Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has called for a UK general election to be held on Thursday, 4 July.

Although it was widely anticipated that Sunak would wait until the autumn to call the election, which is not legally required until January 2025, he made a surprising decision to schedule the first July election since 1945.

The election will see the Conservatives vying for a fifth consecutive term in office against Sir Keir Starmer's Labour Party, which currently leads in opinion polls.

In a statement from Downing Street, Sunak highlighted the recent decline in inflation as evidence of his administration delivering "hard-earned economic stability." This announcement followed the news that inflation for the year ending in April fell to 2.3%, the lowest annual rate in nearly three years.

Labour has affirmed its readiness for a summer election, with Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves responding with "bring it on." Photo by Simon Dawson / No 10 Downing Street, Wikimedia commons.