British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Wednesday put an end to rampant speculation by announcing that the country's general election will be held on July 4. Speaking from the steps of 10 Downing Street on a rainy evening in London, Sunak, the first Prime Minister of Indian heritage, confirmed the summer election and stated that Parliament would soon be dissolved after he officially informed King Charles III of the election timeline.
44-year-old Sunak presented his achievements in office, making a case to the British electorate ahead of the upcoming vote. "I will do everything in my power to provide you with the strongest possible protection I can. That is my promise to you… now is the moment for Britain to choose its future,” he said.
This announcement has come at a time when speculations are rife that the ruling Conservative Party is going to suffer a huge defeat, as opinion polls point out that Opposition Labour Party is well ahead, sweeping by-elections and local elections a while back. A Labour spokesperson said his party was "fully ready to go whenever" and emphasized the country is "crying out for a general election."
Earlier, the speculation of an imminent general election, perhaps in early July, was high when Sunak presided over a Cabinet meeting at 10, Downing Street. Ministers rescheduled their programs, cutting short foreign visits to attend the meeting. Though maintaining in the House of Commons that the election would be in the "second half of this year," Sunak's comments and the emergency Cabinet meeting raised expectations of an imminent announcement.
UK Defence Secretary Grant Shapps delayed his visit to a NATO meeting, while Foreign Secretary David Cameron cut short his visit to Albania to attend the Cabinet meeting, linking that meeting more directly to an election date announcement.
Sunak told MPs, “As I have said repeatedly, there is — spoiler alert — going to be a general election in the second half of this year.”
He said the electorate will have a stark choice between the Labour Party, that is incapable of telling the country "what it would do" and the Conservatives, who, according to him, will deliver "a secure future for our United Kingdom."
Rishi Sunak's announcement came as inflation fell to 2.3 percent, the lowest for three years, in line with Rishi's promise to reduce inflation from the 11 percent level at the time he took office in October 2022.
“Brighter days are ahead, but only if we stick to the plan to improve economic security and opportunity for everyone," he commented in response to the encouraging statistics.
These developments strengthened speculation of an earlier-than-expected election, which was previously expected to be in October or November. It emerged that Sunak called in the Cabinet to tell ministers he had informed the King that he was advising Parliament to be dissolved for a general election on the first Thursday in July, sticking to the UK tradition of voting on Thursdays.
This authority had been restored to the Prime Minister in 2022 following the repeal of the Fixed-term Parliaments Act. General elections are legally required to be held every five years, which means the latest possible date by which Sunak would have to call elections is January 2025.
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