Sunak calls snap UK election as Conservatives face thrashing at poll
By Rob Harris
London: British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has called a surprise summer election in a bid to galvanise a bitterly divided Conservative Party as it braces for an electoral thrashing by the opposition Labour Party.
Sunak cut an almost comical figure as he stood, drenched, in pouring rain outside 10 Downing Street on Wednesday and struggled to be heard as protesters blared Things Can Only Get Better by D:Ream, a song famously used by Tony Blair in 1997, from nearby.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, outside 10 Downing Street, announces the July 4 date for the UK general election.Credit: Getty Images
The prime minister said he had spoken to the King and asked for the UK Parliament to be dissolved, sparking what is likely to be a bruising six-week campaign before the vote on July 4.
After more than two years of scandals, continued fallout from the Brexit referendum and a revolving door of leaders, many pollsters and even Conservative MPs have written off the government’s chances of securing a fifth successive term.
“Now is the moment for Britain to choose its future,” he said. “This election will take place at a time when the world is more dangerous than it has been since the end of the Cold War.”
Sunak, 44, said he hoped his work since he became prime minister in October 2022, showed that he had a plan and was prepared to take bold action necessary for the country to flourish.
“Now I’ve stuck with that plan, and always been honest with you about what is needed even when that’s been difficult,” he said. “Because I’m guided by doing what is right for our country, not what is easy, and I can’t say the same thing for the Labour Party because I don’t know what they offer and in truth I don’t think you know either.”
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer posted a campaign video on X, formerly Twitter, within moments of Sunak’s appearance, saying it was “time for change”.
Speaking at a press conference shortly after, Starmer said it was the “moment the country needs and has been waiting for”.
He said a Labour government would “stop the chaos” as he referred to sewage in rivers and people waiting on trolleys in NHS hospitals and the nation’s problems as the “direct result of the Tory chaos in Westminster”.
The Conservatives, who have been in power since 2010, have tanked in opinion polls on the back of a post-pandemic cost-of-living crisis and successive political scandals, including Boris Johnson’s “partygate” scandal and the economic damage caused by Liz Truss’s 49-day reign.
Former British prime ministers Liz Truss and Boris Johnson attending the Remembrance Sunday ceremony in November 2022.Credit: AP
Sunak is attempting one of the biggest turnarounds in recent British political history, with the Conservatives having been smashed at local elections earlier this month and still trailing by more than 20 points in several opinion polls. He had to call a new election by January next year at the latest under British law.
He trumpeted his government’s achievements in slowing inflation from double digits and beginning to reduce net immigration, which had swelled to record levels under his tenure. He also played up his party’s decision to boost spending on defence over the next few years to counter the threat of an expansionist Russia after its illegal invasion of Ukraine.
The Conservatives have faced numerous setbacks, most of which were of their own making.
Johnson resigned after a series of scandals, notably misleading Parliament over breaking lockdown rules by having parties at Downing Street, while Truss resigned within weeks after her unfunded tax cuts nearly drove Britain to a financial crisis.
But Labour still needs a record swing in votes – 12.7 percentage points – to win an overall majority in the House of Commons, the lower house of parliament. That figure is larger than the 10.2 point swing Blair achieved when he led Labour to power in 1997 and more than double the swing achieved at any other election since 1945.
With 650 seats to be won, the number to form majority government is 326. Labour won 203 seats at the last election, with the Conservatives currently on 349.
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