Rishi Sunak ‘to name General Election’ – and it is simply weeks away

Rishi Sunak looks set to call a general election to be held on Thursday 4 July, reports Sky News.

The Prime Minister, after a “long and open discussion” in Downing Street about whether to hold the election now or in the autumn, has decided on July, the title stated.

Brits will go to the polls a day before the country could be playing in the Euro 2024 quarter-finals, if Gareth Southgate and the lads do us proud.

And Sky News political editor Beth Rigby has said the decision has taken many by surprise as the PM has not fulfilled all five pledges that he made to the electorate in January 2023.

Most notably, Rigby said, small boats continue to cross the Channel en masse.

“That has been an open discussion in government – whether or not to wait until the autumn when voters potentially have proof that the economy is turning the corner, they perhaps feel a bit better off, and the PM’s flights are off to Rwanda,” the expert said..

The argument for going sooner rather than later is because the PM “could find himself in hot water” if boats continue to come across the Channel throughout the summer.

The Tories are 20 points behind Labour in the polls, according to Sky’s Poll Tracker.

Rumours that he would finally cave ramped up during today’s Prime Minister’s Questions when Scottish National Party representative Stephen Flynn asked Sunak whether the whispers “were true”.

Earlier that day, during PMQs, Sunak had rubbished rumours that an election would be held in the immediate future while also refusing to rule a summer election out, eventually performing a dramatic U-turn just hours later.

Cabinet members were called to an emergency meeting at 4.15pm today (May 22), as speculation brewed online.

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