furlough plan which saved people’s jobs during the Covid pandemic. His way of managing the economy was a Conservative one, but he also seemed to have the interests of ordinary people at heart.

Unfortunately for him, his time in 10 Downing Street has failed to live up to such expectations. High taxes coupled with crumbling public services and a cost-of-living crisis mean people on the left and the right are unhappy with his leadership. The government also seems to be unable to respond to events – such as Tory donor Frank Hester’s alleged racist comments – in a decisive way. In that case, Sunak found himself bounced into condemning the reported remarks by Cabinet minister Kemi Badenoch.

Rishi Sunak has been a much better Prime Minister than Liz Truss, but that's not saying much (Picture: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)

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Such incidents make him appear weak and so, despite denials, speculation about an early general election remains a hot topic in Westminster. Sunak has specifically ruled May 2, but if the English council elections on that date go as badly as expected for the Conservatives, he will be in trouble.

As bizarre as a leadership challenge may seem, it might happen. Will he find himself being bounced into calling an election just to avoid being ousted? Hardly an auspicious start to the campaign: back me even if my own MPs won’t.

Apparently, Sunak is set to accept an independent recommendation that MPs’ pay should go up by an inflation-busting 5.5 per cent. Rather than clinging on until the autumn, making one political blunder after another, he should put himself, his MPs and the country out of their misery by calling an election at the earliest possible date. It’s past time.