DEFIANT Rishi Sunak says the Conservatives CAN still win the General Election despite a top Cabinet minister conceding it was unlikely.
The Prime Minister insisted he understood voters’ frustrations with the Government but said he would fight for every vote between now and July 4.
APPM Rishi Sunak insisted he could win the election as he visited a gas rig with Energy Secretary Claire Couthino[/caption]
Earlier Grant Shapps had repeated warnings about a Labour super-majority and admitted a shock Sunak comeback was “not the most likely outcome”.
But if the election result was a foregone conclusion, the PM declared: “There’s still two-and-a-half weeks to go in this election, I’m fighting hard for every vote because I believe we can win.
“And there’s a very clear choice at this election: it’s having your taxes cut by the Conservatives or facing significant tax rises with the Labour Party.”
Asked if he understands people’s frustrations with the Tory Party, with some voters deciding to defect to Reform, he replied: “Of course I understand people’s frustrations with that.
“I mean that’s undeniable, and I’ve been very clear that we have made progress, but there is more to go.
“But the point now is we are on the right track and this election is about the future.”
Earlier today, Mr Shapps said a Labour super-majority would give Sir Keir Starmer “untold, unchecked power” to hike taxes.
The Defence Secretary told voters not to hand Labour a “blank cheque” as he branded the Tories “underdogs”.
It is the second time in as many weeks the top Tory has warned of the risks of a huge Labour win.
The top Cabinet minister told Times Radio: “We believe that when you set out those enormous tax rises we’re going to be subject to under Labour, and our programme, fully costed with tax cuts.
“People will actually look at that again and say, ‘Hold on a minute, perhaps we are rushing too far into this.’
“And the risks of a blank cheque for Starmer are horrendous for this country. It doesn’t do the country any good to have that kind of size majority.”
“I think it’s absolutely right, proper, legitimate to warn about the big risks and danger of a supermajority, which could lead to untold, unchecked power, including to continue to raise your taxes at record speeds.
“We’re still fighting for absolutely every single vote, which is absolutely the right thing to do.
“But what I said last week stands, a blank cheque, a supermajority is a dangerous thing, particularly when we already know they have these plans to change the council tax bands.”
Some Tories fear an almost total wipeout in Parliament after some polls showed the party winning as little as 72 seats in July, handing Starmer a record-high 262-seat majority.
Mr Shapps was the first Tory minister to raise the alarm on a potential super-majority last week, but his warnings were repeated by other including Robert Jenrick and Sir Geoffrey Cox.
Ex-Attorney General Sir Geoffrey even said a three-figure majority would leave Britain “sleepwalking into a one-party socialist state”.
And last week Tory rising star Miriam Cates told our Never Mind The Ballots show that Starmer would be Tony Blair “on steroids” if given a crushing victory by the electorate.
It came as Mr Shapps conceded that a Tory victory was “not the most likely” outcome of the vote on July 4 for the first time.
Asked if a Tory win was unlikely, he admitted: “I think that’s the realistic position, isn’t it?
“I mean, I live in the real world. So you know, let’s not try and pretend black is white.”
And speaking to LBC, he admitted: “We are the underdog, we are warning about unchecked power, a super-majority.
“They’re going to cost you a lot of money, it’s important to warn people about that.”