Sunak again refuses to rule out July general election

Rishi Sunak repeated that his ‘working assumption is an election in the second half of the year’ – Sky News

Rishi Sunak repeatedly refused to rule out a general election in July.

The Prime Minister has previously said his “working assumption” was that the poll would take place in the second half of this year.

But he has again declined to confirm or deny that it could be held in three months time.

Asked on Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips whether the latter half of the year for a general election could mean July, he said: “I’m not going to say anything more than I’ve already said – I’ve been very clear about that.”

Asked repeatedly whether he was ruling out July, he said: “I’m not going to do that. You’re going to try and draw whatever conclusion you want from what I say. I’m going to always try and say the same thing. You should just listen to what I said – the same thing I’ve said all year.”

Local elections take place across the country on May 2, and if the Conservatives were to suffer a disastrous set of results, Mr Sunak could be forced into an earlier general election.

He could be faced with a leadership challenge, or be persuaded that a polling day sooner rather than later could be better than struggling on with a divided Tory party.

But many Westminster analysts see October or November as the most likely period for an election, with the latest possible date on which it could take place being Jan 28 next year.

Meanwhile, Chris Philp, the policing minister, told the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg on Sunday that an election is “most likely in the autumn”.

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