Rishi Sunak gives three-word clue to when the general election will be

07 March 2024 , 18:34

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Rishi Sunak is facing pressure to name the date of the election (Image: POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Rishi Sunak has dropped a heavy hint on when the general election will be amid growing speculation he could call a snap poll.

The PM fuelled rumours he could call an early election this lunchtime when he failed to deny that he was secretly plotting a vote in May during an interview on BBC Radio 2.

But after this triggered election fever in Westminster, Mr Sunak rushed back on the airwaves to dampen down expectations of a snap poll. In an interview on BBC local radio a few hours later, he insisted “nothing has changed” from earlier this year when he suggested it was more likely there will be a vote in the autumn or winter.

He said: “I was very clear about this at the beginning of the year about my working assumption for the election being in the second half of the year – nothing has changed since then.”

Earlier on BBC Radio 2, presenter Jeremy Vine had told him that “informed people” were suggesting he was going to “cut and run” by holding an election in May. Asked if this was true, Mr Sunak said: "I'm not going to say anything extra about that. What I would say is what matters is the choice, and the choice, especially after this Budget, is clear.

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"Our plans are working. Of course there's more work to do, we are starting to deliver the change that people want to see and if we stick with that plan people can have the peace of mind that there is a brighter future for them and their families."

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After the Budget on Wednesday, Keir Starmer demanded Mr Sunak call a general election as he accused him of being “out of touch, out of ideas and nearly out of road”. Mr Hunt, the Chancellor, announced he will take 2p off National Insurance next month in a last ditch bid to turn around the Conservative Party’s dismal poll ratings.

A new tax on vaping will be introduced, while major changes will be made to child benefit. But Mr Starmer dismissed it as “the last desperate act of a party that has failed”. He urged the PM to hold the election in May so voters can boot out the Tories after 14 years of failure.

John Stevens