Rishi insists election won’t happen before summer (but check back this afternoon)

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has refused to rule out a snap general election as rumours fly around Westminster.

Speculation has been rife today after the Office for National Statistics said inflation had slowed from 3.2% in March to 2.3%.

The Conservatives still lag far behind Labour nationally, with some polls putting the opposition as much as 30 points in the lead.

Mr Sunak’s party also took a drubbing at the local elections earlier this month, losing 474 councillors to put it in third place nationally after the Liberal Democrats.

But some believe he may be willing to gamble that today’s economic news is positive enough for him to convince voters they should vote the Tories into power for a fifth election in a row.

At Prime Minister’s Questions today, SNP leader Stephen Flynn said: ‘Speculation is rife, so I think the public deserve a clear answer to a simple question.

‘Does the prime minister intend to call a summer general election, or is he feart [afraid]?’

In his response, Mr Sunak re-emphasised the line he has taken for a number of months – that the election will be held in the second half of the year, without being any more specific.

Sir Keir Starmer spoke at an event launching Labour’s ‘first steps’ if they won a general election last week (Credits: Victoria Jones/PA Wire)

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has led calls for a vote to be held as soon as possible.

Last week, there were major speeches from both Mr Sunak and Chancellor Jeremy Hunt, as well as a major Labour event which some saw as an unofficial election campaign launch.

Each time, the government tried to paint the opposition as inexperienced and unable to keep the country or economy safe.

However, the Labour party has argued that 14 years of Tories in power have left the UK in a worse state.

What is a snap election?

A snap general election is simply one that takes place earlier than expected.

They’ve happened a couple of times recently. One called by Theresa May in 2017 backfired when she lost her majority, and another called by Boris Johnson in 2019 paid off spectacularly when he gained 48 seats.

The phrase means something slightly different to what it meant at those times, though.

Under the Fixed Term Parliaments Act, which was in effect between 2011 and 2022, elections were meant to take place every five years.

Since the repeal of the law two years ago, elections still must be at least one every half-decade, but can be called earlier.

So when the FTPA was in effect, a snap election was one held earlier than it should have been. But now, a snap election is simply one held earlier than it strictly had to be.

This is a developing news story, more to follow soon… Check back shortly for further updates.

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