Background & Political Career
Rishi Sunak was born in 1980 in Southampton to parents of Indian Punjabi heritage. He studied Politics, Philosophy and Economics at Oxford and then obtained an MBA at Stanford University. He worked as a hedge fund analyst at Goldman Sachs and later as a partner at the investment firm TCI before entering politics.
He was first elected MP for Richmond (Yorks) in 2015 and rose rapidly through the ministerial ranks, serving as Chief Secretary to the Treasury before Theresa May appointed him to Cabinet as Financial Secretary. Boris Johnson promoted him to Chancellor of the Exchequer in February 2020 at the age of 39, where he oversaw the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (furlough), spending approximately £70 billion.
Sunak resigned as Chancellor in July 2022 in protest at Boris Johnson’s conduct, triggering a chain of resignations that led to Johnson’s downfall. He ran for the Conservative leadership twice in 2022: narrowly losing to Liz Truss in September and winning the subsequent contest unopposed in October 2022 after Truss’s 45-day premiership collapsed. He became the UK’s first Prime Minister of Asian heritage and the youngest PM since Lord Liverpool in 1812.
Sunak called a general election for 4 July 2024. The Conservative Party was defeated by Labour on a historic scale, winning only 121 seats and 23.7% of the vote. Sunak resigned as Conservative leader the same night, succeeded by Kemi Badenoch in November 2024. He announced in early 2026 that he would not stand at the next general election.
Approval Rating: Oct 2022–Legacy 2026
▼ Entry 60% → Exit 18% → Legacy -35Net approval = approve % minus disapprove %. Source: YouGov/Ipsos tracker. Note: initial entry metric shows headline approve %; from Oct 2023 net approval scale used.
Key Controversies
Early Election Gamble
Sunak’s decision to call the general election for 4 July 2024 — announced on 22 May while standing in the rain outside Downing Street — was immediately criticised by Conservative MPs as premature and poorly executed. Polling at the time showed Labour 20 points ahead. Senior figures including Michael Gove had reportedly urged him to wait until autumn. The campaign itself was troubled by the departure of a Conservative candidate over betting on the election date and Sunak’s early return from the D-Day commemorations in Normandy.
Cost of Living and Mortgage Crisis
Sunak’s premiership coincided with the sharpest rise in mortgage rates in three decades, driven by the Bank of England rate increases triggered partly by the market turbulence following Liz Truss’s September 2022 mini-Budget. Millions of homeowners faced significant increases in monthly payments as fixed-rate deals expired. YouGov tracking showed cost of living as the single biggest drag on Conservative support throughout 2023 and 2024.
Rwanda Policy and Small Boats
Sunak’s flagship Rwanda deportation policy for asylum seekers faced repeated legal challenges, was ruled unlawful by the Supreme Court and was effectively abandoned before producing a single flight. Polling showed it failed to close the Conservatives’ disadvantage on immigration against Reform UK.
Policy Record as Prime Minister
Sunak made halving inflation one of his five pledges. CPI fell from 11.1% in October 2022 to 2.0% by May 2024, broadly meeting the pledge, though public felt little relief on food and energy prices.
Negotiated the Windsor Framework with the EU in February 2023, resolving key elements of the Northern Ireland Protocol dispute left by Boris Johnson and providing stability for business.
Maintained strong UK support for Ukraine and deepened the AUKUS security partnership with Australia and the United States, including nuclear submarine technology transfer.
NHS waiting lists grew from 6.5 million to 7.6 million during his premiership despite the elective recovery plan, becoming a key vulnerability in polling on public services.
GE 2024 Result & Legacy Polling
The July 2024 general election produced the worst Conservative performance since 1832 by vote share. Labour won 412 seats, a gain of 211, on a national swing of 9.8 points. Reform UK took 14.3% of the vote, splitting the right-of-centre vote and costing the Conservatives dozens of marginal seats.
Post-election polling on Sunak’s legacy shows voters willing to credit him with managing the post-Truss economic stabilisation and the Windsor Framework, but the overwhelming verdict on his premiership centres on the scale of the defeat and the failure to restore trust in the Conservative Party after years of turmoil.
| Date | Approve % | Disapprove % | Net |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 2022 (entry) | 60% | 28% | +32 |
| Jan 2023 | 38% | 44% | −6 |
| Jun 2023 | 32% | 50% | −18 |
| Oct 2023 | 28% | 56% | −28 |
| Jan 2024 | 26% | 58% | −32 |
| May 2024 | 22% | 62% | −40 |
| Jul 2024 (exit) | 18% | 66% | −48 |
| Jan 2025 (legacy) | 21% | 58% | −37 |
| May 2026 (legacy) | 22% | 57% | −35 |
Source: YouGov/Ipsos tracker. Entry figure (Oct 2022) reflects headline approve only. Net = approve minus disapprove.
GE 2024: The Scale of the Conservative Collapse
The July 2024 election produced the worst Conservative result since 1832. Seat losses were spread unevenly — seats held by small majorities fell first, but even seats with substantial majorities were lost in the national wave.
| Metric | 2019 (Johnson majority) | 2024 (Sunak defeat) | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative seats | 365 | 121 | −244 |
| Conservative vote % | 43.6% | 23.7% | −19.9pp |
| Conservative votes | 13.97m | 6.83m | −7.14m |
| Labour seats | 202 | 412 | +210 |
| Labour vote % | 32.1% | 33.7% | +1.6pp |
| Reform UK seats | 0 | 5 | +5 |
| Reform UK vote % | — | 14.3% | N/A (new party) |
| Lib Dem seats | 11 | 72 | +61 |
| Conservative majority | +80 | −174 (opposition) | Majority to minority |
Source: House of Commons Library, Electoral Commission. GE 2024 final result.
Conservative PM Legacy Ratings: 2010–2026
| Prime Minister | In office | Entry net approval | Exit net approval | Legacy net (2026) | Key verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| David Cameron | 2010–2016 | +22 | −8 | −12 | Led to Brexit; mixed legacy |
| Theresa May | 2016–2019 | +5 | −24 | −18 | Brexit deadlock; institutional |
| Boris Johnson | 2019–2022 | +40 | −51 | −45 | Partygate; Covid; Brexit |
| Liz Truss | Sep–Oct 2022 | −3 | −70 | −65 | Mini-budget crash; 45 days |
| Rishi Sunak | 2022–2024 | +32 | −48 | −35 | Worst Con defeat since 1832 |
Entry/exit = net approval at start and end of tenure. Legacy = YouGov/Ipsos tracker, May 2026.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Rishi Sunak’s approval rating now?
Rishi Sunak holds a legacy net approval rating of approximately −35 as of May 2026, with around 22% approving and 57% disapproving. He has not held office since the Conservative election defeat in July 2024. His legacy rating has stabilised slightly from the −48 at exit: some voters now credit him with the Windsor Framework and managing post-Truss economic stabilisation.
How many seats did the Conservatives lose at GE 2024?
The Conservative Party lost 244 seats at the July 2024 general election, falling from 365 seats to 121. They took only 23.7% of the vote — the worst Conservative vote share since 1832. Labour won a majority of 174, gaining 210 seats on a swing of 9.8 points. Reform UK took 14.3% of the vote and 5 seats, splitting the right-of-centre vote in dozens of marginals.
Why did Sunak call the 2024 election early?
Sunak announced the July 2024 election on 22 May, surprising Conservative MPs who had expected him to wait until autumn. The decision was immediately criticised as premature. Most accounts suggest Sunak calculated that the economic position would not improve further by October and that a favourable by-election result offered a brief window. The campaign was dogged by D-Day early departure, the betting scandal, and the continued Reform UK threat, resulting in the expected catastrophic outcome. Conservative polling →
What are Sunak’s political achievements?
Sunak’s most credited achievements are: the Windsor Framework on Northern Ireland trade (February 2023), which stabilised business relations after years of post-Brexit uncertainty; managing the post-Truss fiscal stabilisation; and maintaining strong UK support for Ukraine. He is credited with being a competent financial administrator but not a politician who could command popular support or manage his own party’s internal divisions.
Is Rishi Sunak still an MP?
Sunak retained his Richmond and Northallerton seat at the 2024 election but announced in early 2026 that he would not stand at the next general election. He has largely withdrawn from frontline political activity since stepping down as Conservative leader in November 2024. Kemi Badenoch profile →
How does Sunak’s legacy compare to other recent Conservative Prime Ministers?
Rishi Sunak’s legacy net approval of −35 is better than Boris Johnson (−45) and Liz Truss (−65), but worse than Theresa May (−18) and David Cameron (−12). The broad verdict is that he was a more competent administrator than his predecessors but presided over an unprecedented electoral collapse — the worst Conservative vote share since 1832. Conservative polling →
Related Profiles
Boris Johnson
Former PM 2019–2022 — Partygate approval collapse. Legacy rating −45.
Kemi Badenoch
Conservative leader since November 2024 — net approval −15. Full profile and polling trend.
Conservative Party Polling
Voting intention history, seat projections and full GE 2024 result data from 365 to 121 seats.
Video: Further Analysis
Video: Leadership approval in UK politics — historical context for Rishi Sunak's tenure as Prime Minister and the Conservative collapse that followed.