Rishi Sunak announces a snap summer general election
The Prime Minister has announced that a general election will be held on July 4, after making a surprise statement outside Downing Street this afternoon.
It follows fevered speculation after Rishi Sunak said that the election would take place in the second half of this year during Prime Minister’s Questions today. Foreign Secretary Lord Cameron was then forced to cut short his trip to Albania to “attend a meeting in London”, while Defence Secretary Grant Shapps had to delay an overseas trip to attend cabinet.
Political commentators were poised over the rumours of a general election as Home Office ministers were told to clear their diaries, while Rishi Sunak has faced fierce pressure from the opposition to announce a date.
He has now called a snap summer general election as he said the king has granted the dissolution of Parliament, which will be dissolved in Thursday 30 May ahead of what will be an intense six-week general election campaign period.
During his speech outside 10 Downing Street, Sunak talked about the government’s achievements, as he said a growing economy was “proof” that his “plan was working” and asked “who do you trust to lead our country?”
He said there were uncertain times ahead and insisted that he and his government have a clear plan to “take bold action” for the country “to flourish”.
It comes as Rishi Sunak is trailing behind Keir Starmer in the polls, with Labour about 20 points ahead of the Conservatives. But Sunak may be hoping that the rare glimpse of economic good news with the fall in inflation announced today could help his election campaign.
A Tory rebel source also told the BBC that some letters of no confidence in Rishi Sunak were being submitted, after a senior Tory MP said the atmosphere in the tea room was “panic”, ahead of the rumours of an imminent general election.
Commentators have also noted that the July 4th summer election will fall during Wimbledon and the Euros.
(Image credit: Rory Arnold / Number 10 – Creative Commons)
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