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Labour leader Keir Starmer warns of more Tory 'chaos' as Sunak places economy and global threats at heart of his pitch
Stuart Henderson, Ellen Manning and Harriet Sinclair
Updated
Rishi Sunak has called a general election for Thursday 4 July.
The prime minister confirmed the surprise move outside Downing Street on Wednesday evening, saying: "The election will take place at time when the world is more dangerous than it has been since the end of the Cold War.”
Responding to Sunak's announcement, Labour leader Keir Starmer said: “It will feel like a long campaign, I am sure of that, but no matter what else is said and done, that opportunity for change is what this election is about.”
Read more: How to register to vote in the 2024 general election
These are the key talking points of the day:
Sunak made the economy and combating the global security threats facing the UK the key elements of his pitch to the nation
He highlighted Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, the tensions in the Middle East relating to the Israel-Hamas conflict, China’s efforts to “dominate the 21st century” and migration “being weaponised by hostile states to threaten the integrity of our borders”.
In response, Starmer told voters: “Together we can stop the chaos, we can turn the page, we can start to rebuild Britain.”
Sunak had to battle both the rain and the sounds of New Labour anthem 'Things Can Only Get Better' being blasted from beyond the Downing Street gates
A July election is earlier than many in Westminster had expected, with a contest in October or November widely thought to have been more likely.
Sunak’s announcement came after the Office for National Statistics said Consumer Prices Index (CPI) inflation slowed to 2.3% in April, down from 3.2% in March.
Later, at a rally with his Cabinet and Tory activists, Sunak – in shirt sleeves having ditched his sodden suit jacket – stepped up his attack on Starmer. “The only certainty with Labour is that they will run out of money,” he said.
Starmer responded: “If they get another five years they will feel entitled to carry on exactly as they are. Nothing will change.” He promised a “new spirit of service”, putting the country before party interests.
Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey said:“This Government is out of touch, it’s out of excuses and it’s out of time – and it’s time to get this Conservative Government out of office."
Reform UK leader Richard Tice said: “The electorate have a clear choice – people know that the Tories have broken Britain. Labour and ‘Starmergeddon’ will do what they always do, which is bankrupt Britain.'
Read below for how a dramatic day in Westminster ended with the starting gun being fired for the general election"
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Ellen Manning
Sunak announces 4 July general election
Rishi Sunak has announced a general election will take place on 4 July.
The prime minister made his announcement outside 10 Downing Street following a day of speculation which saw cabinet ministers summoned to an unusually-timed meeting, with defence secretary Grant Shapps and foreign secretary Lord Cameron cutting short foreign trips to attend.
It also comes after the PM declared inflation was “back to normal” in a “major milestone” for the country, following official figures showing inflation slowed to 2.3% in April.
Ellen Manning
Can I still vote in the July general election if I am on holiday?
The general election on 4 July falls right in holiday season, with many wondering if they will still be able to vote if they're away.
Many people will potentially have holidays booked for when the schools break up, but it is still possible to vote in a general election even if you are not in the country.
People who know they are going to be abroad on the date of an election can vote by post or proxy - provided they are registered to vote in the first place.
Read more from the Independent.
Ellen Manning
NHS to be key battleground in race for Number 10
The long-term future of the NHS will likely be a key battleground in the run up to the general election.
Recent polling suggests that the founding principles of the service are still staunchly backed by the British public.
But satisfaction with the NHS has dipped to record lows, indicating that politicians will have to persuade voters that their party will be the most likely to improve care for patients. The latest British Social Attitudes Survey – a long-running poll tracking the views of the public – found that only 24% of the public are satisfied with the NHS
Ellen Manning
Protester played Things Can Only Get Better to ‘troll’ Sunak speech
The protester who played Things Can Only Get Better during Rishi Sunak’s election speech said he chose the New Labour tune because it was the “top trolling song for the Conservatives”.
Anti-Brexit campaigner Steve Bray said he selected the D:Ream song for its association with the Tory landslide defeat in the 1997 general election rather than as a show of support for Labour in the upcoming campaign.
He added that his protest outside Downing Street was paused when his two amplifiers became soaked and stopped working during heavy rain in Westminster
Read more from PA Media here.
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Green leaders look to increase tally of MPs
The Greens’ double-headed leadership goes into the General Election determined to increase the party’s representation at Westminster from a lone MP.
Carla Denyer and Adrian Ramsay were elected co-leaders of the party in England and Wales in 2021 having promised to bring a greater degree of professionalism to its organisation and campaigning.
Read the full story from PA.
Harriet Sinclair
General election polls: Are Labour or the Conservatives on track to win in July?
Sir Keir Starmer’s Labour has a 23-point lead in the latest poll on voter intentions from Techne UK, with the Tory-Labour gap remaining wide over the past few months.
The data is taken from 1,641 surveyed individuals across the UK, weighted to be representative of the population.
At just 21 per cent of the vote, the Conservatives are at one of their lowest levels of popularity with the electorate under Mr Sunak.
Read the full story from The Independent.
Ellen Manning
Farage to think ‘overnight’ about Reform candidacy
Nigel Farage has said he will think “overnight” about whether he will be standing for the Reform UK in the upcoming general election.
There has been speculation that Farage, the party’s honorary president, could return to frontline politics for the election.
Speaking on GB News after the election announcement, he said: “Richard Tice has got [Reform] up and running, there are 500 candidates selected, he will get more. The whole plan for Reform was that it was a six-year plan – fight this election, get ready for when Labour fail, which they will.
“[Sir Keir] Starmer’s first cabinet will not have the competence that Blair’s first cabinet had by an absolute mile. Reform will fight the election. As for what I do, I’ll think about it overnight.”
Harriet Sinclair
Opinion: The economic stars aligned for an early election. The Tories had nothing left to lose
One swallow does not a summer make, but three in a row may indeed be indicative of a decisive change in the weather, writes Jeremy Warner for The Telegraph.
First we had much better than expected first quarter growth, then a reasonably encouraging write-up from the International Monetary Fund, predicting among other things that the UK is likely to have the fastest rate of growth over the next five years of any G7 country other than the US.
Read the full story from The Telegraph.
Harriet Sinclair
How to register to vote in the 2024 general election
Rishi Sunak has called a general election for 4 July after a day filled with speculation that he could have his eye on a summer polling day.
Speaking outside Downing Street to confirm the surprise move, the prime minister said: "Now is the moment for Britain to choose its future."
The announcement came amid some rare welcome news for Sunak, as official figures showed inflation slowed to 2.3% in April, the lowest level since July 2021.
Here, Yahoo News outlines what you need to do to register to vote in the general election.
Ellen Manning
Sky News crew removed from ExCel Centre Conservative campaign rally by security
A Sky News broadcast crew was removed from the ExCel Centre by security ahead of the Prime Minister’s speech at a Conservative campaign rally, PA Media reported.
Broadcaster Darren McCaffrey and his crew were escorted from the venue by two security guards, with the correspondent saying they had not been allowed in due to broadcast pooling arrangements.
Sunak's speech to the crowd of Conservative activists at the East London venue on Wednesday evening was met with a round of applause, with those attending holding up Vote Conservative placards as the PM greeted members of his Cabinet.
Harriet Sinclair
General Election 2024: What are the key Labour and the Conservative manifesto promises?
Labour has been critical of the government’s economic record, with shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves promising to take an approach of ‘securonomics’ as an antidote to the economic turmoil caused by Liz Truss’s catastrophic 2022 ‘mini-budget’.
Outlining Labour’s ‘first steps for change’ in May, Keir Starmer said the party would impose strict rules on themselves.
Read the full story from The Independent.
Harriet Sinclair
General election 2024: Key dates in the countdown to polling day
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has announced that general election will take place in July.
Now that a date has been set, the clock starts ticking on a strict timetable until polling day.
Read the full story from the Evening Standard.
Harriet Sinclair
Sunak announces general election: Prime minister’s speech in full
Rishi Sunak has announced the next general election will be held on July 4.
The Prime Minister addressed the nation from Downing Street on Wednesday afternoon.
Read his full speech at The Telegraph.
Ellen Manning
Campaigners want answers on impact of election on blood scandal victims
Health organisations and charities have called for clarity on what impact the general election will have on bills concerning the infected blood scandal.
Particular concerns have been raised about the speed at which the Victims and Prisoners Bill – which will legally establish a compensation body for victims of the infected blood scandal – will pass through the House of Commons.
Jason Evans, director of the Factor 8 campaign group, said: “The Victims and Prisoners Bill must be included in the wash-up, or we will have been fobbed off once again. This whole thing is a mess, and I cannot begin to explain the mass confusion and anger among victims at this time. They feel betrayed and lied to, again."
Wash-up is the opportunity for Parliament to get through any unfinished business before it is dissolved.
Ellen Manning
Jeremy Hunt confirms he will stand in election
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt confirmed he will stand in the general election, and said on X he would “fight with every bone in my body” to get Rishi Sunak re-elected.
He added: “I will also stand for election in Godalming and Ash where I am proud of my local record and excited that the new boundaries include the town I went to school and the village I grew up in.
“It is a highly marginal seat so I will fight hard for every single vote!”
1/2 As today’s inflation news confirms, despite massive global shocks our country’s prospects have been transformed under Rishi’s leadership. It will be my honour to fight with every bone in my body to get him re-elected because we need a government that takes the difficult…
— Jeremy Hunt (@Jeremy_Hunt) May 22, 2024
Harriet Sinclair
Five battleground issues in UK general election
Britain is facing six weeks of political campaigning after Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced on Wednesday that a general election will be held on July 4.
Here are five issues expected to dominate campaigning as the ruling Conservatives, in power since 2010, seek to fight off a resurgent Labour opposition.
Read the full story from AFP.
Ellen Manning
Church leaders plea for respect and kindness 'in the heat of the debate'
Church of England leaders made a plea for respect and kindness “even in the heat of the debate”.
In a joint statement, Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby and Archbishop of York Stephen Cottrell urged that “no matter how big the issues” at stake over the coming weeks, the upcoming period should be “a time marked by respect for one another, for good grace and a commitment to truth and integrity”.
They said the forthcoming election would be a “critical moment in the life of our nation, which will shape our future by electing those who will make decisions affecting generations to come”, adding: “It is our prayer that, even in the heat of the debate, we will treat each other with respect and kindness."
Ellen Manning
First July election since 1945
The forthcoming general election will be the first held in July since Clement Attlee swept to power in a Labour landslide after the end of Second World War hostilities in Europe, ousting Winston Churchill.
The 1945 election – which took place on 5 July – came within two months of VE Day and initiated a political transformation that saw the creation of the NHS and the building of social housing.
Parliament was dissolved only three weeks before Britons went to the polls, in contrast to the six weeks to go until 4 July this year.
The Labour Party gained a 145-seat majority and the Liberal Party leader, Archibald Sinclair, lost his seat. The Conservatives lost 189 seats.
Ellen Manning
Sunak ‘excluded deaf community’ in election announcement
Rishi Sunak was accused of excluding the deaf community by not having a sign language interpreter with him when he called the general election.
According to the hearing charity RNID, Downing Street pledged to have British Sign Language (BSL) interpreters on hand for big announcements from spring 2024.
However, there was no interpreter in sight when Mr Sunak made his announcement outside Number 10 on Wednesday afternoon.
Where’s the British Sign Language (BSL) interpreter @10DowningStreet?
Calling a #GeneralElection is one of the biggest moves our country can make – deaf people deserve to have that information at the same time as everyone else. This is not good enough! (1/2)
— RNID (@RNID) May 22, 2024
Ellen Manning
Boris Johnson 'strongly supporting' the Conservatives
Former prime minister Boris Johnson is “strongly supporting” the Conservative Party and urges “everybody to do the same”, a spokesman said.
It comes after speculation that the ex-MP might appear on the Tory campaign trail in the run-up to a vote.
A spokesman for Mr Johnson said: “Boris Johnson is, as always, strongly supporting the Conservatives and encourages everybody to do the same.”
Harriet Sinclair
'Bring it on': Momentum says priority is electing socialist Labour MPs
The left-wing pressure group Momentum said its top priority is a General Election victory for Labour and to “elect socialist and trade unionist Labour MPs”.
Kate Dove, chairwoman of the grassroots organisation, said: “Let’s get the Tories out. Fourteen years of Conservative austerity have broken Britain: our NHS and public services are starved of funding and on their knees, our privatised water full of sewage, a housing crisis rages on, while the wealthy few laugh their way to the bank.
“Momentum stands with the trade union movement: the first priority is to kick Rishi Sunak out of Downing Street and elect a Labour Government instead to bring our railways back into public ownership and implement a New Deal for Working People. This must be just the first step to the comprehensive social and economic transformation the country is crying out for.
“Our role is clear. In this election Momentum will mobilise to keep out the Tories and elect socialist and trade unionist Labour MPs in their stead, from Zarah Sultana to Ian Lavery, John McDonnell to Apsana Begum. Bring it on.”
