UK PM Rishi Sunak calls surprise election on July 4

London [UK], May 22 : UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has called for a surprise general election on July 4 in a statement outside Downing Street on Wednesday.

In a post on X, Rishi Sunak said, These uncertain times call for a clear plan and bold action to chart a course to a secure future."

"You must choose in this election who has that plan and who is prepared to take that bold action to secure a better future for our country and our children," he added.

Sunak was required to hold a vote by January 2025 and had long avoided specifying his plans. However, a drop in inflation rates announced earlier Wednesday set the stage for his announcement.

This decision begins a six-week campaign widely expected to end in the fall of Sunak's Conservative government.

The move will be welcomed by the buoyant opposition Labour Party, led by Keir Starmer, which is soaring in opinion polls and has sought to present itself as a reformed and moderate group ready for power.

Sunak will hope that a shrewd campaign could result in spectacular upset for Labour and extend a period of Tory rule that began in 2010 and has overseen austerity economics, Brexit, the COVID-19 pandemic and a cost of living crisis.

Earlier, UK Parliament passed the contentious bill, allowing the government to send asylum seekers to Rwanda for their claims to be considered by the East African nation, according to CNN.

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's efforts to pass the bill have been stuck between opposition in the Houses of Parliament and challenges in the British courts, as lawmakers and activists have sought to scupper the legislation on human rights grounds.

Moreover, Sunak's inability to implement the policy has caused considerable embarrassment, as the British government has sent millions of pounds to Rwanda to fund a scheme that has failed to deliver any results to date, CNN reported.

It has been designed to prevent irregular migration into the UK, particularly people travelling on illegal and dangerous small boats from France, arranged by criminal gangs.

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