Rishi Sunak’s Tory MPs want a summer of passion … from him

LONDON — Rishi Sunak’s hoping to take his first summer holiday in five years. He’s going to need it.

The British prime minister — known for his punishing work ethic — heads into Westminster’s summer break with plenty to keep his mind on the day job.

Last week saw his Conservative party, currently trailing in the national opinion polls, suffer two heavy by-election losses. And, while he managed to hang on to Boris Johnson’s old seat of Uxbridge, few believe it’s the sign of a big Tory resurgence.

“They have at least got one straw to cling to,” Anthony Wells, head of research at YouGov, said of the Tories’ Uxbridge result. “Not a very good straw, but if you’re in a storm you cling to what you can.”

As Conservative MPs flee Westminster and head back to their constituencies for an earful from voters, there’s a sense the prime minister needs to use his summer wisely and come back with a fired-up plan to save the party’s skin.

“Incremental change and saying we’ve got the show back on the road is not going to work,” said James Frayne, a former Conservative adviser who heads up focus groups agency Public First. “We’ve gone way beyond that, because we’re getting to the point where people are just not listening anymore.”

Passion project

Sunak’s big pitch was to bring stability to the country and the party after years of psychodrama under Boris Johnson and Liz Truss, and, for the most part, this still counts in his favor.

But his in-tray remains formidable. The Sunak government is still trying to rein in the cost of living, ease strain on the National Health Service, sort industrial disputes, calm rising mortgage costs, and halt the continued crossing of the English Channel by migrants in small boats.

While shortages of doctors’ and dentist appointments are exercising many constituents, one former minister observed: “Ultimately what we’re seeing is a whole load of almost every policy area being impacted by challenges on the economy.” 

Amid all this, there are concerns, bolstered by the kicking his party got in two out of three by-election results last week, that Sunak’s pitch simply isn’t changing minds. Niggling doubts about his leadership persist, with colleagues frequently describing him as technocratic and lacking political bite.

A member of the recently formed New Conservatives group of MPs said that while they were keen to see more housebuilding, “what I am desperate to hear is more passion.”

This being the Conservative Party, talk of a challenge to Sunak hasn’t entirely gone away either — even if the Tories have cycled through three prime ministers in the space of a year. One staunchly anti-Sunak MP said in the wake of the by-election bruising that the Conservatives “need a new leader” and “we’re starting to discuss who it could be, as elections show he is not cutting through and [Labour’s Keir] Starmer is beatable.”

Even those who dismiss the idea of changing leader would like to see a dramatic gear shift. It’s something Sunak appeared to recognize when he assured a meeting of backbench MPs last week he will come back with that grand plan in September.

One supportive MP who was at the meeting said: “He was very good at laying out the reasons to be cheerful, but they’re very workmanlike and he gets that they’ve got to be fleshed out into a vision.”

The same MP suggested a two-step approach from Sunak: emphasizing the competence already demonstrated; and then more optimistic talk about what the Tories can offer if the country sticks to the plan and the economy improves. They cited the promise of tax cuts, help to bring down the cost of childcare, and job creation as potential silver linings for voters.

Others have doubts a checklist will do the job. “It’s gone beyond issues-based politics,” said focus groups expert Frayne. “There’s now an all-pervasive sense of failure and drift and blame on government. It’s difficult, therefore, to claw it back through progress on one particular issue.”

There are also concerns in the party that Sunak’s perceived passion deficit is not currently being addressed elsewhere in his government.

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt is seen as a pragmatist like his boss. Home Secretary Suella Braverman is occupied with the single issue of immigration. Party chairman Greg Hands is well-liked but mild-mannered. And Foreign Secretary James Cleverly, seen as a good communicator, is necessarily out of the country a lot of the time. 

MPs are hopeful that an impending Cabinet reshuffle will deliver a punchier line-up ahead of the next general election, with more airtime for Cleverly and Defense Minister James Heappey touted, as well as promotions for younger ambassadors such as Laura Trott and Claire Coutinho.

Old hands

No. 10 appears to be aware it lacks experienced backroom advisers too. Sunak’s team have been trying to tap up some of the more experienced heads who served under David Cameron and Theresa May. Henry de Zoete, a Cameron-era education aide, was recruited by No. 10 last month as Sunak’s artificial intelligence adviser.

When it comes to rallying the troops, Sunak is not entirely devoid of material, either. Slowing inflation and the passage of a flagship bill aimed at curbing immigration both allow MPs to argue to constituents they are making progress. 

“There was a real sense of a mood change within the Tory party because of the inflation figures,” said Conservative peer Robert Hayward, pointing to a lower-than-expected inflation rate revealed last week. “There may now be an opportunity to turn attention to look forward in a way that there hasn’t been up to now.”

The retention of Uxbridge, too, has given hope to some MPs now pondering what local issue they might be able to campaign on to buck the grim national trend. Hands, the Tory chairman, articulates the view among many Conservatives that there’s still a real lack of “enthusiasm” for Starmer.

Buoyed by the by-election victory, Conservative ministers on Sunday also pledged to take the edge off a suite of bold policies designed to tackle climate change and pollution.

Either way, Sunak’s summer holiday promises only a brief respite in what looks like a punishing year ahead. 

MPs will return in September for the final push before the next election led by a prime minister, for now, lacking the flash of inspiration they need to spur them on.

Eleni Courea, Annabelle Dickson and Aggie Chambre contributed reporting.