Could Rishi Sunak name snap election TODAY? Rumours sweep Westminster

Snap election rumours are sweeping Westminster with frenzied speculation Rishi Sunak could pull the trigger as early as today.

A ballot has been widely seen as likely to happen towards the end of the year, with the government hoping the economy will turn round.  

However, there is intense chatter this morning that Mr Sunak could spring a bold surprise, despite Labour being miles ahead in the polls. 

Senior sources claimed briefing was coming from Labour, but refused explicitly to rule out the PM making an announcement later today. That would give a potential date of July 4.

Mr Sunak is due to gather his Cabinet after PMQs this afternoon, with the meeting having been delayed from yesterday as a result of his trip to Vienna.

The drama is threatening to set the Tory tinder box ablaze, with MPs telling MailOnline that Mr Sunak has a ‘death wish’ and the Parliamentary party will go ‘nuts’ if he tries to call an election.

There are claims that 1922 chair Graham Brady is now accepting texts voicing no confidence in the leader. 

One former Cabinet minister said: ‘There will be queues outside Graham Brady’s door.’ 

Snap election rumours swept Westminster with speculation Rishi Sunak could pull the trigger as early as today

There is intense chatter this morning that Mr Sunak could spring a bold surprise, despite Labour being miles ahead in the polls

The rumours gathered pace after Mr Sunak hailed a ‘major milestone’ with inflation tumbling to the lowest level in nearly three years.

BBC Political Editor Chris Mason fuelled the speculation by saying he was ‘twitchy’ about the election timing. 

The headline CPI rate slid from 3.2 per cent in March to 2.3 per cent last month – near the Bank of England‘s 2 per cent target.

The PM said the figures showed that his plan is working and ‘brighter days are ahead’.

However, the drop, driven largely by easing energy prices, was less than the 2.1 per cent analysts had pencilled in – sparking concerns that the Bank of England might delay interest rate cuts. 

Core inflation, another key factor for Threadneedle Street as it mulls whether to ease the pain on mortgage-payers in June, also remained stubbornly high.

Meanwhile, separate official figures had public sector borrowing above estimates, raising questions about whether Chancellor Jeremy Hunt will have room to cut taxes before the election. 

The latest Savanta poll gave Labour a 17-point lead over the Tories. According to Electoral Calculus, those numbers would produce a 236 majority for Keir Starmer. 

He would have 443 MPs, while the Conservatives would have just 124. That is compared to the 376 returned in Boris Johnson’s 2019 landslide.