UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, announces the date for the General Election at Downing Street on May 22, 2024 in London, England.British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has called an election for July 4, taking a gamble that voters will reward him for signs the British economy has begun to turn around.The snap election is a bold move by Mr. Sunak given that the Conservatives have trailed the Labour Party for months by as much as 20 points in most opinion polls.
The election had to be called by January 2025, and Mr. Sunak had said for months that he planned to hold a vote in the second half of the year. Most observers, and many members of his caucus, expected that to mean sometime in the fall. Mr. Sunak has hailed recent indicators as signs the British economy has turned a corner. Figures released earlier this month showed the economy grew by the most in nearly three years in the first quarter of 2024 at 0.6 per cent. That also marked the end of technical recession that began in the second half of last year. Inflation has also fallen to 2.3 per cent.
Mr. Sunak “has got the element of surprise that comes from him taking the initiative – and it’s possible that some voters might admire him for taking a gamble,” said Tim Bale, a professor of politics at Queen Mary University of London. “But the fundamentals still don’t look good.” Prof. Bale added that if Mr. Sunak can pull off a victory, or even stops Labour from winning a majority, “he’ll have performed something of a miracle.”