Sunak one year on: Time to end Conservative sleaze and call a General Election

EMBARGO: 22.30 24th October 2023 

The Liberal Democrats have called on Rishi Sunak to call a General Election to end the “cycle of Conservative sleaze and scandal” since he became Prime Minister.

The party has also highlighted five times where Sunak has failed to act with integrity since he promised to do so on the steps of Downing Street one year ago today.

This includes when the PM abstained on the Boris Johnson report, his refusal to block Johnson’s peerage list and failing to appoint an ethics adviser for six weeks. Rishi Sunak in the last year has also failed to declare his wife’s shares in a childcare agency, as well as reappointing Suella Braverman after she was forced to resign over security breaches.

Commenting on the anniversary, the Liberal Democrat Cabinet Office Spokesperson Christine Jardine MP said:

“Just one year ago Rishi Sunak promised to bring back stability and integrity, yet since then we’ve been in a constant cycle of Conservative sleaze and scandal, moving from one crisis to another. 

“This Conservative Party have proved themselves to be unfit to govern, and Sunak is far too weak to lead. Rishi Sunak should call a General Election now, so voters can put this Government out of its misery. The British public deserve better than another year of absolute chaos.”

ENDS

Notes to Editor:

More information can be found below:

1. Abstaining on Boris Johnson report: Rishi Sunak missed the vote on whether to impose sanctions on Boris Johnson over the Partygate report (Guardian, June 2023)

2. Breaching the ministerial code: Rishi Sunak failed to declare his wife’s shares in a childcare agency (Independent, August 2023)

3. Reappointing Suella Braverman: Rishi Sunak reappointed Braverman just six days after she was forced to resign over a security breach and claims she breached the ministerial code (Guardian, October 2022)

4. Refusing to block Johnson’s partygate peerages list:  Rishi Sunak approved Boris Johnson’s peerage list, despite it including several of those implicated in the partygate scandal (ITV, June 2023)

5. Delay in appointing ethics adviser: Rishi Sunak failed for weeks to appoint an ethics adviser after the previous adviser quit in June 2022, meaning the post was vacant for six months (Guardian, December 2022)