Economic warnings dominate as UK election campaign enters final day
LONDON, July 3 (Reuters) -Britain's Keir Starmer and Rishi Sunak on Wednesday kicked off the last day of campaigning before polls open in a national election, each warning voters of dire economic consequences if the other man wins.
Opinion polls show Starmer's Labour Party is set for a big win that would end 14 years of Conservative government and hand the centre-left leader the keys to the prime minister's Number 10 Downing Street office on Friday morning.
Fearful that voters could see the result as a foregone conclusion and stay at home when polling opens at 0600 GMT on Thursday or register protest votes with smaller parties, Labour issued a fresh rallying cry:
"Don’t forget the economic chaos for which the British people are still paying the price," Labour's campaign coordinator Pat McFadden said in a statement.
"If you vote Conservative, nothing will change. If you don’t vote at all or vote for another party, you run the risk of waking up on Friday to Rishi Sunak walking through the door to No. 10 once again."
Starmer's campaign has been built around a one-word promise of 'Change', tapping into discontent at the state of Britain's stretched public services and falling living standards - symptoms of a sluggish economy and political instability.
Sunak has sought to persuade voters that his 20 months in charge have set the economy on an upward path after the external shocks of COVID-19 and the war in Ukraine, and drawn a line under years of turmoil overseen by his Conservative predecessors.
He argues that Starmer would have to put up taxes to implement his agenda for change
Having failed to close Labour's roughly 20-point opinion poll lead the Conservatives have pivoted from seeking victory to trying to minimise the scale of defeat.
Their final hours campaign warned that the bigger Labour's win, the more emboldened Starmer would be to raise taxes beyond those he has already outlined.
"The larger the scale of the supermajority, the easier it will be to ram through extreme policies – and the more tax rises will be inflicted on the British people," the Conservatives said in a statement.
Reporting by William James; Editing by Daniel Wallis
Latest News
Disclaimer: The XM Group entities provide execution-only service and access to our Online Trading Facility, permitting a person to view and/or use the content available on or via the website, is not intended to change or expand on this, nor does it change or expand on this. Such access and use are always subject to: (i) Terms and Conditions; (ii) Risk Warnings; and (iii) Full Disclaimer. Such content is therefore provided as no more than general information. Particularly, please be aware that the contents of our Online Trading Facility are neither a solicitation, nor an offer to enter any transactions on the financial markets. Trading on any financial market involves a significant level of risk to your capital.
All material published on our Online Trading Facility is intended for educational/informational purposes only, and does not contain – nor should it be considered as containing – financial, investment tax or trading advice and recommendations; or a record of our trading prices; or an offer of, or solicitation for, a transaction in any financial instruments; or unsolicited financial promotions to you.
Any third-party content, as well as content prepared by XM, such as: opinions, news, research, analyses, prices and other information or links to third-party sites contained on this website are provided on an “as-is” basis, as general market commentary, and do not constitute investment advice. To the extent that any content is construed as investment research, you must note and accept that the content was not intended to and has not been prepared in accordance with legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research and as such, it would be considered as marketing communication under the relevant laws and regulations. Please ensure that you have read and understood our Notification on Non-Independent Investment. Research and Risk Warning concerning the foregoing information, which can be accessed here.
