(CN) — British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has called a snap general election for July 4, announcing to his country on Wednesday afternoon that the United Kingdom will elect a new government in just six weeks.
Speaking on the steps of 10 Downing Street, the prime minister’s official residence, amid heavy rainfall, Sunak said: “Now is the moment for Britain to choose its future. Earlier today I spoke with His Majesty the King to request the dissolution of Parliament.”
His main opponent, Labour Party leader Keir Starmer, said “After 14 years, its time for change. Stop the chaos, turn the page, start to rebuild. Vote Labour.”
The U.K. will vote on July 4 for all 650 seats that make up the House of Commons across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
In the U.K., the prime minister has the power to call a general election at a time of their choosing, forcing political opponents to be prepared for the possibility of a poll at any time. Nevertheless, Sunak’s decision has taken Westminster by complete surprise, with most parliamentary observers not expecting an election call until after the summer.
Speculation only started to mount hours before the announcement, with government ministers canceling media appointments, foreign trips and other engagements in order to return to Downing Street for a compulsory meeting of cabinet.
Since January, Sunak had been using the formulation that an election would take place “in the second half of the year.” With a first week of July date now nailed in, few had foreseen that the prime minister would meet this pledge nearly to the letter.
While the date of the election has tripped up most, the actual result seems to many Brits set in stone. The Conservative Party, in power since 2010, has been on the rocks ever since former Prime Minister Boris Johnson was caught breaking coronavirus social gathering restrictions at the heart of government. However, the party’s electoral freefall really began when his successor, Liz Truss, took the reigns.
Truss’ drastic tax cutting policies precipitated a financial crisis during her turbulent few weeks as the nation’s leader — which became the shortest premiership in British political history. The Truss debacle destroyed the Conservative reputation for economic management, which had been critical to their electoral appeal over the last 14 years in office.
Sunak has failed to shift the polls since he took over from Truss in a hurried ceremony. In his bid to reverse his party’s fortunes he has oscillated between different political strategies, ultimately alienating supporters on both the left and right of his electoral coalition.
Some recent polls have shown the Conservatives registering just 18% of public support — the lowest figures recorded by the party since polling began — with Labour at times a full 30 percentage points ahead. The huge polling gulf, if repeated at the election, could result in an electoral wipe-out of unprecedented proportions for the party.
It begs the question — why call the election now? It may be that Sunak simply saw the element of surprise as one of few tricks he had left up his sleeve, and the only way left for him to potentially regain control of the political narrative, which has largely escaped him during his premiership.
Sunak may also be hoping to capitalize on a lack for enthusiasm for Labour’s Starmer, who has largely kept tight-lipped about his plans for the country while the Conservatives fell apart in government. The election will force Starmer to show his hand, and release a program for government. This may provide the ammunition that Conservatives have craved, after years of having their attack lines blunted by Starmer’s opaque policy platform.
While the campaign will be short, it is also likely to be intensely fought, with the potential for Britain’s political geography to be transformed to a greater extent than the country has seen since Tony Blair swept to power in 1997.
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