What the bookies are saying as Rishi Sunak calls General Election for July 4
The Tories are in for a tough time at this summer’s General Election, at least according to the bookies.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has this afternoon ended months of speculation and confirmed Brits will go to the polls on Thursday, July 4. The announcement came after Cabinet ministers were suddenly summoned for a meeting this afternoon, with Defence Secretary Grant Shapps and Foreign Secretary Lord Cameron cutting short foreign trips to attend.
As things stand this afternoon, the Conservatives are in for bad news come the summer as the bookies have them as far back as 25/1 to achieve a majority – while Labour are as short as 1/20 to win the most seats, and 1/10 says we see an overall majority for Labour,
Alex Apati of Ladbrokes said: “Things look like they’re going very much Labour’s way, as far as the latest odds are concerned…we’d be staggered if the outcome isn’t a Labour Majority.”
Follow the latest on the announcement of the General Election with our live blog
(
AFP via Getty Images)
The odds also suggest it’ll be more bad news for Rishi Sunak and co, with 100-149 seats priced most likely at 7/4, ahead of 50-99 (11/4). The Tories winning between 250 and 299 seats is 14/1. To achieve an overall majority a party must win at least 326 seats.
It comes after it was announced this morning that inflation had fallen to 2.3% – slightly above the 2.1% that economists had expected. No10 poured petrol on speculation about an imminent election by refusing to rule it out.
Challenged by the SNP’s Stephen Flynn, the PM maintained there will be an election in the second half of 2024, but declined to say more. He said: “There is – spoiler alert – going to be a general election in the second half of this year.
“At that moment, the British people will in fact see the truth about the honourable gentleman opposite me, because that will be the choice at the next election Mr Speaker, a party that is not able to say to the country what they would do, a party that would put at risk our hard-earned economic stability, or the Conservatives that are delivering a secure future for our United Kingdom.”
