Rishi Sunak ‘not taking it for granted’ he will win his own seat
Rishi Sunak on the campaign trail in Stockton-on-Tees on Friday - David Rose for The Telegraph
Rishi Sunak has said he is not taking winning his seat “for granted” in Thursday’s general election.
The Prime Minister, whose party continues to trail Labour by around 20 points nationally, is fighting to hold on in Richmond and Northallerton despite winning a majority of 27,210 in 2019.
A major opinion poll for The Telegraph last week revealed Mr Sunak is on track to become the first sitting prime minister ever to lose their seat at a general election.
The survey predicted he would lose out to his Labour rival, although the race was one of those that polling company Savanta said was still in the balance given its close margins.
In an interview with the Yorkshire Post, Mr Sunak said: “I never take anything for granted, and I work as hard as I can for my constituents.
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“I always say that’s my day job, and it’s a job that I absolutely love. And I think most of my constituents know that I have always worked really hard for them from the day I first got this job because I love doing it.”
Mr Sunak has insisted he will stay on as an MP for a full term despite speculation he could leave politics for a job in venture capital or artificial intelligence, possibly in California.
Asked a week before he called the general election whether he would stay on regardless of Tory fortunes, he said: “Gosh, I love being an MP. Yes, of course I’m staying.
“I love being an MP, I love my constituents, I love my home in North Yorkshire – it’s wonderful.
“I am focused on the choice at that election. We’ve been through a lot, but I think the things we’re doing are starting to make a difference.”
Mr Sunak was elected as the MP for Richmond in Yorkshire in 2015, succeeding Lord Hague, the former Conservative leader.
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The constituency was redrawn and has now become Richmond and Northallerton as part of the boundary review conducted by the Government after the last election.
Richmond only elected Conservative MPs between 1910 and its abolition as a constituency this year, so it would be a significant loss for the party and the Prime Minister.
At the local elections in May, Labour declared victory “in Rishi Sunak’s backyard” after winning the mayoral race in York and North Yorkshire.
David Skaith won the newly created mayoralty, which includes Mr Sunak’s seat, in what the Opposition called a “truly historic result”.
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