Sunak confirms election to take place on 4 July
Sunak says the king has granted the dissolution of parliament, and the election will be on 4 July.
Key events
Keir Starmer has released a video with his own message. He sums up what he is offering with one word: “Change.”
Sunak says voters don’t know what they’re getting with Starmer because he doesn’t keep promises
Sunak says he is guided by what is right, not by what is easy.
He goes on:
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.
And that’s because they have no plan. There is no bold action. And as a result the future can only be uncertain with them.
On the 5th of July, either Keir Starmer or I will be prime minister. 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 leader 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?
Sunak is now talking about government achievements.
We’ve tackled inflation, controlled debt, cut workers’ taxes, and increased the state pension by £900.
We’ve reduced taxes on investment and seized the opportunities of Brexit to make this the best country in the world to grow a business, put record amounts of funding into our NHS and ensured it is now training the doctors and nurses it needs in the decades to come.
Sunak says the election will be a choose – who will take the right decisions to give people a better future.
(Sunak is getting drenched in the rain.)
Sunak is almost being drowned out by someone playing ‘Things can only get better” very, very loudly in Whitehall.
Sunak confirms election to take place on 4 July
Sunak says the king has granted the dissolution of parliament, and the election will be on 4 July.
Sunak says his premiership has been focused on restoring economic stability
Rishi Sunak starts by saying the country has fought through the most challenging times since the second world war since the last election.
During Covid, he said the country faced a defining moment. He said we would be defined by the small acts of kindness.
He reminds people he set up the furlough scheme.
He says he has never and will never leave people to face the darkest of days alone.
He will do all he can to provide people with the strongest possible protection.
The pandemic upended many aspects of life.
And just as the country was recovering, the war in Ukraine sent energy bills spiralling.
He says he is someone who puts economic stability first.
I came to office above all, to restore economic stability.
Economic stability is the bedrock of any future success. Whether that is rising wages and good jobs, investment in our public services, or the defence of the country.
And because of our collective sacrifice and your hard work, we have reached two major milestones in delivering that stability, showing that when we work together anything is possible.
From the Sun’s Harry Cole
The lectern has arrived. And it does not have a prime ministerial crest, which means he is announcing party business, not government business. Confirmation that he is calling an election (if you don’t trust all the media organisations already telling you, as fact, he will be announcing he’s going to the polls).
The rain is getting worse in Downing Street. This is from the FT’s Lucy Fisher.
The rain is getting heavier in Downing St as we wait for Rishi Sunak to come outside at 5pm and call a snap July election
Speakers are out but no podium yet… pic.twitter.com/2gKT305wuL
— Lucy Fisher (@LOS_Fisher) May 22, 2024
The rain is getting heavier in Downing St as we wait for Rishi Sunak to come outside at 5pm and call a snap July election
Speakers are out but no podium yet…
When Liz Truss delivered her first speech in Downing Street at PM, the weather was also terrible. She kept driving around Wesminster in her car for several minutes until the rain eased off for a bit.
This is from Philip Collins, the journalist and former Labour adviser.
Sunak’s given up. Calling an election now means he’s given up.
— Philip Collins (@PhilipJCollins1) May 22, 2024
Tim Shipman, the Sunday Times’ political editor, agrees.
Nicholas Watt from Newsnight has more on Tory reaction to the election news.
Am rather losing count of the number of ministers asking me what is happening with their government. One described an imminent general election as “weird”. They asked: why do it before the flights have taken off for Rwanda?
— Nicholas Watt (@nicholaswatt) May 22, 2024
Am rather losing count of the number of ministers asking me what is happening with their government. One described an imminent general election as “weird”. They asked: why do it before the flights have taken off for Rwanda?
From Sky’s Darren McCaffrey
The last time there was a July election in the UK was in 1945 (July 5th)
Labour won by a landslide
— Darren McCaffrey (@darrenmccaffrey) May 22, 2024
The last time there was a July election in the UK was in 1945 (July 5th)
Labour won by a landslide
From the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg
Gift for the sketch writers – it is absolutely CHUCKING IT DOWN in Downing Street while they’re getting ready for the announcement
— Laura Kuenssberg (@bbclaurak) May 22, 2024
Gift for the sketch writers – it is absolutely CHUCKING IT DOWN in Downing Street while they’re getting ready for the announcement
According to Beth Rigby from Sky News, Rishi Sunak will be making his statement from inside No 10 because it is raining.
From David Williamson from the Sunday Express
I just rang up a backbencher to see what they thought of an early election and they told me they were in the process of writing a no confidence letter.
— David Williamson (@dp_williamson) May 22, 2024
I just rang up a backbencher to see what they thought of an early election and they told me they were in the process of writing a no confidence letter.
