LONDON — Rishi Sunak’s recent run of success isn’t enough to turn around the electoral prospects of his ruling Conservative Party, his own aides fret.
The U.K. prime minister sees his performance in recent weeks as a taste of what he can achieve: the calm and capable delivery of policies from Brexit, the budget and immigration, to the Aukus defense pact, tackling anti-social behavior and nurturing energy security.
But however competent Sunak might appear, he’s saddled with a major disadvantage at the ballot box: The Tories’ record in government since 2010, presiding over unpopular austerity measures, a divisive national referendum and a failure to get a grip on issues that matter to ordinary Britons such as crime and health care.
