British PM Sunak hunts for votes among the robots at dawn
Adds Sunak quotes
By Phil Noble and Kate Holton
LUTON, England, July 2 (Reuters) -Badly lagging in the race to win Britain's election, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak went hunting for votes among robots and staff in a retail distribution centre on Tuesday, kicking off his first campaign stop of the day before 5 a.m. (0400 GMT).
Sunak, who has often looked exhausted as he crossed the country during a six-week campaign, started the penultimate day of campaigning before Thursday's vote in a vast Ocado warehouse in Luton, north of London, watching robots pick items for delivery.
He then donned a high-vis jacket to help pick salad items at the warehouse owned by Ocado, one of Britain's most successful technology businesses, before he met staff over a cup of tea.
He later surprised people at a motorway service station when he joined a queue in McDonald's to buy breakfast for journalists, before he met staff at a large supermarket.
Sunak, who shocked many in his party and the country when he called an election several months earlier than expected, has endured a tough campaign, facing questions from voters and journalists as to why the country is not in better shape.
He was asked by BBC morning television if he agreed with the country's leading pollster that he had no chance of winning the election.
He did not. "I was up at four this morning talking to workers at a distribution facility," he said. "I'm here talking to you. I'll be out till the last moment of this campaign because I think it's a really important choice for the country."
Sunak is due at events throughout Tuesday, including a rally late in the evening.
His Conservatives,in power for 14 years, have lagged Keir Starmer's opposition Labour Party by around 20 points for most of the last year, and in recent weeks Sunak has stepped up the rhetoric on what he says is the danger posed to the country by a Labour government.
In contrast, Ed Davey, leader of the centrist Liberal Democrats, has embarked on a more novel approach to campaigning, falling into a lake, careering down a water slide and doing a bungee jump to grab media attention.
Starmer, likely Britain's next prime minister, has enjoyed a more traditional election campaign, meeting voters at football grounds, in supermarkets and doctors' surgeries, often sticking to the same core message.
Writing by Kate Holton in London, Editing by Kylie MacLellan and Janet Lawrence
Related Assets
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.
