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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Politics
Larry Elliott Economics editor

Is Rishi Sunak facing a repeat of John Major’s 1997 landslide defeat?

John Major in 1997 and Rishi Sunak in 2024
Like John Major in 1997, Rishi Sunak now faces a mood among voters that it is time for a change. Composite: Getty/EPA

With a Labour victory looking increasingly probable, John Major’s pitch to voters in 1997 was simple. Britain had come a long way, the then prime minister said in his foreword to his party’s manifesto. “We must be sure that we do not throw away what we have gained, or lose the opportunities we have earned.”

Sound familiar? It should, because it is exactly the same argument Rishi Sunak is deploying as he seeks to defy the opinion polls and win a fifth successive general election victory for the Conservatives.

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