UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has announced a general election for 4th July, saying “now is the moment for Britain to choose its future”.
In a statement outside Downing Street delivered in the pouring rain, the prime minister said he had met with the King to request the dissolution of parliament.
“The King has granted this request and we will have a general election on the 4th of July”, Mr Sunak said.
The surprise move is a huge electoral gamble given Labour are ahead by about 20 points in the polls.
It comes after official figures showed inflation had come down to 2.3% in April.
However, he said “this hard-earned economic stability was only ever meant to be the beginning”.
In a rallying cry to the nation he said: “The question now is how and who do you trust to turn that foundation into a secure future for you, your family and our country?
“Now is the moment for Britain to choose its future and 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.”
Mr Sunak had to contend with the rain and New Labour anthem Things Can Only Get Better being played from beyond the gates to Downing Street as he delivered his speech.
Putting the economy and global security threats at the centre of his pitch to voters, the prime minister started by harking back to his days as chancellor during the pandemic, saying he served the country while “the future hung in the balance”.
He said that economic stability is “the bedrock of any future success” and accused Labour of having no plan.
He finished his statement with an attack on his rival for Number 10, Sir Keir Starmer, saying he has “shown time and time again that he will take the easy way out and do anything to get power”.
Mr Sunak added: “If he was happy to abandon all the promises he made to become Labour leader once he got the job, how can you know that he won’t do exactly the same thing if he were to become prime minister?
“If you don’t have the conviction to stick to anything you say, if you don’t have the courage to tell people what you want to do, and if you don’t have a plan, how can you possibly be trusted to lead our country, especially at this most uncertain of times?”
Delivering his own televised statement from central London, Sir Keir said the election is an “opportunity for change” as he tore into the Tories’ record in government.
Sir Keir pointed to sewage in rivers, people “waiting on trolleys in A&E”, crime going “virtually unpunished” and mortgages and food prices “through the roof”.
“On 4 July you have a choice, and together we can stop the chaos, we can turn the page, we can start to rebuild Britain and change our country,” he said.
If Sir Keir wins the election, it will end 14 years of Conservative governments under five prime ministers.
Labour needs a swing of 12.5 percentage points just to win a majority of one – something even Sir Tony Blair did not achieve in his landslide victory of 1997.
But having transformed the party after its historic defeat in 2019, some pollsters believe Sir Keir could wipe out the Tories and be swept into power with as many as 400 seats.
Later, at a campaign rally flanked by his cabinet colleagues, Mr Sunak pitched himself as the underdog in the contest but accused Labour of taking voters for granted.
He said: “Labour want you to think that this elections is over before it has even begun. But we are going to fight every day for our values and our vision and the British people are going to show Labour that they don’t take too kindly to being taken for granted.”