After declaring a general election for July 4, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is reportedly spending his first Saturday with his closest advisers as he takes an “unusual step” of a day away from public events over the first weekend of the campaign.The 44-year-old Indian-origin leader is taking some private time out with his aides and family amid a mass exodus of senior members of Parliament from his embattled Conservative Party. Cabinet ministers Michael Gove and Andrea Leadsom became the latest Tory frontliners to announce their decision to not stand for re-election in this summer’s polls, taking the number of party members quitting the race to as many as 78.
Gove’s announcement in a letter released on social media had been anticipated amid strong challenges to incumbent Tories in constituencies around the country. Opposition Labour leader Keir Starmer is also in full campaign swing planning to use the day at public events designed to focus on his argument that the Conservatives have damaged the economy and raised living costs.