Rishi Sunak Calls General Election For 4 July

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has announced that a general election will take place on Thursday, 4 July.

After persistent pressure from many MPs to hold a summer election, Sunak held an impromptu Downing Street press conference and confirmed that the country would go the polls in just over six weeks' time.

"Now is the moment for the country to choose its future," the Prime Minister said, confirming that he had asked King Charles to dissolve Parliament, paving the way for a summer polling day.

Standing in the rain, Sunak said: "Our economy is now growing faster than anyone predicted, outpacing Germany, France and the United States. And this morning, it was confirmed that inflation is back to normal.

"This means that the pressure on prices will ease and mortgage rates will come down. This is proof that the plan and priorities I sat down are working."

He continued: "I recognise that it has not always been easy.

"Some of you will only just be starting to feel the benefits. And for some, it might still be hard when you look at your bank balance.

"But this hard earned economic instability was only ever meant to be the beginning.

"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."

There have long been questions about whether the Prime Minister would hold an election in the autumn or in the summer. During that time, he repeatedly said he assumed it would happen in the "second half" of 2024. He is obliged to hold one before January 2025.

Sunak, who is the Conservative party's third leader and Prime Minister since the last general election in 2019, will go into the campaign as the heavy underdog.

Since 2022, Labour has maintained large, double-digit leads over the