UK PM Rishi Sunak calls snap July 4 general election
Make us a preferred source
Make us a preferred source on Google
The news: On the back of the UK’s inflation news earlier on Wednesday, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has called a surprise general election for 4 July.
The context: “Now is the moment for Britain to choose its future,” Sunak declared as he stood in heavy rain in front of 10 Downing Street on Wednesday afternoon.
The UK Prime Minister said he had spoken to King Charles earlier in the day, and that the monarch had agreed to dissolve parliament, kicking off a highly-charged six-week campaign.
Ministers were instructed to attend Wednesday’s cabinet meeting earlier in the day without knowing details behind the urgency, which prompted speculation about a potential election to captivate Westminster. The UK foreign secretary, Lord David Cameron, was required to return to the UK from Albania for the meeting.
Despite opinion polls suggesting that his Conservative party is heading for a decisive defeat at the hands of Keir Starmer’s Labor, the FT reported that Sunak and chancellor Jeremy Hunt concluded there was no point waiting until the (European) Autumn in the hope of better economy news coming to the rescue.
“Only a Conservative government led by me will not put our hard-earned economic stability at risk,” Sunak said. “I will do everything in my power to provide you with the strongest possible protection I can.” Sunak also claimed that the UK could not “trust” Starmer to take tough decisions.
The sources: BBC, Financial Times
