Mounting challenges

The UK prime minister is facing mounting challenges. [View in browser]( [Bloomberg]( Who’d want to be Rishi Sunak? Even his detractors admire his hardworking and measured approach to policy making since he became UK prime minister in October, but it’s simply not enough. As Sunak arrives in Japan for the Group of Seven meeting of industrialized nations, his ruling Conservative Party is facing the prospect of being swept from power in a general election expected next year after 13 years at the helm of the UK.  Key Reading: [Sunak Backs Away From Tory Manifesto Pledge to Cut UK Migration]( [UK Tories Gamble Political Future on Enacting Tough Strike Rules]( [Sunak’s Challenge Laid Bare as Braverman Shoots for Top Job]( [Sunak’s Climbdown on EU Laws Triggers Angry UK Tory Backlash]( Voters are angry over a cost-of-living crisis, the highest tax burden since World War II and faltering public services, as the squeeze on living standards helps drive the biggest wave of strikes over pay demands since the 1980s. But nowhere are the strains within his party more obvious than in the squabbles over migration. Sunak has backed away from the Conservatives’ manifesto commitment to bring migration lower than its 2019 level of 226,000. While the premier and his Chancellor Jeremy Hunt argue the government is taking a “pragmatic” approach to fill gaps in the labor market, some Tories see it as abandoning a central driver of Brexit — taking back control of the UK’s borders. Sunak draws a distinction between controlled migration and people smuggling — he’s vowed to stop the small boats crossing the English Channel in what’s become an emotive symbol of the debate. For others in his party including Home Secretary Suella Braverman, herself the child of immigrants to Britain, the number of people coming onto the UK is too high. Period. Emboldened by Sunak’s heavy losses in this month’s local elections and with an eye to leading the party after the election, Braverman has lashed out against the UK’s soaring immigration levels. The division lays bare the struggle for Sunak to persuade voters his party is united enough to win power for another five years. If he can’t rely on consensus in his own cabinet, he faces a tougher job convincing the country. — [Kitty Donaldson]( Sunak speaks with journalists yesterday as he traveled to the G-7 summit. Photographer: Stefan Rousseau/Pool/Getty Images Check out the latest [Washington Edition newsletter](. You can [sign up]( now to get it in your inbox every weekday. And if you are enjoying this newsletter, sign up [here](. Global Headlines G-7 leaders will strive to enlist diplomatic support from nations outside of their club at their meeting in Japan starting tomorrow. Crucial to tackling issues ranging from Russia’s war in Ukraine to how to address perceived “economic coercion” from China will be [convincing countries]( in the Global South — in Africa, the Middle East, Latin America and elsewhere in Asia — that the group of the world’s most advanced economies needs their support. - President Xi Jinping will seek to deepen [Beijing’s influence]( in Central Asia at a major summit, reminding the G-7 conclave of China’s sway outside the US-led world order. - Follow the latest coverage of the summit [here](. Read about the five Washington insiders — trusted aides, a cabinet-level officer and a Republican congressman — who have been tapped to cut a deal to [avert a US debt default](. None come from the extremes of their parties and all have serious deal-making chops, which they’ll need: Failure to find a solution could trigger a non-payment event as soon as June 1 that could wreck the global economy. Europe’s carbon emissions from power plants and industry [have been even lower]( to start the year than they were during the depths of the Covid-19 pandemic as high energy prices and strong renewable output slash demand for fossil fuels. The decline to below a level when much of the European economy was shuttered to contain the coronavirus is a sign the impact of the energy crisis is far from over. Chinese ambassador Li Hui met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, according to a readout today from China’s Foreign Ministry, as Beijing kicked off a European tour aimed at [brokering]( an end to Russia’s war. Ukraine hasn’t acknowledged the meeting, though it said Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba held talks in Kyiv with Li, who’s also visiting Poland, France, Germany and Russia. - Follow our recap of developments in the war [here](. Best of Bloomberg Opinion - [Where’s the Justice in Pushing for Net Zero?: Lara Williams]( - [Ramaphosa’s Ukraine Peace Mission Is Deflection: Bobby Ghosh]( - [Sam Altman Isn’t the Answer to Regulating AI: Parmy Olson]( Imran Khan defied a deadline in Pakistan to hand over supporters, as the [political drama]( surrounding the opposition leader continues to escalate. Police still surround the former premier’s home in Punjab province, stoking concerns of a repeat of the violent clashes seen between his supporters and security forces last week. Policemen escort Khan as he arrives at the high court in Islamabad on May 12. Photographer: Aamir Qureshi/AFP/Getty Images Explainers You Can Use - [Keystone Pipeline Pushed to Limit Before Company’s Worst Spill]( - [How EU Wants to Stop Deforestation in Your Coffee]( - [What’s Mifepristone? What’s the Fight Over It About?]( Ecuador’s Constitutional Court will [review the legality]( of President Guillermo Lasso’s decree to dissolve the opposition-held congress. If upheld, Lasso’s unprecedented move, which followed a vote by 88 lawmakers to continue a [trial to impeach]( him, will trigger snap elections in the Andean nation. Check out our [Zero podcast]( on redesigning cities for a future of extreme heat. You can listen on on [Apple](, [Spotify]( and [Google](. News to Note - TikTok is facing its first statewide ban in the US after Montana’s governor signed a measure that will prohibit downloading of the popular app beginning next year. The move is certain to draw [legal challenges](. - A coalition of Thai pro-democracy parties, which swept Sunday’s election, is set to [form the next government](, its leader Pita Limjaroenrat said, seeking to quell concerns about its ability to muster enough support. - Chinese authorities have arrested a woman for insulting the People’s Liberation Army, after she [defended a comedian’s joke]( about a Xi Jinping military slogan that caused a national outcry. - The US House of Representatives voted to put George Santos’s fate in the hands of its [Ethics Committee](, avoiding a vote on his expulsion that would have forced his Republican colleagues to publicly rebuke one of their own. - South Africa is at risk of [record power outages]( this winter because the state electricity company may not have enough supply to meet increased demand. And finally ... Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida brought the G-7 summit to his hometown of Hiroshima to persuade world leaders to [scrap nuclear weapons](. Instead, the US and its allies are expected to discuss bringing more to the region to deter common foes. Kishida’s long-held ambition of “a world without nuclear arms” is set to clash with the harsh realities of the security challenges posed by China, North Korea and Russia, all of which neighbor Japan and possess about half of the world’s atomic warheads. The destruction in Hiroshima following the blast of the first atomic bomb in 1945. Source: Bettmann/Getty Images Follow Us Like getting this newsletter? [Subscribe to Bloomberg.com]( for unlimited access to trusted, data-driven journalism and subscriber-only insights. Want to sponsor this newsletter? [Get in touch here](. You received this message because you are subscribed to Bloomberg's Bloomberg Politics newsletter. 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