Markus Andrews

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailNot another one! Rishi Sunak’s big election announcement was something of a washout as the prime minister swapped the £2.6 million Downing Street press briefing room for the Great British Outdoors. Standing outside No 10, Labour’s 1997 theme Things Can Only Get Better by D:Ream was blasted from Tory arch nemesis Steve Bray’s amplifier – sheltering under the dignity of an EU umbrella.As the first verse kicks in and the penny drops as to what is about to happen, Mr Sunak tries to raise his voice to boast of his inflation achievements.He said: “For some it may still be hard to look at your bank balance… but this is only the beginning.”Of course social media users leapt on the moment and with a general election, Euro 2024, Glastonbury and Love Island coming up, the memes are going to be in full flow this summer.Here are some of the best jokes, memes and quips so far.Conservative peer and former party chairwoman Baroness Warsi tweeted a photograph of a drenched Rishi Sunak, saying: “Drowned and out.“Not good look to kick off a #GeneralElection campaign.”The general election represents a chance to change the country for the better, Sir Keir Starmer said.Labour insiders are reportedly aghast the Conservatives allowed Rishi Sunak to announce the election in those conditions.Responding to the announcement of an election, Sir Keir Starmer said: “Tonight, the Prime Minister has finally announced the next General Election, a moment the country needs and has been waiting for and where, by the force of our democracy, power returns to you.“A chance to change for the better your future, your community, your country.“It will feel like a long campaign, I am sure of that, but no matter what else is said and done, that opportunity for change is what this election is about.” More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailRishi Sunak has admitted there will be no Rwanda deportation flights before the general election.The morning after calling a snap contest on 4 July, the prime minister said asylum seekers will be deported to the east African nation only “if I am re-elected”.Pressed repeatedly on whether any deportation flights would take off before voters go to the polls, Mr Sunak repeatedly said the scheme would only get up and running after the election.Rishi Sunak has promised to get Rwanda flights in the air by the second week of July More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailA senior Conservative MP has said he won’t cancel his holiday plans for his party’s general election campaign despite admitting he will likely lose his seat.Steve Baker, MP for Wycombe, said he would stick to his plans after admitting he was widely expected to lose his seat in July.Prime minister Rishi Sunak launched the Conservative Party’s general election campaign in London on Wednesday, with the country set to head to the polls on 4 July.Follow live updates hereWhen challenged by LBC if he would be putting his plans on hold, Mr Baker said: “I’m not going to announce any of my plans, but I can tell you I’m going to keep to my plans. Steve Baker said he would be sticking to his holiday plans despite admitting it was likely he would lose his seat in July More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailFollowing months of speculation, Rishi Sunak has called a snap general election which will take place on July 4.Speaking outside of Downing Street, the prime minister announced that King Charles had granted his request to dissolve Parliament and promised to “fight for every vote” in the coming weeks.In his speech, Mr Sunak reflected on his time in office, saying: “In the last five years our country has fought through the most challenging times since the Second World War.“As I stand here as your prime minister, I can’t help but reflect that my first proper introduction to you was just over four years ago. I stood behind one of the podiums upstairs in the building behind me.Responding to the news, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said “it’s time for change,” adding “by the force of our democracy, power returns to you. A chance to change for the better your future.”The next seven weeks will see fervent campaigning from all parties, as they vie for votes up and down the country.To cast your vote on July 4, there’s a few things you will need to be aware of. Here’s everything you need to know about voting in the next general election.How to register to voteRegistering to vote can be done online or with a paper form.In England and Northern Ireland you can register to vote from 16, while in Wales and Scotland it’s 14. However, you must be 18 on polling day to vote in a general election.The deadline to register to vote in the July 4 general election is June 18 at 11.59pm, the Electoral Commission has confirmed.You must be a British, Irish or qualifying Commonwealth citizen, and also be resident at an address in the UK or registered as an overseas voter.You will cast a single vote for the person that you want to represent your constituency as a Member of Parliament (MP). They will either represent a political party or be standing as an independent candidate.MPs are elected using the first past the post voting system – whoever gets the most votes, wins. How to apply for a postal voteIf you’ll be away from home or abroad during the general election, you can apply for a postal vote. This means you will complete your ballot paper remotely, and post it back to your polling station.You can apply for a postal vote on the government’s website. You must first be registered to vote.You should receive your ballot paper by post around three weeks before polling day. It must be completed and sent back to the polling station in time for them to receive it no later than 10pm on polling day, so it is advisable to return it as soon as possible after you receive it.If you are unable to do so, you are allowed to take your completed postal vote directly to your local polling station before this deadline. You can hand in your own and up to five other people’s. It is an offence for a political campaigner to hand yours in if they do not know you personally.How to apply for a proxy voteA proxy vote is when someone votes on your behalf at the polling station. Similar to a postal vote, a proxy vote is for someone who is not able to physically be at the polling station on polling day.However, it is only allowed under certain circumstances.These are: being away on polling day, being registered as an overseas voter, having a medical issue or disability, and not being able to vote in person due to work or military service.You must apply for a proxy vote by 5pm, six working days before the election.However, if you are unable to vote on polling day due to circumstances such as a medical emergency or losing your photo ID, you can apply for an emergency proxy vote. You will have until 5pm on polling day to apply.What about voter ID?Following the introduction of new election laws in 2023, the July general election will be the first ever where people will be required to present a form of identification to vote.Many standard forms of ID are valid, including passports and driver’s licences. However, there are some omissions such as veteran cards, or travel passes for younger people.If you don’t possess an accepted form of ID, you can apply for a Voter Authority Certificate from the government. They are free and do not expire, but must be ordered with time to arrive before the election date.Read our guide to find out more about the new voter ID laws. More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster email Britain’s political party leaders were crisscrossing the country on Thursday, the first day of a six-week election campaign in which voters will decide whether to end the governing Conservatives’ 14 years in power.Prime Minister Rishi Sunak gambled on an earlier-than-expected July 4 election, arguing his party can give the country security in turbulent times. The main opposition Labour Party says it will bring much-needed change after years of political and economic turmoil under the Tories.“We will stop the chaos,” said Labour leader Keir Starmer, the current favorite to be Britain’s next prime minister. He said that if the Conservatives “get another five years, they will feel entitled to carry on exactly as they are. Nothing will change.”Sunak took many of his own lawmakers by surprise when he called the election Wednesday, in an ill-starred televised announcement outside 10 Downing St. that saw him drenched with rain and drowned out by protesters blasting a Labour campaign song.Most had expected a fall election after Sunak said repeatedly that the vote would be in the second half of the year. July 4 fits that bill, barely.Sunak, who plans to visiting England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland in the next 48 hours, said Thursday that the election call showed “I’m prepared to take bold action.”“Uncertain times demand bold action in order to deliver security,” he told the BBC. “That’s what I will bring.”Others called the decision risky at best, foolish at worst.Elections in the U.K. have to be held no more than five years apart, but the prime minister can choose the timing within that period. Sunak, 44, had until December to name the date.Sunak fired the starting pistol on the day official figures showed U.K. inflation falling to 2.3%, allowing Sunak he had met a key pledge of getting rising prices under control. Inflation peaked at more than 11% in late 2022.Sunak’s center-right party has been in power since 2010, and last won an election in December 2019. Since then 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.Sunak took office in October 2022 following the disastrous tenure of Liz Truss, who lasted only 49 days after her economic policies rocked financial markets. Truss had been chosen by party members after Boris Johnson was ousted over a series of ethics scandals.The election will be held against the backdrop of a cost-of-living crisis and deep divisions over how to deal with migrants and asylum seekers making risky English Channel crossings from Europe.Starmer, a former chief prosecutor for England and Wales, is the current favorite. He has dragged the party towards the political center ground since being elected leader in 2020 to replace Jeremy Corbyn, a staunch socialist who led Labour to two election defeats.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.Many unknowns stand between either main party and a majority of seats in Parliament, including the different political landscape in Scotland, where the pro-independence Scottish National Party has dominated for years. The SNP is undergoing its own woes, and Labour hopes for a resurgence.The centrist Liberal Democrats also sometimes challenge Labour but mostly pose a threat to the Conservatives in south and southwest England.The hard-right Reform party — formerly the Brexit Party of Nigel Farage — could pose a threat to the Conservatives in parts of England’s former industrial heartland that the Conservatives won, often for the first time, in 2019. More