Rishi Sunak labelled 'squatter' after downplaying chance of spring general election

The Prime Minister suggested an election is more likely in the second-half of 2024.

Rishi Sunak has been labelled a “squatter” after downplaying the chance of an election in spring, as Sir Keir Starmer pledged to meet “fire with fire” in the battle for Downing Street.

The Prime Minister said on Thursday it was his “working assumption” that he would call a general election during the second half of the year, despite pressure from opposition parties.

The assertion sparked speculation that Mr Sunak was planning to call the election for October, with suggestions the Prime Minister would be unlikely to wait until mid-November when it would clash with the US polls.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak appears to have laughed off calls for an early election.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer accused Mr Sunak of “dithering and delaying”, while the Liberal Democrats claimed the PM had “bottled it” amid dire polling for the Tories.

Regardless of when the vote is, the comments, along with a press conference by the Labour leader, made clear the election battle had very much begun.

Mr Sunak dangled the prospect of future tax cuts to voters and attacked Sir Keir’s green proposals as the two leaders set out their stalls at the start of the election year. It comes with the Tories languishing in the polls, and Mr Sunak’s own approval ratings reaching their worst ever level.

The Prime Minister told broadcasters on a visit to a youth centre in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire: “So my working assumption is we’ll have a general election in the second half of this year and in the meantime I’ve got lots that I want to get on with.

“We want to do more because as we manage the economy responsibly, we can cut your taxes, give you and your family peace of mind, immediate relief from some of the challenges you’re facing and confidence that the future is going to be better for you and your children.

“That is going to be the single biggest difference between us and the Labour Party in the next election. I want to keep going, managing the economy well and cutting people’s taxes.

“But I also want to keep tackling illegal migration. So I’ve got lots to get on with and I’m determined to keep delivering for the British people.”

Mr Sunak attacked Labour’s £28 billion-a-year green energy investment plans, which are designed to bring down bills, drive growth and reduce reliance on overseas fuels.

The Prime Minister claimed it cannot be done “without putting up inflation, without putting up mortgage rates or without putting up all your taxes”.

“We are going to keep talking about it because ultimately it’s going to impact everyone in this country and we’re going to cut their taxes and make sure everyone knows that if they ever get a lefty, your taxes are going up,” he said.

Labour had claimed that a spring vote is the “worst kept secret in Parliament” in a possible ploy to claim Mr Sunak has bottled it if he goes longer. The Liberal Democrats have also been calling for Mr Sunak to hold the vote in May rather than trying to “cling on” to power for the rest of the year.

Waiting gives him more time to turn around the Tories’ dire polling, but also risks another summer of small boat crossings as Mr Sunak struggles to get the Rwanda policy off the ground.

The Conservative leader, who did not become Prime Minister through a general election, declined to rule out a May election categorically, instead repeating his intentions to go for later in the year. Mr Sunak has until January 28, 2025 to hold the election.

After giving a speech near Bristol, Sir Keir said he wanted the polls to open “as soon as possible”.

He told the BBC: “We’re ready for a general election. I think the country’s ready for a general election, [to] turn its back on this decline and usher in the hope and change a Labour government can bring.

"The Prime Minister is now hinting without setting a date that it might be later in the year. What’s he hiding? Why can’t he set a date?

"This squatting in Downing Street for months on end, dithering and delaying when the country wants change. The third Prime Minister they’ve had since 2019, neither this Prime Minister nor the one before have put themselves before the country. He’s never had a mandate for the country".

Sir Keir also hit out at Tory attacks as “misconceived” and acknowledged the scale of the plans could be reduced.

The Labour leader said that “if the money is from borrowing, which it will be, borrowing to invest, that the fiscal rules don’t allow it, then we will borrow less”.

He said that “in principle I do want to see lower taxes on working people, I want people to have more money in their pocket”.

But he stressed the “first lever that we will pull is the growth lever because in the end that’s the only way we’re going to get the money we need to fund our public services”.

In another possible dividing line, the Labour leader said he was “fundamentally opposed” to axing or reducing inheritance tax on the wealthy – a move being mooted by the Tories.

Other parties also accused the Tories of fearing an election. Liberal Democrat Leader Ed Davey said: “Rishi Sunak has bottled it and is running scared of a May general election.

“Squatter Sunak is holed up in Downing Street, desperately clinging on to power rather than facing the verdict of the British people. We need an election in spring, so that voters can finally get rid of this appalling and out-of-touch Conservative Government.”

Orkney and Shetland Lib Dem MP Alistair Carmichael said: “The only people who stand to benefit from a later election are the Conservatives themselves. The country needs a general election sooner rather than later. Yet again the Tories put their interest ahead of the country’s.

"The Tories face electoral oblivion, so it is no wonder they are running scared of the public. Voters will only see this as more cowardice from a party and a Prime Minister who have nothing left in the tank."

Green MP Caroline Lucas claimed the country needed an election immediately, and said the Prime Minister was scared of an electoral wipe-out.

Scottish Green co-leader Patrick Harvie added that a general election “can’t come soon enough”. He said: “Over the last 14 years of misrule, we’ve had five Tory prime ministers and a disastrous Brexit, and Scotland didn’t vote for any of them. If Rishi Sunak refuses to face the inevitable until the final weeks of the year, then he will look increasingly desperate.”

It comes as the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Rev Justin Welby, urged political leaders to treat each other as human beings as they enter the election year.

“Actually, we have to say ‘my opponent is never my enemy, my opponent is always my fellow human being. We disagree profoundly, we disagree on incredibly important things, but they’re human’,” he told the BBC.