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Conservative MPs were left stunned by Rishi Sunak’s shock decision to fire the starting gun for a 4 July general election.
Tory members have branded the move a “kamikaze election” and think the party is not ready to go to the polls. A former minister told The Independent: “We are not sure who will come out of this with their seats.”
After the astonishing announcement on Wednesday, political parties have wasted no time in launching their campaigns.
Mr Sunak kicked things off touring broadcast studios this morning before visiting all four nations in the UK in two days. He said the economy is “going gangbusters” in his first major election interview today.
The prime minister gave his upbeat verdict after being challenged over his claim that the British economy is now growing faster than the US. He also confirmed Rwanda flights won’t take off before the general election.
Meanwhile, Nigel Farage has announced he will not be standing for Reform UK after he was reportedly expected to make an appearance at the party’s campaign launch later today.
Breaking: Nigel Farage will not stand in the general election
Nigel Farage is not standing as a candidate in the general election, he has announced.
The former UKIP leader said he thought “long and hard” about contesting the general election, but has decided to help with Donald Trump’s re-election bid in the US instead, Archie Mitchell reports.
“Important though the general election is, the contest in the United States of America on 5 November has huge global significance,” Mr Farage said.
Despite not standing as a candidate, Mr Farage, who is Reform’s honorary president, said he will “do my bit to help in the campaign”.
“But it is not the right time for me to go any further than that,” Mr Farage said.
He offered his full support to Reform and its current leader Richard Tice, adding that the choice between Labour and the Tories is “uninspiring”.
“Only Reform have the radical agenda that is needed to end decline in this country,” he said.
Shadow home secretary: Rwanda plan 'a con from start to finish’
Labour MP Yvette Cooper has slammed Rishi Sunak’s Rwanda scheme after he announced flights won’t take off before the general election.
The shadow home secretary said: “The prime minister’s own words this morning show this whole Rwanda scheme has been a con from start to finish.
“With all the hundreds of millions they have spent, it would be extraordinary if ‘symbolic flights’ didn’t take off in early July, as the Tories planned.
“But Rishi Sunak’s words confirm what we’ve known all along: he doesn’t believe this plan will work and that’s why he called the election now in the desperate hope that he won’t be found out.
Watch: Protesters who blasted New Labour’s 1997 anthem unmasked
Anti-Brexit campaigner Steve Bray posted footage of himself and a group of people gathered round a speaker outside Downing Street as it played the D:Ream track while the prime minister spoke.
Mr Sunak was drenched in the rain as he spoke over the music, confirming he had spoken with King Charles III to request the dissolution of parliament for the general election to be held on 4 July 2024.
Labour's top team significantly more popular than the current cabinet
Keir Starmer’s top team are significantly more popular than Rishi Sunak’s cabinet, Kate Devlin reports.
A new poll by Savanta shows found that when it comes to net favourability:
- Starmer is on +1, compared to Sunak’s -22
- Shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves is on +1, compared with Jeremy Hunt’s -15
- Shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper is on -1, compared with James Cleverly’s -11
- Shadow foreign secretary David Lammy is on -6, compared with David Cameron’s -13
Charities react to cancelled Rwanda flights
Rishi Sunak has announced flights carrying deported asylum seekers to Rwanda won’t jet off before the general election.
Reacting to the news, Kolbassia Haoussou, Director of Survivor Leadership and Influencing at Freedom from Torture, said: “Together our massive movement of caring people has created too many hurdles for this cruel ‘cash-for-humans’ scheme to get off the ground.
“Since the very start, survivors of torture have been at the forefront of campaigns urging the Government to abort this and other anti-refugee policies. And we will not stop fighting until they are put into reverse once and for all.
“This is a victory for compassionate people up and down the country who have joined our calls for an asylum system that treats people fleeing torture and persecution humanely.”
Ask us your general election questions
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Migrant detentions down 23 per cent compared to 2023
Some 16,031 people entered immigration detention in the year ending March 2024, 23 per cent fewer than the previous year, Jabed Ahmed reports.
Over one-third (34 per cent) of people leaving detention in the year ending March 2024 were removed from the UK, up from 20 per cent in 2023.
There has been a rise in the deportations of Albanian nationals, according to the Home Office.
Recap: General election campaign diary
- Rishi Sunak kicked off the morning with a rally in Derbyshire. He is expected to go to Scotland next where he will appear alongside Scottish Tory leader Douglas Ross.
- Sir Keir Starmer launched the Labour campaign from Kent at the Gillingham Football Club.
- Reform UK leader Richard Tice is expected to deliver a press conference in London at 11am.
- Lib Dems leader Sir Ed Davey is set to speak today in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire.
General Election: Registration deadline announced
July 4 is an important date, but there is a more important one.
The Electoral Commission has announced the deadline for registering to vote for this long-waited election.
People should register no later than June 18 at 11.59pm.
Asylum applications fall by 14% in year ending March 24
Fewer people applied for asylum in the UK in the year ending March 2024, in part due to a decrease in claims from Albanian small boat arrivals, Holly Bancroft reports.
According to Home Office figures, some 86,719 people applied for asylum in the year up to March.
New data from the Home Office shows a boom in asylum decisions being made, with more than four times the number of decisions than in the previous year.
Figures show 62 per cent of people applying for asylum were successful, and there are currently 118,329 people waiting on a decision.
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2024-05-23 09:32:29Z
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