Rishi Sunak calls surprise UK election on July 4 in a bid to beat the odds

In a surprise move, UK PM Rishi Sunak announced on Wednesday that national elections will be held this July. The decision to call early elections has taken many political observers by surprise as the incumbent UK government had earlier voiced intentions of holding the polls in late 2024.

The British electoral battle, scheduled for July 4, will see Labour Party leader Keir Starmer try to end the 14-year reign of the Conservative-led government.

With his party having undergone significant changes since its historic election setback over five years ago, Starmer is largely projected to become the next prime minister as Labour leads by about 20 points in the polls.

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“I hope that my work since I became prime minister shows that we have a plan and are prepared to take bold action necessary for our country to flourish. Now I’ve stuck with that plan and always been honest with you about what is needed even when that’s been difficult,” Rishi Sunak said during his address to the media.

“I cannot and will not claim that we have got everything right. No government could, but I am proud of what we have achieved together, the bold actions we have taken. I’m confident about what we can do in the future,” he added.

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The announcement by Rishi Sunak followed a day of frenzied speculation in Westminster brought on by the government’s unexpectedly positive economic data and an atypically scheduled cabinet meeting that saw prominent ministers cancel their attendance plans.

The prime minister was previously expected to wait until the autumn and a subsequent tax-cutting budget before launching a battle while so far behind. He has long stated that his “working assumption” was that the election would take place in the second part of the year.

But the British media quoted government officials as saying that Sunak was persuaded that he would be better off leaving now because the economy wasn’t expected to improve much before the fall and there were concerns about the implementation of his Rwanda expulsion plan.

The government is anticipated to complete non-controversial legislative items next week, known as the “wash-up,” before to the dissolution of parliament.