(22 May 2024)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
London, U.K. – 22 May 2024
1. SOUNDBITE (English) Jill Lawless, The Associated Press:
"Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has answered the question that everyone in Britain has been asking: when is the next general election? We knew it had to be this year and he has long said it would be in the second half of this year. Today, he announced that is literally just about true. It would be on the 4th of July, about six weeks from today. Parliament will be dissolved. That is it’ll break up in about a week’s time, and there will be a five week election campaign. Rishi Sunak is starting from a position of being very much the underdog, even though the Conservative Party has been in office for 14 years, only because they’ve been in office for 14 years. Labour party under Keir Starmer is a strong favourite to win the election, as things stand right now, although a lot can change in six weeks. Rishi Sunak announced the election with one of those great British political set pieces, the statement in Downing Street behind a special lectern with a crowd of journalists on national television. Unfortunately for him, it was also pouring rain. So as he spoke he got progressively wetter and wetter. He was also all but drowned out by a protest at the end of the street by protesters playing the song ‘Things can Only Get Better,’ which some people might remember as a Labour Party anthem from the 1997 general election, which elected Labour Prime Minister Tony Blair in a landslide. As for what the election campaign is going to look like, we got some hints from Rishi Sunak. He framed it very much as a choice about security. He talked about his record in stabilising the economy and bringing down inflation and saving people’s jobs during the pandemic. And he said it will be a choice about who people think is best to make them secure and build a strong future for the country. He suggested that’s him and not Labour under Keir Starmer. But the voters will get to decide on July the 4th."
STORYLINE:
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Wednesday set July 4 as the date for a national election that will determine who governs the U.K., choosing a day of good economic news to urge voters to give his governing Conservatives another chance.
“Now is the moment for Britain to choose its future,” Sunak said as he stood in heavy rain outside the prime minister’s residence.
Sunak’s center-right party has seen its support dwindle steadily after 14 years in power. 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.
The center-left Labour Party is strongly favoured to defeat Sunak’s party.
The prime minister’s announcement was nearly drowned out by protesters blasting “Things Can Only Get Better,” a Labour campaign song from the Tony Blair era.
Bookies and pollsters rank Sunak as a long shot to stay in power. But he said he would “fight for every vote.”
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