UK Politics

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster email Some positive economic figures and an atypical silence from government set Britain’s political rumor mill alight Wednesday with speculation that an election may be imminent.Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s office declined to quash the rumors and refused “to rule anything in or out” after reports that the prime minister planned to announce the U.K.’s long awaited election for the summer.Britain must hold a national election by January 2025, and Sunak has repeatedly said it will be in the back end of 2024.He stuck to that line Wednesday, answering a lawmaker’s question about whether there would be a summer vote: “Spoiler alert: There is going to be a general election in the second half of this year.”That could mean any time from July 1. Since British elections are usually held on Thursday, speculation has centered on July 4 as a potential date.Speculation mounted when Sunak called a Cabinet meeting for Wednesday afternoon – rather than the usual Tuesday – and Foreign Secretary David Cameron flew back early from a trip to Albania to attend.British elections must be held at least every five years, but the timing is the prime minister’s choice. If Sunak were to announce one, he’d make a courtesy call on King Charles III, then set a date for the dissolution of Parliament, the formal end of its term. An election would be held 25 working days later.Sunak’s Conservative Party has been in office since 2010, and polls suggest it lags well behind the center-left opposition Labour Party.He is the third Conservative prime minister since the last election in 2019. He took office through party selection in October 2022 after the turbulent terms of Boris Johnson – felled by ethics scandals – and Liz Truss, who caused economic turmoil with unfunded tax cuts.Sunak managed to steady the economy, but without boosting the Conservatives’ popularity with the public.He may take heart from figures released Wednesday showing inflation in the U.K. fell sharply to 2.3%, its lowest level in nearly three years on the back of big declines in domestic bills.The drop in April marks the greatest progress to date on five pledges Sunak made in January 2023, including halving inflation, which had climbed to above 11% at the end of 2022. Sunak hailed the figure as a sign his economic plan was working.Labour said “the country is crying out for a general election so would urge the prime minister to get on with it.” More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailRishi Sunak has refused to rule out a snap general election as his government is buoyed by a positive downturn in the rate of inflation.The prime minister said the fall in inflation, from 3.2 per cent to 2.3, shows there are “brighter days” ahead for the UK. This figure is the closest to the Bank of England’s 2 per cent inflation target since the prime minister took office in late 2022.Speculation is now rife in Westminster that Mr Sunak may call a snap general election soon, bolstered by the positive economic turn.So far, the prime minister has resisted calls to call an election, despite constant pressure from the Labour Party to do so.However, Mr Sunak has previously promised that the country would go to the polls in the second half of this year.It is likely the prime minister has been waiting for the opportune time to call an election, as his party lags behind in the polls. Boosted by economic good fortune, the time may now be soon.Below, The Independent looks at when a general election might be.The prime minister has been urged to call an election date for months More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailWatch live from Downing Street on Wednesday 22 May amid rumours of a possible general election announcement.Rishi Sunak has been urged to “get on with it” and call a vote as he fuelled speculation that he could have his eye on a summer polling day.At Prime Minister’s Questions, the Conservative Party leader refused to rule out a summer election as he repeated his mantra that it will happen in the second half of the year – which could be as early as July.Rumours about an imminent announcement swirled amid some rare welcome news for Mr Sunak, as official figures showed inflation slowed to 2.3 per cent in April, the lowest level since July 2021.The rumour mill was stoked further as it emerged defence secretary Grant Shapps delayed a trip to the Baltic states by a few hours and foreign secretary David Cameron cut short a visit to Albania so they could attend a Cabinet meeting on Wednesday afternoon.Downing Street did nothing to quell the speculation or some claims that Mr Sunak could instead announce a reshuffle of his top team, with questions over chancellor Jeremy Hunt’s political fate.The cabinet meeting is due to take place at around 4pm. More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailChina is providing Russia with lethal aid for use in its war against Ukraine, Grant Shapps has warned.The defence secretary suggested that British and US intelligence contradicts Beijing’s previous attempts to present itself as a moderating influence on Moscow and President Xi’s government is instead helping to arm Russia.Mr Shapps used a speech at the London Defence Conference to reveal China’s collaboration as he argued Nato needs to “wake up” and bolster defence spending alliance-wide.This follows the UK government committing to 2.5 percent of GDP by 2030. However, many Nato allies still do not meet the 2 percent minimum threshold.Mr Shapps said: “Today I can reveal that we have evidence that Russia and China are collaborating on combat equipment for use in Ukraine.”Defence Secretary Grant Shapps said lethal aid is flying from China to Russia (PA) More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster email The parties that agreed to form a Dutch coalition dominated by the far right are struggling to find a prime minister and warned Wednesday that the search might leave the Netherlands without a fully functional government for months. Anti-Islam lawmaker Geert Wilders, who convincingly won the November election, told legislators it might take until after the summer to cobble together a technocrat government. He reiterated that he would not become prime minister as part of the outline coalition deal.The initial candidate for prime minister that Wilders had in mind withdrew early this week following reported allegations of his involvement in medical patent fraud.“It could take one or two months,” or even up to a key parliamentary meeting in September, he said. Wilders has been a divisive figure in Dutch politics for the past two decades and his appointment as prime minister would be seen as a step too far. “No one had predicted this would work,” Wilders said about the coalition. “And I assure you that the government team, including the prime minister, will be presented. We will naturally make that work too.”Wilders was instrumental in building a coalition with outgoing Prime Minister Mark Rutte’s center-right People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy, the populist Farmer Citizen Movement and the new centrist New Social Contract party. With plans to enforce the most restrictive asylum policy in the history of the Netherlands, Wilders has pushed a Dutch coalition far to the right and obscured the traditional view of the country as an open, tolerant society. The coalition plan has also raised questions about the next government’s climate commitments that are enshrined in European Union policies. The Farmer Citizen Movement has made sure the deal includes soothing language and concessions to farmers who have choked roads with tractors during disruptive protests.Asylum and climate could quickly set up bruising battles with EU headquarters in Brussels, which oversees how policies are implemented in member states, and dent the nation’s stature as a pillar of the 27-nation bloc, which Rutte had carefully nurtured during his nearly 13 years in power.Rutte remains in office in a caretaker capacity and is seen as a strong candidate to become the next NATO secretary general this year.His party, however, risks being expelled from the liberal Renew bloc in the European Parliament because of its alliance with Wilders. The Renew bloc said it would not accept coalitions with the extreme right. ____Casert reported from Brussels More

Craig Mackinlay thanked his family and NHS staff in an emotional speech as he returned to parliament following his battle with sepsis.The Tory MP underwent a quadruple amputation in December 2023, losing his arms and his legs.He appeared in the House of Commons wearing prosthetics on Wednesday 22 May.“In the public gallery are many of the staff from the NHS who took me from where I was – close to death – to where I am today,” Mr Mackinlay said, as MPs applauded their efforts.“Thank you for that.”Mr Mackinlay went on to ask the government to “ensure we embed recognition of early signs of sepsis” to “stop somebody ending up like this”. More

SNP MP Alison Thewliss read out a hate message she received as she called on Rishi Sunak to ban misogynists from entering the UK.Speaking at Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday (22 May), the Glasgow Central MP said: “In the wee small hours of Saturday morning I received an email, and I apologise for my language, calling me ‘a f****** parasite’, ‘a rat’ and ‘a piece of s***.”Ms Thewliss added: “Can I ask the prime minister, who has spoken about banning hate preachers from entering the UK, if he’ll extend this to misogynists?”Mr Sunak replied: “Those who seek to divide us undermine our values and indeed intimidate and threaten others, have no place in our society.” More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailWatch as Rishi Sunak faces Sir Keir Starmer at Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday 22 May.Mr Sunak has declared UK inflation is “back to normal” in a “major milestone” for the country, as it hit its lowest level in nearly three years despite falling by less than economists were expecting. Consumer Prices Index (CPI) inflation slowed to 2.3 per cebt in April, down from 3.2 per cent in March, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).It is the lowest level since July 2021 when inflation was recorded at 2 per cent – the Bank of England’s target level.But the decline was smaller than expected as economists had predicted CPI would fall to 2.1 per cent in April, within a whisker of the Bank’s target.Speaking in Downing Street, the prime minister said the fall in inflation is a “major milestone”, but he admitted there is “more work to do”.“That is an important moment for our country, for the economy, and shows that our plan is working,” Mr Sunak said. More