The Conservative and Unionist Party, commonly the Conservative Party and colloquially known as the Tories, is one of the two main political parties in the United Kingdom, along with the Labour Party. It has been the Official Opposition since being defeated in the 2024 general election. The party sits on the right-wing to centre-right of the political spectrum. It encompasses various ideological factions including one-nation conservatives, Thatcherites, and traditionalist conservatives. There have been twenty Conservative prime ministers.
Rishi Sunak is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2022 to 2024. He has been Leader of the Conservative Party since October 2022; after the general election in July 2024, he became Leader of the Opposition. The first British Asian to hold those offices, he previously held two Cabinet positions under Boris Johnson, latterly as Chancellor of the Exchequer from 2020 to 2022. Sunak has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Richmond and Northallerton, previously Richmond (Yorks), since 2015. He is the most recent Conservative Party prime minister.
Reform UK is a right-wing populist political party in the United Kingdom. Nigel Farage has served as the party's leader since June 2024 and Richard Tice has served as the party's deputy leader since July 2024. The party currently has five members of Parliament (MPs) in the House of Commons and one member of the London Assembly. Following Farage's resumption of the leadership during the 2024 general election, there was a sharp increase in support for the party. In the election it was the third largest party by popular vote, with 14.3 per cent of the vote.
The 2024 United Kingdom general election was held on Thursday, 4 July 2024 to elect 650 members of Parliament to the House of Commons, the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The opposition Labour Party, led by Keir Starmer, defeated the governing Conservative Party, led by Rishi Sunak, in a landslide victory.
Richard John Holden is a British Conservative politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Basildon and Billericay since 2024.
Claire Coryl Julia Coutinho is a British Conservative Party politician and former investment banker who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for East Surrey since 2019. She served as Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero from August 2023 to July 2024, and has been the Shadow Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero since July 2024. She has been described as a close ally of former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and as an ardent supporter of Brexit.
The March 2021 United Kingdom budget, officially known as Protecting the Jobs and Livelihoods of the British People was a budget delivered by Rishi Sunak, the Chancellor of the Exchequer in March 2021. It was expected to be delivered in autumn 2020, but was postponed because of the COVID-19 pandemic. It succeeds the budget held in March 2020, and the summer statement and Winter Economy Plan held in summer and autumn 2020, respectively. The budget is the second under Boris Johnson's government, also the second to be delivered by Sunak and the second since Britain's withdrawal from the European Union. The budget was the first for government expenditure in the United Kingdom to exceed £1 trillion.
Rishi Sunak served as Chancellor of the Exchequer of the United Kingdom from his appointment on 13 February 2020 to his resignation on 5 July 2022. His tenure was dominated by the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom, with Sunak becoming a prominent figure in the government's response to the pandemic, giving economic support to struggling businesses through various schemes. He was also involved in the government's response to the cost of living crisis, UK energy supply crisis, and global energy crisis.
A list of events relating to politics and government in the United Kingdom during 2022.
The July–September 2022 Conservative Party leadership election was triggered by Boris Johnson's announcement on 7 July 2022 that he would resign as Leader of the Conservative Party and Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, following a series of political controversies.
Liz Truss's tenure as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom began on 6 September 2022 when she accepted an invitation of Elizabeth II to form a government, succeeding Boris Johnson, and ended 49 days later on 25 October upon her resignation. As prime minister, she served simultaneously as First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Civil Service, Minister for the Union and Leader of the Conservative Party.
On 23 September 2022, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Kwasi Kwarteng, delivered a Ministerial Statement entitled "The Growth Plan" to the House of Commons. Widely referred to in the media as a mini-budget, it contained a set of economic policies and tax cuts such as bringing forward the planned cut in the basic rate of income tax from 20% to 19%; abolishing the highest (45%) rate of income tax in England, Wales and Northern Ireland; reversing a plan announced in March 2021 to increase corporation tax from 19% to 25% from April 2023; reversing the April 2022 increase in National Insurance; and cancelling the proposed Health and Social Care Levy. Following widespread negative response to the mini-budget, the planned abolition of the 45% tax rate was reversed 10 days later, while plans to cancel the increase in corporation tax were reversed 21 days later.
The October 2022 Conservative Party leadership election was triggered by Liz Truss's announcement that she would resign as Leader of the Conservative Party and Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, amid an economic and political crisis.
The Sunak ministry began on 25 October 2022 when Rishi Sunak was invited by King Charles III to succeed Liz Truss as prime minister of the United Kingdom. Truss resigned as leader of the Conservative Party the previous day after Sunak was elected unopposed as her successor. The Sunak ministry was formed from the 2019 Parliament of the United Kingdom, as a Conservative majority government. Sunak reshuffled his cabinet twice, first in February 2023 and later in November 2023.
Rishi Sunak's tenure as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom began on 25 October 2022 when he accepted an invitation of King Charles III to form a government, succeeding Liz Truss, and ended upon his resignation on 5 July 2024. He is the first British Indian and the first Hindu to hold the office. His premiership was dominated by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Israel-Hamas war, the cost-of-living crisis, and the Rwanda asylum plan. As prime minister, Sunak also served simultaneously as First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Civil Service, Minister for the Union and Leader of the Conservative Party.
Rishi Sunak is a British politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2022 to 2024. He has been Leader of the Conservative Party since October 2022; after the 2024 general election in July 2024, he became Leader of the Opposition. The first British Indian to hold those offices, Sunak has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Richmond and Northallerton, previously Richmond (Yorks), since 2015. He is the most recent Conservative Party prime minister.
A list of events relating to politics and government in the United Kingdom during 2024.
Change is a political manifesto published in 2024 by the British Labour Party under the leadership of Sir Keir Starmer. The manifesto sets out the party's new approach to policy, ahead of their successful campaign in the 2024 general election, in which they won a landslide victory.
For a Fair Deal is a political manifesto published by the Liberal Democrats under the leadership of Ed Davey, ahead of the 2024 general election. The 116-page document was launched at campaign event in London to the tune of "Take a Chance on Me" by ABBA.
Our Contract with You is a political manifesto published in 2024 by the British Reform UK under the leadership of Nigel Farage. The manifesto sets out the party's approach to policy, ahead of their campaign in the 2024 general election.
