Rishi Sunak rules out general election on 2 May
Rishi Sunak has ruled out holding a general election on 2 May following speculation the prime minister could choose to go to the polls early.
Mr Sunak previously said it was his “working assumption” that an election would be held in the second half of this year but he had not previously ruled out a May date – until now.
Asked by ITV whether there would be an election on 2 May – the same day as the local and mayoral ballots – Mr Sunak replied: “There won’t be a general election on that day.
“But when there is a general election, what matters is the choice.”
Politics latest: Rishi Sunak dismisses speculation around general election date
Opposition parties have been clamouring for a May election, with Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer accusing the prime minister of “delaying” the inevitable and “hiding from the public”.
Sky News has also reported on the private calls of some Tory MPs for Mr Sunak to call an early election to prevent the political and economic situation from deteriorating.
Those agitating for a May election have argued that holding out until the autumn could mean a summer news cycle that is dominated by an increase in small boat crossings in the Channel that will highlight the ongoing difficulties with the prime minister’s policy of sending asylum seekers to Rwanda.
However, others have argued the prime minister must be given more time to try and turn the polls around, where his party is currently lagging 26 points behind Labour.
There is also a chance of improving economic data in the coming weeks after monthly GDP figures on Tuesday pointed to Britain coming out of recession by the time of the next quarterly figures in May.
The latest a general election can be held is by the end of January 2025.
Mr Sunak’s decision to rule out a May election comes after a torrid few weeks in which his Tory party has been engulfed in rows over racism.
Labour’s hopes of an early poll have been dashed
Most Conservative MPs will be mightily relieved.
But Labour’s hopes of a race to the polls on 2 May by Rishi Sunak have surely been dashed.
Was a general election on 2 May – the date of local and mayoral elections – ever seriously a runner? Not really, though it remained a possibility.
The prime minister had declared that his “working assumption” was that the election would be in the second half of the year.
But until now the prime minister had refused to rule it out. Now, in the unlikely setting of a regional TV studio during a west country tour, he has done just that, it appears.
For weeks, the Labour Party has been goading Mr Sunak into holding the election on 2 May, so that when he didn’t hold it then it could accuse him of being a bottler.
But in recent days, amid a growing mood of panic among Tory MPs and talk of a new post-budget plot to remove him, there was also talk of a 2 May election among Conservatives.
Why? Two reasons. One, if the Tory backbench mavericks and malcontents who want to drive him out and change leader looked to be on the brink of succeeding, he’d go to the King and call an election, it was claimed.
Second, if a number of Tory MPs followed Lee Anderson and defected to Reform UK – as many as 10, it was claimed – he’d also go for a snap election, according to authoritative sources.
The deadline for dissolving parliament and calling for a 2 May poll is 26 March, the day the Commons rises for the Easter recess.
Although it’s still possible there could be an election in June or July, the autumn – with 14 November or 21 November the dates predicted by many MPs – remains favourite.
Which means that after Mr Sunak’s dramatic statement in a TV studio 120 miles from Westminster we’re in for another eight months of electioneering and campaigning.
A long election campaign indeed!
The prime minister’s authority suffered a setback this week when his former deputy party chairman, Lee Anderson, defected to the rival party Reform saying: “I want my country back.”
Mr Anderson – who was suspended from the Tory Party after saying Islamists had got “control” of London Mayor Sadiq Khan – accused his former party of “stifling free speech”.
Mr Sunak has also come under pressure to return money gifted to his party by Tory donor Frank Hester, who reportedly said MP Diane Abbott made him “want to hate all black women” and “should be shot”.
Mr Hester said he was “deeply sorry” for the remarks, but insisted they had “nothing to do with her gender nor colour of skin”.
Read more:
Frank Hester: Tories given further £5m from controversial donor embroiled in race row, claims report
The mood is tense among Tory MPs who think most things ‘weak’ Number 10 touches get worse
Pat McFadden MP, Labour’s national campaign coordinator, said: “After 14 years of Tory failure, the British public have the right to expect an election to be called by 26 March and held on 2 May.”
He added: “Rishi Sunak should stop squatting in Downing Street and give the country what it desperately needs – a chance for change with a Labour government. The prime minister needs to finally come clean with the public and name the date of the election now.”
Sir Ed Davey, the leader of the Liberal Democrats, also accused Mr Sunak of “running scared of an election in May”.
“He knows that voters will not put up with this Conservative government’s failures on the NHS and the cost of living crisis any longer,” he said.
All flights were halted at Edinburgh Airport this morning due to an IT issue affecting its air traffic control provider.
In a post on X, formerly Twitter, the airport later announced service had resumed.
Its post read: “Flights have now resumed following the IT issue with our air traffic provider.
“We thank passengers for their patience and understanding.”
But passengers continue to feel the effects.
A Delta Air Lines flight from New York to Edinburgh was diverted to Dublin after going into a holding pattern over the Scottish capital.
And a live arrivals board on the airport’s website showed multiple flights diverted, delayed and cancelled.
Arrivals board at Edinburgh Airport. Pic: Edinburgh Airport
Morven McCall and Cody Stevenson, both 19, were due to fly easyJet from Edinburgh to Amsterdam on their first trip away together.
Morven told Sky News: “We literally just got into the airport and as soon as we walked through the door there was an announcement that it had been cancelled.
“I was ill over the summer and had to cancel two holidays already, this was our first time going away together. We are just gutted and stressed.”
Follow live: Latest updates as flights halted
Arrivals at Edinburgh Airport. File pic: PA
One passenger was on a plane when they found out.
They said: “We boarded our flight and pushed back on time for an 8.45 (am) departure, then sat for a while before the pilot told us what was happening.
“He updated us a couple of times, cabin crew are brilliant at handing out water etc, and I’m surprised that everyone appears to be upbeat. But then you do wonder how long for, just been told we’re hoping to be in the air in 20 minutes.”
Another passenger told us: “The first news was from the airport announcement as we were halfway through boarding, saying the airfield was closed due to air traffic control down.
“No one knew what was going on. We’d already been delayed a bit before boarding, with no reason. I suspect problems started about 9am.”
It comes after an earlier announcement that all flights had been halted.
“No flights are currently operating from Edinburgh Airport,” the previous statement said.
“Teams are working on the issue and will resolve as soon as possible.”
There was no timeframe for recovery initially, Sky News learned.
It’s understood by PA that the issue was not linked to today’s Cloudflare outage.
Edinburgh Trams also posted on X, writing: “If you’re travelling with us to @EDI_Airport this morning, please be aware that flights are not currently operating.”
The airport urged passengers to contact their airline for the latest information on flights.
An average of 43,000 passengers per day use the airport, which is served by 37 airlines flying to 155 destinations.
A former doctor has been charged over alleged sexual assaults on 38 patients in his care.
Nathaniel Spencer, 38, has been charged with 15 counts of sexual assault, 17 counts of assault by penetration, nine counts of sexual assault of a child under 13, three counts of assault a child under 13 by penetration and one count of attempted assault by penetration.
It follows a police investigation into alleged sexual offences between 2017 and 2021.
Staffordshire Police said in a statement the charges come after a complex investigation by the Public Protection Unit into sexual offences at the Royal Stoke University Hospital, in Stoke-on-Trent, and Russells Hall Hospital, in Dudley.
North Staffordshire Justice Centre
Ben Samples, deputy chief crown prosecutor for the West Midlands CPS Complex Casework Unit and Serious Violence, Organised Crime and Exploitation Unit, said: “We have decided to prosecute Nathaniel Spencer for a number of serious sexual offences allegedly carried out against patients while he was working as a doctor – including assault by penetration and sexual assault against a child.
“Our prosecutors have worked at length to support a detailed and complex investigation by Staffordshire Police, carefully reviewing the available evidence to establish that there is sufficient evidence to bring the case to trial and that it is in the public interest to pursue criminal proceedings.”
Spencer, from Birmingham, will appear at North Staffordshire Justice Centre on 20 January 2026.
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