DOWNING Street has refused to rule out calling a General Election amid furious rumours swirling at Westminster.
Journalists and MPs are speculating that Rishi Sunak may be set to call a UK-wide election for July 4 after Wednesday’s news that inflation has fallen to 2.3%.
The prospective date – a Thursday – would be just one day before the quarter finals of the Euro 2024 competition.
England are currently the bookies’ favourites to win the tournament.
The news that the Tories are planning to hold a Cabinet meeting at 4pm on Wednesday afternoon, an unusual time, has added further weight to the rumours of a General Election.
The Sun's Harry Cole reports that Rishi Sunak will go to meet the King at 6pm.
BBC political editor Chris Mason was among the prominent Westminster journalists to report that figures within the UK Government had declined to deny rumours that an election is set to be called.
The Sunday Times chief political commentator Tim Shipman said on social media: “Once again there are snap election rumours.
“I have been a sceptic every time so far. More importantly, people I trust who are in the loop have told me it's nonsense.
“This time, those people are silent.”
Once again there are snap election rumours. I have been a sceptic every time so far. More importantly, people I trust who are in the loop have told me it's nonsense. This time, those people are silent
— Tim Shipman (@ShippersUnbound) May 22, 2024
Tim Montgomerie, the founder of the ConservativeHome website and Centre for Social Justice thinktank, responded to Shipman: "Mine too. I think it’s gonna be called today."
The Daily Mail’s Jason Groves wrote: “Westminster rumour mill in overdrive that Sunak is about to call election for July 4.
“May yet prove to be unfounded but No 10 currently silent on the question.”
Polling from Ipsos suggests that, if a General Election were to be held tomorrow, Labour would win a landslide with 41% of the vote.
The Tories are currently on 20%, and the LibDems and Greens tied on 11% on the pollster’s political monitor.
The Conservatives may hope that a successful England side at the Euros will boost confidence in the state of the country more widely and help them avoid a completely disastrous result.
They may also be considering that, as things are unlikely to improve into the autumn and inflation is expected to rise again moving forward, now is the best time to move.
Danny Finkelstein, a Tory peer and former executive editor of The Times, has said on his podcast that he has “picked up a bit of talk in government circles” to this effect.
Finkelstein is also a close friend of Foreign Secretary David Cameron.
However, he also said he does not believe a summer election will take place.
Sunak has said that an election will be held in the "second half of this year", which has been widely understood to mean the autumn.
