PLAN FOR POLLING
The building blocks for Rishi Sunak’s General Election announcement were all there – they’d been planning it for weeks
Watch Harry Cole and Kate Ferguson's analysis of events in the video player above
ALL the signs that Rishi Sunak was gearing up to declare a General Election date were there - with the PM quietly planning for weeks.
Sun Politics Editor Harry Cole and Sun on Sunday Political Editor Kate Ferguson broke down the PM's shock announcement in a Never Mind the Ballots election special.
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At 5pm today, Sunak announced he'll take on Sir Keir Starmer's Labour Party on July 4 for a long-awaited election showdown.
Drowned out by protestors blasting Blairite anthem, D:Ream's Things Can Only Get Better, the PM declared: "Earlier today, I spoke with His Majesty the King to request the dissolution of Parliament.
"The King has granted this request, and we will have a general election on July 4."
And the signs were there months before.
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In an emergency Never Mind the Ballots special, our experts told how the buildings blocks for the snap election had been carefully laid.
Harry said: “I suppose, if you were going to do a surprise election, you would be telling your opponents in the press that you would be going in October, but you can kind of see the building blocks were there, weren't they?”
He added: “I mean, despite the absolute tonking they got in the local elections. But there was a big announcement on defence spending.
“You had a big announcement on Rwanda - they got that bill through.
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“Then there was a lot of stuff on benefits. You can see the manifesto blocks taking shape. When do you think Rishi Sunak decided, you know what - sod it, let’s do it."
Kate said: “I think that they've been in talks. Him and a small number of people inside Number 10 have been in talks with this seriously for a few weeks.
Rishi Sunak announces July 4th general election
“It was an option that they've kind of ramped up, but I don't think they actually decide to pull the trigger on this for sure until incredibly recently.
“You can see that building. I mean, you can't see the building blocks of the announcements, you can see stuff that was going their way, like the 2.5 per cent on defence, the inflation figures.”
Mr Sunak will take on Labour Party in what is set to be a historic fight for the keys to No10, centred on the economy and immigration.
Speaking from Downing St before hordes of cameras in the pouring rain, Mr Sunak said: "The last five years have been the most challenging times since the Second World War.
"Now I cannot and will not claim that we have got everything right. No government should.
"But I am proud of what we have achieved together the bold actions we have taken and I'm confident about what we can do in the future.
"Now is the moment to choose to decide whether we want to build on the progress we have made, or risk going back to square one with no plan and no certainty.
"Because of our collective sacrifice and your hard work, we have reached two major milestones in delivering that stability, showing that when we work together, anything is possible.
Why is Rishi Sunak calling a general election now?
By Kate Ferguson, Sun on Sunday Political Editor
So, why has the PM suddenly decided to roll the dice and call a summer election?
The first thing to point out is that No10 was not united on the decision.
One camp, led by the Tory Party’s chief strategist Isaac Levido, had urged the PM to “go long” and wait until October or November to hold an election.
This would give them more time to show the economy is improving and let the Bank of England cut interest rates, they argued.
This in turn would let banks cut mortgage rates, which are currently crippling family budgets.
Only then would people start to feel financially better off.
But another team, led by the PM’s Political Secretary James Forsyth, have been pushing for a summer election.
Now, it is important to note that James is Rishi’s best mate.
They have known each other since school, are godparents to each other's kids, and Rishi was best man at James’ wedding.
They are more than just political colleagues. They are besties.
Anyway, James’ camp reckons Rishi can now finally show he is achieving all five of the priorities he set out when he became PM.
These are - halve inflation, get the economy growing, get debt falling, cut NHS waiting lists and pass new laws to stop the boats.
On the economy, the PM will point out that growth is up, wages are rising and inflation is down to 2.3 per cent - almost bang on target.
NHS waiting lists also dropped for the fourth month in a row, according to official figures out last month.
And on stopping the boats, the PM has managed to pass laws enacting his flagship Rwanda deportation plan.
The thinking is - strike while the iron is hot and you can put five big ticks by your promises.
But there is also grim news for No10 that has nudged them into calling a summer election.
Their flagship Rwanda Bill has passed parliament and is now law. But hopes they will get a flight off the ground this year are fading fast.
Northern Ireland's HIgh Court ruled that the plan breached human rights laws and therefore should not apply in NI.
This paved the way for English laws to also reject it.
Meanwhile, small boat crossings are going up again.
A whole summer of damaging headlines showing boats on the shores of Dover will only feed a sense that No10 does not have a grip.
Rishi is famously straight laced.
He doesn't drink, he has never taken drugs, and he is not a gambler.
But he has staked it all on a July 4 election.
Will he come up trumps? Or will he lose it all?
";Our economy is now growing faster than anyone predicted, outpacing Germany, France and the United States.
";And this morning it was confirmed that inflation is back to normal."
The PM added: "Earlier today, I spoke with His Majesty the King to request the dissolution of Parliament.
"The King has granted this request, and we will have a general election on July 4. This election will take place at a time when the world is more dangerous than it has been since the end of the Cold War."
Issuing a stark warning to millions of voters, Mr Sunak said: "On July 5, either Keir Starmer or I will be Prime Minister.
"He has shown time and time again, that he will take the easy way out and do anything to get power.
"If he was happy to abandon all the promises he made to become leader leader once he got the job, how can you know that he won't do exactly the same thing if he were to become prime minister?"
Responding to Mr Sunak with his own speech, a defiant Sir Keir declared: "It's time for change."
He added: "Britain is a great and proud country. But after 14 years under the Tories, nothing seems to work anymore.
"Public services crumbling, ambulances that don't come, families weighed down by higher mortgage rates, antisocial behaviour on our high streets. The list goes on and on.
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"Political chaos feeding decline, feeding chaos, feeding decline. The answer is not five more years of the Tories. They have failed.
"Give the Tories five more years and things will only get worse. Britain deserves better than that."
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