London: British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak surprised everyone by calling for early general elections in July.
Addressing reporters outside his residence at 10, Downing Street amid rain, PM Sunak said he had earlier asked King Charles to dissolve Parliament on May 30 and permission was granted, according to the BBC. Now it has been decided that the elections will be held on July 4.
However elections were scheduled for the end of the year.
Noting that the past five years have seen the country grapple with its most challenging times since the Second World War, Sunak chaired a cabinet meeting ahead of his announcement. He said that the country has fought those challenges and that makes him proud to be British.
He stressed that the UK economy is still growing, inflation has moderated, interest rates are low and the government’s plan is working. However, he admitted that he recognizes that things are not easy for many people.
With a revived Labor Party trying to return to power after 14 years in the wake of the Conservatives’ disappointing performance in recent council elections, Indian-origin Sunak told the crowd the question now is “who do you trust”.
He said, this is the time to decide the future of Britain and to decide whether you want to build the future we have created or risk going back to the same level.
Sunak also acknowledged that he cannot and will not claim that he got everything right while in power, but that he is proud of what he has achieved and what can be done in the future.
He cited record funding for the NHS, improving children’s education standards, putting energy security above environmental dogma and increasing defense spending among his achievements.
Responding to the announcement, Labor Party leader Sir Keir Starmer said this is a moment the country needs and has been waiting for.
Describing the election campaign as an opportunity to secure a better future, he said that this is the time to transform communities and the country.
Starmer said the Labor Party has changed over the years and asked for a chance to do the same for the country, promising to put Britain back in the service of working people.
He promised it would reverse things like sewage being dumped into rivers, people waiting to be treated in A&E and reverse the trend of rising mortgages and food prices.
A vote for Labor is a vote for stability, Starmer said, and a vote for a politics that treads lightly and prevents chaos.
“It is time for change,” he said.
The Liberal Democrat leader, Sir Ed Davey, said the general election would be “an opportunity to oust Rishi Sunak’s Conservative government from power and deliver the change the public is demanding.”
