New Delhi: Rishi Sunak Wednesday surprised Westminster and the UK by calling for a snap general election on 4 July, 2024. The embattled Conservative prime minister promised to “fight” for every vote, as the Tories are on the backfoot in the polls after ruling the country for 14 years.
“Earlier today I spoke with His Majesty 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. This election will take place at a time when the world is more dangerous than it has been since the end of the Cold War,” announced a rain-soaked Sunak at a lectern outside 10 Downing Street.
Sunak’s surprise announcement came with his attempt to set the narrative as an election between the security and stability offered by the Conservative Party against the uncertainty of a Labour government.
The UK Tories are trailing Keir Starmer’s Labour Party by at least 20 points in the early opinion polls according to Politico, showcasing the uphill battle the incumbent PM is facing amongst the British electorate.
“These uncertain times call for a clear plan and bold action to chart a course to a secure future. You must choose in this election who has that plan, who is prepared to take the bold action necessary to secure a better future for our country and our children,” asserted Sunak, as activists played the New Labour’s anthem “Things Can Only Get Better” over a loudspeaker.
The leader of the Labour Party Keir Starmer — leading all national polls currently — said that the announcement of the general election is a “moment” the country needs and “has been waiting for”.
“Over the course of the past four years, we have changed the Labour party, returned it once more to the service of the working people…We will stop the chaos…A vote for Labour is a vote for stability, economic and political,” said Starmer on the general elections.
The British PM defied expectations of calling for a general election later this year, likely during the autumn months. The announcement came as the government on the day announced the positive economic news that inflation has fallen to 2.3 percent — the lowest in three years — and that the economy has emerged from a shallow recession earlier this month.
Sunak had time till 28 January, 2025, to call for the general election. However, after 14 years of Conservative rule, the mountain Sunak has to climb to remain in power is considered extremely high.
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Conservative Party woes
Since the last general elections, where the Conservatives won an 80-seat majority under Boris Johnson on the theme of “getting Brexit done”, the party has seen three different prime ministers — Johnson, Elizabeth (Liz) Truss and Sunak himself.
Johnson’s tenure ended in scandal over breaking his own government’s COVID-19 lockdown rules to host parties and then lying about it to Parliament, followed by Truss’ 49-day tenure that ended in almost breaking the markets over her September 2022 “mini-budget”.
Sunak, who had stood and lost to Truss in the party’s leadership contest following Johnson’s resignation, won the following contest to become the prime minister of the country in October 2022.
However, since the UK voted to exit the European Union (EU) in 2016, no Conservative prime minister has finished a full term in office. David Cameron, the current foreign minister, was the last to finish a full term between 2010 and 2015. He resigned after Brexit, leading Theresa May to become prime minister for three years between 2016 and 2019 till Johnson took office.
Sunak became PM at a time when the UK was facing a high-inflation of over 11 percent. Through his tenure he has attempted to show “bold action” in stopping the immigrant boats in the English Channel, by signing a deal with Rwanda to send asylum seekers in the UK there.
UK general elections
The parliament of the UK will be “prorogued” on Friday, 24 May, which means that no further legislative business will be possible after that date. On 30 May, the parliament will be officially dissolved, setting the state for five weeks of election campaigning before the vote on 4 July.
The UK has a total of 650 constituencies. Similar to India, the country follows a first past the post electoral system — the candidate with the most votes becomes a member of parliament. All government business is restricted during this time.
Sunak had time till January 2025 to hold an election, as the latest a parliament can be dissolved is on the fifth anniversary of when it first met. This is currently 17 December, 2024. Twenty-five days are necessary to prepare for an election, which meant the latest it could have been held was 28 January, 2025.
An election can be called by the prime minister anytime during the five-year period of the parliament.