Football fans are furious with Rishi Sunak – for holding a General Election in the middle of the Euro 2024 tournament.
The Prime Minister, 44, said voters will go to the polls on Thursday July 4, one day before the first Euro 2024 quarter finals. Both England and Scotland are in the competition and football supporters have vented their ire at the timing of the election online. Tennis fans have also shared their anger as Wimbledon, the oldest tennis tournament in the world, starts on Monday July 1.
Labour, on the other hand, had campaigned for an earlier election, calling on a date to be scheduled for late May, by which time the domestic football season would have finished.
One user of X, formerly known as Twitter, posted: “General Election, Wimbledon and euros 2024. Good luck to tv schedulers on the 5th July.” Another shared: “What is the likelihood that England will be playing on or around July 4th? General Election slap in the middle of the Euros, their best shot at apathy/ voter suppression before Winter.” A third posted: “Typical, Sunak doing a 4th July #GeneralElection as everyone will be distracted with the euros…”
Others found the timing comedic of the General Election. A sports fan tweeted: “Tories out 5th of July… England win euros…14th of July What a summer.” Another said: “14th July: Prime minister Keir Starmer sends message to Gareth Southgate congratulating him on winning the Euros!”
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One X user posted: “General election on 4th July – hoping for some tailwind from early successes in Euros pool play, without gambling on quarter-final success? Desperate, but then it’s entirely reasonable for them to be desperate.”
Mr Sunak, himself a Southampton FC supporter, this afternoon told the nation the General Election had been scheduled. The Prime Minister said: Now is the moment for Britain to choose its future.
“I cannot and will not say that we have got everything right. No government should. But I am proud of what we have achieved together, the bold actions we have taken and I’m confident about what we can do in the future.”
The last time a General Election was held in July was way back in 1945. That didn’t end well for the Tories, with Winston Churchill emphatically kicked out by voters.
The July 5, 1945, poll saw Clement Attlee, who served in the emergency war cabinet, become Prime Minister. His party secured a landslide, securing 239 seats and 47.7% of the popular vote. Mr Attlee used the 145 majority to make sweeping changes, including the foundation of the NHS in 1948.