General election: Sunak fires starting gun – as Starmer says it’s ‘time for change’
The race for Number 10 begins in earnest today following Rishi Sunak’s decision to call a snap summer general election in a high stakes move that could bring to an end his party’s 14 years in government.
The prime minister took the gamble of his political life when he announced that he will go to the country on 4 July – much sooner than had been expected and while the Tories are languishing behind Labour in the opinion polls.
Outlining his decision in the pouring rain outside of Downing Street, a sodden Mr Sunak said that “now is the moment for Britain to choose its future” as he claimed his party could be trusted to lead the country in a time of global instability.
In response, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer told voters: “Together we can stop the chaos, we can turn the page, we can start to rebuild Britain.”
A July election is earlier than many in Westminster had expected, with a contest in October or November widely thought to have been more likely.
The move has surprised and even upset some within the Conservative ranks, with senior figures telling Sky News’ political editor Beth Rigby the decision is “madness” given Labour’s 20 point lead in the polls.
Rishi Sunak delivers a speech calling for a general election.
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Sky News election announcement
Some Tory MPs publicly expressed their concerns, with backbencher Tracey Crouch posting on X: “I am feeling quite emotional about all this.
“I was anticipating an autumn departure from Parliament and still had important issues to raise on behalf of my constituents between now and then. I am sad that I won’t now get to do that.”
The election timing allows just two days for “wash-up”, when the government finalises non-contentious pieces of legislation before parliament is dissolved.
It means that some of the Conservative’s flagship plans, such as a ban on smoking, leasehold reforms and improvements to renters’ rights might be left to the next government.
Mr Sunak is said to have made the calculation that little would change between now and November.
Housing Secretary Michael Gove is said to have been among those who backed the gamble during emergency cabinet discussions, telling the prime minister: “Who dares wins. And you dared, and you’re going to win.”
The announcement came after the Office for National Statistics said inflation slowed to 2.3% in April, down from 3.2% in March.
In a sign of what the election will be fought on, the prime minister made the economy a key element of his pitch to the nation, saying the inflation figures are “proof that the plan and priorities I set out are working”.
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He also highlighted Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, the tensions in the Middle East relating to the Israel-Hamas conflict, the threat of China and migration “being weaponised by hostile states to threaten the integrity of our borders”.
“These uncertain times call for a clear plan and bold action to chart a course to a secure future,” he said.
Later, at a campaign rally that saw Sky News’ Darren McCaffery escorted out, Mr Sunak acknowledged he was the underdog but suggested Labour was acting like it had already won.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak speaking at a General Election campaign event at ExCeL London. Pic: PA
“Labour want you to think that this election is over before it has even begun.
“But we are going to fight every day for our values and our vision and the British people are going to show Labour that they don’t take too kindly to being taken for granted.”
But Labour leader Sir Keir said: “If they get another five years they will feel entitled to carry on exactly as they are. Nothing will change.”
He promised a “new spirit of service”, putting the country before party interests.
“I am well aware of the cynicism people hold towards politicians at the moment, but I came into politics late, having served our country as leader of the Crown Prosecution Service, and I helped the Police Service in Northern Ireland to gain the consent of all communities.”
Pic: PA
Labour needs a swing of 12.5 percentage points just to win a majority of one – something even Sir Tony Blair did not achieve in his landslide victory of 1997.
But having transformed the party after its historic defeat in 2019, some pollsters believe Sir Keir could wipe out the Tories and be swept into power with as many as 400 seats.
If that happens it would be a remarkable turn of events compared to the last election, which saw the Conservatives under Boris Johnson win a thumping 80-seat majority.
That has since been slashed by a series of by-election losses, while repeated leadership elections and sleaze scandals have seen the Tories’ popularity plummet among voters.
Politics
‘Waiting in various states of freezing cold’: Behind the scenes of covering the election campaign
Covering a general election campaign as a journalist can largely be summed up in two words – battle bus.
Not too dissimilar to the coaches that rockstars use for their tours, battle buses are the vehicles each political party uses to transport their leaders, candidates, and advisers around the country during the election campaign.
Sky’s political correspondents have each been following a different party – often joining them on their battle buses.
Here we take you behind the scenes on the campaign trail this week for the Conservatives, Labour, and the Liberal Democrats.
Conservatives – Darren McCaffrey
Monday, 10 June
Boarding the battle bus
It’s just after 7am on a pretty miserable Monday morning and we’re going to the South East of England today.
Unsurprisingly, by the way, the prime minister is not on the bus – he very rarely is. But we are.
Let’s see what this week holds for not the best start, I think it’s fair to say, for the Conservatives’ campaign…
Tuesday, 11 June
At Silverstone race track for the Conservative Party manifesto launch
Good morning from Silverstone. It’s Tuesday. It’s the big day for the Conservatives.
I say we’re at Silverstone, the track is just there, but we’re not allowed outside, because apparently there’s a big Hollywood film being filmed with Brad Pitt, so we’re not allowed to film outside.
We’re here for the Tory party manifesto launch, which is happening behind there – but we’re also not allowed to go there at the moment either.
So we’re stuck in this room with tea and lots of other journalists, waiting for Rishi Sunak a little later on.
At Silverstone for the manifesto launch
So it’s all over. The PM has made his speech.
It’s interesting what’s happening here though, in the very far corner, you have to be a little bit quiet, there are lots of journalists who have been briefed about what’s in the speech, so they can ask questions about what’s in the manifesto and they’re being probed on that at the moment by the lobby – that’s what happens at these events.
Wednesday, 12 June
At Kings Cross station
It’s Wednesday morning, we’re heading north to meet the PM in Lincolnshire a bit later this morning.
We’re meant to be on the 9.03am train but it’s been cancelled so we’re all waiting around not quite knowing what’s about to happen or what time we’re going to get there.
This is just a sign of how the campaign goes – a bit of confusion sometimes.
We’re on the way to Grimsby.
The prime minister is on the bus and this is our chance to go to the back of the bus where he is and have a little chat with him – off-camera – but it’s a chance to ask him some questions to see how the campaign is going. Let’s go!
Speaking to Rishi Sunak on the Tory battle bus
Rishi Sunak: “When I’m on the road, I’m an avid games player. I do Connections, Wordle, Sudoku, Solitaire
“I’ve got everyone doing it. Connections is really fun, my kids got me onto it.”
So that’s another visit done.
Frankly, I’m pretty tired. I’ve lost count of the number of visits we’ve done, but me and the bus are going to roll on to the next one – with less than three weeks to go now until polling day.
Labour – Serena Barker-Singh
Doing lives in Grimsby ahead of Sky’s leaders programme
Wednesday, 12 June
We’ve just got to Grimsby.
We’re setting up to do some lives, teeing up what Labour’s launching today and also nodding to the fact that we’ve got our debate later.
On the way to a Labour campaign event
So I just interviewed Keir Starmer – well you get one question – each broadcaster gets one question.
I asked him about tax. It’s quite a difficult day where there are lots of different bits that people can ask.
So I asked whether he’s going to stick to the promises in his manifesto tomorrow once he’s in government.
Interviewing Sir Keir Starmer
Liberal Democrats – Matthew Thompson
At an event with the Disabled Sailing Association in Devon
Tuesday, 11 June
This is the glamour of being on the campaign with the Lib Dems.
It’s mainly hanging around in various states of being freezing cold waiting for Ed Davey to do something completely daft.
At a Lib Dem event in Somerset with Sir Ed Davey (behind, right)
Wednesday, 12 June
In Stratford on Avon
With Sir Ed Davey at a campaign event in Stratford on Avon
“Go to uni, they said… become a journalist, they said… report the news, they said!”
Welcome to Stratford-on-Avon.
This is a part of the world that hasn’t been Liberal since 1906 and you might say it needs something of a sizable swing for the Lib Dems to win it back from the Conservatives.
One man who’s fairly confident of getting that sizable swing, swinging beside me, is Sir Ed Davey.
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Politics
Tories heading for ‘warfare’, Farage predicts, as ex-Cabinet minister pleads with voters to ‘unite the right’
Nigel Farage has predicted the Tories will soon descend into “warfare” as a former Conservative minister warned voters about a “Labour elective dictatorship” if they voted for Reform.
The Reform UK leader told The Sunday Telegraph that divisions in the party were only going to “get worse” in the run-up to polling day on 4 July.
Mr Farage was speaking as three polls this week painted a bleak picture for Mr Sunak – and a sunny one for his party.
A poll by Savanta for The Sunday Telegraph showed the Tories down four points to just 21% of the vote – the lowest by that pollster since the dying days of Theresa May’s premiership in early 2019.
In a boost for Mr Farage, the poll showed Reform UK up three points with 13% of the vote.
Election latest: Tories ‘facing electoral extinction’, says pollster
A separate Survation poll for Best for Britain, published by The Sunday Times, predicted the Tories would win just 72 seats in the next parliament, compared with 456 for Labour.
The result would give Labour a majority of 262 seats – far surpassing the landslide Labour achieved by Tony Blair in 1997 – while the Liberal Democrats would pick up 56 seats, Reform seven and the Greens one seat.
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‘Do you think Nigel Farage should be embraced by the Conservatives?
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Earlier in the week, a YouGov poll put Reform ahead of the Tories for the first time – on 19% of the vote, compared with 18% for the Conservatives.
Mr Farage, who is set to launch Reform’s manifesto on Monday, told the Sunday Telegraph that “within a week, you watch… there’ll be warfare within the Conservative Party as there was in the run-up to ’97,” referring to the election when Labour last won a landslide under Mr Blair.
He likened the current divisions in the Conservative Party – chiefly over migration – to splits under former Tory prime minister John Major over joining the Euro.
“In the run-up to ’97, John Major said that he was agnostic about joining the Euro,” he told the newspaper.
“Those who wanted to join the Euro did their own manifesto and raised their own money. It was an absolutely split, divided joke and the same will happen in this election. You watch, it’s coming.
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“You will start to see those MPs, who I agree with on most things, start becoming much more vociferous about their stance as opposed to that of the party. The splits are going to get worse. And to them, I will say: ‘Sorry guys, you are just in the wrong party’.”
It comes as former immigration minister Robert Jenrick, who is touted as a future Tory leader, gave an interview with the same newspaper saying he “shares the frustrations” of traditional Tory voters who are tempted to defect to Reform – but that they should stick with Mr Sunak’s party to avoiding handing Labour a landslide.
“I have immense sympathy for those natural Conservatives who feel let down and drawn to Reform,” he said.
Robert Jenrick says he has sympathy for those natural Conservatives who feel drawn to Reform
“Not only do I understand their frustrations, I share many of them.
“The tax burden is too high, the criminal justice system too soft and public services too inefficient. My disagreements with the government on immigration policy meant I resigned from cabinet.”
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He added: “But, ultimately, a vote for Reform will only give Labour a blank cheque to take our country back to the 1970s.
“Voting Reform cannot be the answer. It can only bring about a government that increases taxes and immigration. Their success can only weaken the conservative movement. The right cannot unify after the election if there is no meaningful force in parliament to coalesce around.
“Our task is to make conservatives across Britain aware of this peril. If we can do that, and make the case that only a vote for the Conservative Party can prevent a calamitous one-party state come 5 July, then we can avert disaster.”
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