Keir Starmer has declared it’s “time for change” after Rishi Sunak finally named the date of the election.
Kickstarting his campaign in an article for the Mirror, the Labour leader tells readers the “power is in your hands to change Britain for the better”.
“Together, we can stop the chaos. Together, we can turn the page. Together, we can rebuild our country,” he adds. “Rishi Sunak can’t hide any longer.”
Voters will go to the polls on July 4 when the country will get the chance to boot the Tories out of No10. The Prime Minister’s campaign immediately got off to a disastrous start as he got drenched as he made the election announcement in the pouring rain in Downing Street.
His speech was drowned out on live TV as nearby protesters blared out the Labour anthem “Things Can Only Get Better”. Mr Sunak’s decision is a huge gamble as polls suggest the Tories are 20 percentage points behind Labour. If Mr Starmer is able to secure a margin of victory on that scale, he will become PM ending 14 years of Tory rule.
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Election speculation reached fever pitch in Westminster after Mr Sunak at Prime Minister’s Questions did not rule out holding a snap poll before the summer holidays. Cabinet ministers were summoned to a meeting in Downing Street with Foreign Secretary David Cameron forced to cut short a trip to Albania to immediately fly back to the UK. During the afternoon, Mr Sunak quietly snuck into Buckingham Palace where he asked King Charles to dissolve Parliament during a 15-minute audience.
The PM walked out of the front door of No10 shortly after 5pm where he declared “now is the moment for Britain to decide its future”. As his suit got soaked in the torrential rain, he pledged to “fight for every vote”.
His announcement came hours after it was confirmed that inflation – the rate at which prices are rising – has dropped to 2.3%. Addressing the nation, Mr Sunak said voters have “to decide whether we want to build on the progress we have made or risk going back to square one with no plan and no certainty”.
In a sign that the Tories plan to make security a key battleground, Mr Sunak 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.” He claimed Mr Starmer could not be trusted to lead the country through “uncertain” times.
Mr Sunak went on: “Over the next few weeks… I will earn your trust and I will prove to you that only a Conservative government led by me will not put our hard-earned economic stability at risk, can restore pride and confidence in our country, and with a clear plan and bold action will deliver a secure future for you, your family and our United Kingdom.”
Mr Starmer hit back as he addressed voters in a speech to young activists from his constituency and the nearby area behind a lectern with one word on it: “Change.” The Labour leader said a vote for his party on July 4 would be a “vote to stop the chaos”. He described the contest as the “moment the country needs and has been waiting for”. Following his speech, Mr Starmer returned to Labour HQ where he was cheered by staff.
Tory MPs have privately voiced doubts about Mr Sunak’s decision to call an election now. One joked that he “wants to get back to the Californian sunshine”. At the Cabinet meeting earlier, Common Sense Minister Esther McVey suggested he should wait in the hope voters start to feel better off.
Polling day on July 4 will come in the middle of Euro 2024, with the quarter finals kicking off the following day.
MPs will formally be sent back to their constituencies on Friday as Parliament is prorogued before formal dissolution May 30.
The last time a general election was held in July was 1945 when the Tories got a hammering and Sir Winston Churchill was turfed from office.