PM sets July 4 election date as Conservatives face likely defeat

LONDON (AP):

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Wednesday set July 4 as the date for a national election that will determine who governs the UK, as his divided and demoralised Conservative Party looks likely to lose power after 14 years.

“Now is the moment for Britain to choose its future,” Sunak said in an announcement that took many people who expected a fall election by surprise. He spoke on a day of good economic news, hoping to remind wavering voters of one relative success of his time in office.

But Sunak was drenched by heavy rain outside the prime minister’s residence, and his announcement was nearly drowned out by protesters blasting Things Can Only Get Better, a rival Labour campaign song from the Tony Blair era.

Sunak’s centre-right party has seen its support dwindle steadily. It has struggled to overcome a series of crises, including an economic slump, ethics scandals, and a revolving door of leaders in the past two years.

The centre-left Labour Party is strongly favoured to defeat Sunak’s party. Labour leader Keir Starmer said his party would bring stability.

“Together we can stop the chaos, we can turn the page, we can start to rebuild Britain and change our country,” Starmer said.

Bookies and pollsters rank Sunak as a long shot to stay in power. But he said he would “fight for every vote”.

Voters across the United Kingdom will choose all 650 members of the House of Commons for a term of up to five years. The party that commands a majority in the Commons, either alone or in coalition, will form the next government and its leader will be prime minister.

Starmer, a former chief prosecutor for England and Wales, is the current favourite. The party’s momentum has built since it dealt the Conservatives heavy losses in local elections earlier this month.

The Conservatives have also lost a series of special elections for seats in Parliament this year, and two of its lawmakers recently defected to Labour.