RISHI Sunak will address Britain tonight with a General Election set to be held on July 4.
Speculation that the PM could call a snap general election has coursed through Westminster all day.
RexMedia gather in Downing Street ahead of an expected statement from Rishi Sunak[/caption]
PASunak faces a battle for his political life in the summer[/caption]
GoffKeir Starmer on his way to PMQs this lunchtime[/caption]
Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office staff have gathered outside their offices to watch the announcement by the PM through a side passage of Downing Street.
The world’s media have assembled in expectation of a statement about the date Brits can expect to go to the polls.
The PM will battle for his political life as millions make their vote at the height of British summer time.
He will take on Sir Keir Starmer‘s Labour Party in what is set to be a historic fight for the keys to No10, centred on the economy.
A formal announcement from Downing St is due to take place at 5pm.
As things stand, Sir Keir is on track for victory.
Labour is currently polling at 44 per cent, while the Tories are trailing behind on 23.
Reform UK are third most popular on 11 per cent while the Lib Dems are sitting one point behind on 10.
The announcement of an election came after a day of high drama in Westminster.
The rumour mill began spinning in the early hours of Wednesday morning.
No10 sources initially played down talk of a major statement from the PM. But by mid-morning they’d gone underground.
At PMQs Mr Sunak refused to rule out naming a date and in the early afternoon a Downing St spokesperson wouldn’t budge on ruling out any move.
After taking the unusual step of hosting a Wednesday afternoon Cabinet the ground was laid for a major speech.
The timing of the announcement came as the Office for National Statistics confirmed inflation hit 2.3% today.
Mr Sunak hailed the figure as a “major moment for the economy” and vowed that vowed that “brighter days are ahead”.
Consumer Prices Index (CPI) inflation stood at 2.3% in April according to fresh figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
This is down from 3.2% in March and marks the lowest level since July 2021.
The data shows inflation is now closer towards the Bank of England’s 2% target.
It comes just a day after the IMF (International Monetary Fund) upgraded UK growth for this year and forecast the economy will grow faster than any other large European country over the next six years.
Meanwhile, food price inflation saw further falls over the year, although these were partially offset by a small uptick in petrol prices.
CPI food inflation edged down to 2.9% in April from 4% in March – much lower than its peak of almost 20% in the spring of 2023.
Trumpeting the fall in inflation today, the PM said: “Today marks a major moment for the economy, with inflation back to normal.
“This is proof that the plan is working and that the difficult decisions we have taken are paying off.
“Brighter days are ahead, but only if we stick to the plan to improve economic security and opportunity for everyone.”
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