PRESSURE is mounting on Rishi Sunak to announce the date of the next General Election, as rumours are circulating of a possible announcement on Monday.
Tim Montgomorie, founder of Conservative Home and a party insider, said rumours had reached “1000mph” in recent days over the possibility that the Prime Minister may announce an election.
Rumours of an election announcement on Monday are hitting 1000mph. If they are false and Downing Street doesn’t reject them soon the No10 operators risk looking like bottlers. Messy.
— Tim Montgomerie 🇬🇧 (@montie) April 26, 2024
This was echoed by multiple sources, including Alastair Campbell, official spokesperson for Tony Blair under New Labour.
But just how credible is this rumour?
Will a General Election be announced on Monday?
The honest answer is that we simply don’t know. Nothing has been confirmed yet, and we can’t reliably verify the sources.
Montgomerie later wrote that a reliable source had told him the rumours were “nonsense”, with Downing Street also refuting the claims.
Appearing on BBC Scotland’s Sunday Show, Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross (above) – who is both an MSP and MP – said he had not been made aware of plans to announce an election next week, remaining confident that it would not happen.
Why might Rishi Sunak announce a General Election on Monday?
There may be good reason for Sunak to announce the date for an election on Monday.
Local elections are set to take place across England on Thursday, with the results looking disastrous for the Tories.
Government insiders told The Guardian that they feared a possible vote of no confidence in Sunak could take place if the local elections are unsuccessful.
READ MORE: Alex Salmond blames BBC interview for causing 'crisis' in Scottish politics
It seems reasonable to suggest that Sunak may want to be one step ahead by calling a general election before too much damage is done.
When is the latest the General Election can be held?
The next General Election can take place no later than January 28, 2025.
However, the Prime Minister has repeatedly said he intends to hold the election in the “second half” of this year.
This does technically mean we can expect to have an election as early as July.
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