General election called for 4 July, as Rishi Sunak says ‘now is the moment for Britain to choose its future’

Published

3 weeks ago

May 22, 2024

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Rishi Sunak has called a general election for 4 July, saying “now is the moment for Britain to choose its future”.

In a statement outside Downing Street delivered in the pouring rain, the prime minister said he had met with the King to request the dissolution of parliament.

Follow the latest politics news live – general election confirmed

“The King has granted this request and we will have a general election on the 4th of July”, Mr Sunak said.

The surprise move is a huge electoral gamble given Labour are ahead by about 20 points in the polls.

It comes after official figures showed inflation had come down to 2.3% in April.

Mr Sunak said this is “proof that the plan and priorities I set out are working”.

However, he said “this hard earned economic stability was only ever meant to be the beginning”.

In a rallying cry to the nation he said: “The question now is how and who do you trust to turn that foundation into a secure future for you, your family and our country?

“Now is the moment for Britain to choose its future and to decide whether we want to build on the progress we have made or risk going back to square one. With no plan and no certainty.”

Mr Sunak had to contend with New Labour anthem Things Can Only Get Better being played from beyond the gates to Downing Street as he delivered his speech.

In a sign the election will be fought on the economy, the prime minister opened his remarks by harking back to his days as chancellor during the pandemic, saying he served the country while “the future hung in the balance”.

He said that economic stability is “the bedrock of any future success” and accused Labour of having no plan.

Summer election big gamble for Sunak

By Darren McCaffrey, political correspondent

The prime minister, late, increasingly soaked and being drowned out by protesters, confirmed there will be a July election.

Rishi Sunak’s pitch to voters is essentially better the devil you know, stick with me, I have a plan and Labour has no ideas.

“Now is the moment for Britain to choose its future, to decide whether we want to build on the progress we have made or risk going back to square one with no plan and no certainty” he said.

He is hoping that a relatively long campaign, a focus on security, in what he describes as an uncertain world and his economic record will eat into the enormous poll lead Labour have.

It is interesting there was much less focus on migration and small boats.

Sunak admitted mistakes had been made, accepted they had been in power for 14 years but played on lots of voter’s apathy about what Labour’s plans are for government.

This is undoubtedly a massive gamble for the prime minister, no party has ever come back from such a difficult polling situation, but he hopes under scrutiny Labour and Starmer will crumble.

At the moment, most in Westminster think it’s a gamble that will not pay off.

Let the proper campaign begin.

He finished his statement with an attack on his rival for Number 10, Sir Keir Starmer, saying he has “shown time and time again that he will take the easy way out and do anything to get power”.

“If he was happy to abandon all the promises he made to become Labour leader once he got the job, how can you know that he won’t do exactly the same thing if he were to become prime minister?

“If you don’t have the conviction to stick to anything you say, if you don’t have the courage to tell people what you want to do, and if you don’t have a plan, how can you possibly be trusted to lead our country, especially at this most uncertain of times?”

Election ‘opportunity for change’

Delivering his own televised statement from central London, Sir Keir said the election is an “opportunity for change” as he tore into the Tories’ record in government.

He pointed to sewage in rivers, people “waiting on trolleys in A&E”, crime going “virtually unpunished” and mortgages and food prices “through the roof”.

“On 4 July you have a choice, and together we can stop the chaos, we can turn the page, we can start to rebuild Britain and change our country,” he said.

If Sir Keir wins the election, it will end 14 years of Conservative governments under five prime ministers.

Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey, who is also hoping to make gains the the rural Tory heartlands, said the election is “a chance to kick Rishi Sunak’s appalling Conservative government out of office and deliver the change the public is crying out for”.

What are the rules for calling an election?

Mr Sunak has been saying for months the vote would happen in the “second half of the year” but had refused to set a date.

The assumption was that he would wait until the autumn to give him more time to deliver on his pledges.

However, speculation he could go to the country earlier mounted in Westminster on Wednesday as Cabinet ministers were summoned for an unusually timed meeting, with Defence Secretary Grant Shapps and Foreign Secretary Lord Cameron cutting short trips abroad to attend.

As general elections have to be held every five years, the final day a vote could have taken place was 28 January 2025.

However, the Conservatives in 2019 restored the prime minister’s power to call an election at a time of their choosing within that five years.

The last general election was held in 2019, when Boris Johnson won the Conservatives a landslide over Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour Party.

Since then, there have been two more prime ministers, Liz Truss and Mr Sunak, and the Conservatives’ 80-seat majority has been reduced by a series of by-election losses while their popularity among voters has plummeted.

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Beaming Kate returns to royal events at Trooping the Colour – her first public appearance since cancer diagnosis

Published

5 hours ago

June 15, 2024

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Beaming Kate returns to royal events at Trooping the Colour - her first public appearance since cancer diagnosis

The Princess of Wales joined the Royal Family on the balcony of Buckingham Palace for the Trooping the Colour flypast – after making her first public appearance since the announcement of her cancer diagnosis.

Kate, 42, wearing a pale outfit, was earlier pictured arriving at Buckingham Palace in a car sat alongside her children and her husband the Prince of Wales ahead of the event to celebrate the King’s official birthday.

The princess, who has been receiving treatment for an undisclosed form of cancer since late February, and her three children Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis, were cheered by crowds along The Mall as they left the palace in a carriage for the ceremony.

Follow live: Trooping the Colour latest

The future queen looked relaxed as she travelled along one of London’s most famous thoroughfares with her family in a carriage.

She could be seen smiling and talking to her children in the carriage before they arrived at Horse Guards Parade in Whitehall.

William rode on horseback for the procession, alongside the Princess Royal, and the Duke of Edinburgh.

The King, who is also undergoing cancer treatment, rode in a carriage with the Queen, a departure from last year because of his illness, and inspected the officers and guardsmen from the coach rather than from a horse.

When the royal carriages finally came to a stop, Louis was the first to leave, followed by his elder brother George, and sister Charlotte.

Finally, Kate stepped down wearing a Jenny Packham dress, hat by Philip Treacy, and the Irish Guards Regimental Brooch, as she is the regiment’s colonel.

In another change from last year, Kate did not join senior family members on a dais, but watched the military spectacle – also known as the Birthday Parade – from a balcony in the Duke of Wellington’s former office with her children.

Prince Louis, six, at one point seemed to be distracted by a blind cord and was seen yawning while watching the parade before dancing along during the quick march of the Scots Guards to Highland Laddie.

Heavy rain began to fall as the royal procession made its way back to Buckingham Palace but the King and Queen, as well as Kate and her children, were protected from the downpour in their covered carriage.

Princess Charlotte, nine, smiled and waved enthusiastically to the crowds who braved the weather, while her brothers also smiled and waved to the sea of umbrellas along The Mall.

A 41-gun salute was then fired by the King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery in nearby Green Park before Kate and her family joined the King and Queen, as well as other royals, on the Buckingham Palace balcony to watch the RAF flypast.

They smiled and waved to the cheering crowds before standing proudly as the national anthem was played, with the flypast ending with the Red Arrows trailing their trademark red, white and blue colours.

Ahead of the event, Kate said: “I’m looking forward to attending the King’s Birthday Parade this weekend with my family and hope to join a few public engagements over the summer, but equally knowing I am not out of the woods yet.

“I am learning how to be patient, especially with uncertainty.

“Taking each day as it comes, listening to my body, and allowing myself to take this much needed time to heal.”

Her appearance was in doubt after she missed the final Trooping rehearsal last weekend.

This is Kate’s first official outing of 2024 after she missed engagements at the start of the year when she was admitted to hospital for abdominal treatment.

At the time her condition was thought to be non-cancerous, but tests after the successful operation found the disease, and Kate disclosed the diagnosis in March.

A time frame has not yet been set for Kate’s return to a full schedule of public engagements.

UK

General election: Voters annoyed at government’s broken promises, admits minister

Published

5 hours ago

June 15, 2024

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General election: Voters annoyed at government's broken promises, admits minister

People are “really annoyed” the government has not always kept its promises, a Tory minister has said as he acknowledged the election was “tough” after 14 years in power.

Speaking to Sky News Johnny Mercer admitted the campaign had been “up and down”, but insisted the polls showing the party lagging behind were not reflected on the doorstep.

He warned voters against giving Labour “unchecked power” by backing Nigel Farage’s Reform UK, after a poll put his party one percentage point above the Conservatives.

It comes after a survey by YouGov for The Times put Reform UK at 19%, compared to the Conservatives at 18%.

Latest general election updates

The veterans minister and former army officer, who is battling to be re-elected to the Devon seat of Plymouth Moor View, also disputed the findings of an IPSOS survey that indicated six in 10 people would accept higher taxes if it meant more money for the NHS.

He made his comments as Rishi Sunak remained away from the campaign trail for another day after attending the G7 summit in Italy.

The prime minister was also due to attend the Trooping the Colour ceremony to celebrate the official birthday of the King before jetting off again to attend a Ukraine Peace summit in Switzerland.

Mr Mercer told Sky News: “I’ve never found six out of ten people on the doors who want to pay more in tax in Plymouth.

“I respect all these surveys. I respect all the polls. There’s one poll that matters on 4 July.

“I don’t find six out of 10 people want to pay more tax. I find they want to bring their taxes down.

“They want better public services. They understand the challenge in the NHS.

“They also understand it’s got record funding and record numbers of doctors and nurses. But we’re up against a huge rise in demand, particularly under the pandemic, which is really, really difficult.”

He added: “Of course, people are annoyed. People are really annoyed that we’ve made promises and that we haven’t always met them.

“I think we’ve got a job of work to get over how hard the prime minister works on this, how difficult government is.

“But, no, I think people want to pay less tax. You have a clear choice in this election now, haven’t you.

“You have got the Conservatives clearly saying we’re going to reduce and continue to reduce tax… and a Labour government coming in, who is clearly going to raise taxes.”

Mr Mercer went on: “This election is tough, right? And it was always going to be tough after 14 years in power, and clearly the campaign’s been up and down as well.”

But insisting the Tories had a “bold plan”, he warned: “If you vote for Reform, you’re going to get a Labour government, you’ll get unchecked power from a Labour government to come in and change the face of this country into something that I don’t believe it is, I don’t think it is a left-wing country.”

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Mr Mercer rejected the Tory brand was “toxic” as he defended the absence of Conservative branding in his election literature.

He said: “Anyone looking at those leaflets can see that I’m in the Conservative Party and everybody has always known I’m in the Conservative Party.”

He added: “It’s blue… It’s got me on there talking about my record in government. So which part of it is not clear that I’m in the Conservative Party?

“I think it does say on the back who I’m campaigning for. “

Meanwhile, Labour’s shadow work and pensions secretary Liz Kendall defended her party’s claim NHS waiting lists could rise to 10 million despite a thinktank saying it was “highly unlikely”.

Responding to the Institute for Fiscal Studies’ criticism, Ms Kendall told Sky News: “We’re saying that if there’s another five years of the Conservatives, you could see 10 million people waiting in pain or feeling they have to try and pay to go private to deal with their problem.”

She said it was a “reasonable assumption” that was based on what had already happened under the Conservatives and “if the trend continues in the future, as it has done in the past, that’s what we’re likely to see”.

The Tories have dismissed the Labour attack as “scaremongering”.

Elsewhere, Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey is on the campaign trail in Surrey as he continues his party’s efforts to chip away at the “blue wall”, a collection of typically safe Conservative seats in southern England.

Other candidates in Plymouth Moor View are:

Shaun Hooper, Reform UK
Sarah Martin, Liberal Democrat
Georgia Nelson, Greens
Fred Thomas, Labour

UK

Beaming Kate returns to royal events at Trooping the Colour – her first public appearance since cancer diagnosis

Published

8 hours ago