British PM Rishi Sunak takes unusual step amid election campaign
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London: British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak reportedly made the unusual decision to arrange a retreat with his closest advisers on the first weekend of the campaign, amid the election set for July 4. The 44-year-old Indian-origin leader is spending private time with his companions and family, along with senior members of his Conservative Party, NDTV reported.
A few cabinet ministers have announced they will not run for re-election in this summer's polls. Recently, Cabinet ministers Michael Gove and Andrea Leadsom announced their decisions not to stand for re-election, bringing the number of departing party members to as many as 78.
Leadsom released her own letter shortly after, writing to Sunak: “After careful reflection, I have decided not to stand as a candidate in the forthcoming election.” In his letter, Housing Minister Gove wrote that he knew “the toll office can take, as do those closest to me… No one in politics is a conscript. We are volunteers who willingly choose our fate. And the chance to serve is wonderful. But there comes a moment when you know that it is time to leave. That a new generation should lead.” Former Prime Minister Theresa May is also among the senior MPs stepping down, with former Defence Minister Ben Wallace already having announced his decision to leave frontline politics.
According to sources quoted by The Guardian newspaper, Sunak is taking the “unusual step” of a day away from public events over the first weekend of the election campaign to discuss election strategy with his closest advisers. While one source was quoted as saying the idea that Sunak was hoping to reset his campaign was “ridiculous,” another campaign operative claimed that “prime ministers don't normally spend the first weekend of the campaign at home talking to their advisers.”
The reports prompted Opposition Labour MP Stella Creasy to post on social media: "Sunak is already in need of a duvet day. Britain is already in need of a different government." However, the claims were soon dismissed, with reports stating he was spending the day campaigning in his North England constituency of Yorkshire. Conservative minister Bim Afolami intervened to brand criticisms of the Sunak campaign made by the Opposition as baseless.