Rishi
Sunak
has
called
a
General
Election
for
July
4,
saying
in
a
speech
the
poll
was
“the
moment
for
Britain
to
choose
its
future”.
Yesterday
commentators
suggested
the
prime
minister
has
gambled
that
improved
inflation
figures
and
a
recovering
economy
will
help
him
overturn
Labour’s
20-point
opinion
poll
lead.
In
a
sign
that
security
and
the
economy
will
be
key
battlegrounds,
Mr
Sunak
said:
“This
election
will
take
place
at
time
when
the
world
is
more
dangerous
than
it
has
been
since
the
end
of
the
Cold
War.”
The
“uncertain
times”
call
for
a
“clear
plan”,
he
said.
A
July
election
is
earlier
than
many
in
Westminster
had
expected,
with
a
contest
in
October
or
November
widely
thought
to
have
been
more
likely.
Mr
Sunak’s
announcement
came
after
the
Office
for
National
Statistics
said
Consumer
Prices
Index
(CPI)
inflation
slowed
to
2.3%
in
April,
down
from
3.2%
in
March.
He
said
that
was
a
“major
milestone”
for
the
country,
with
inflation
now
“back
to
normal”
levels.
One
reason
for
delaying
might
have
been
to
allow
Chancellor
Jeremy
Hunt
to
deliver
another
tax-cutting
financial
statement
in
the
lead-up
to
the
vote,
but
official
figures
revealed
borrowing
for
April
overshot
forecasts,
hitting
£20.5
billion,
suggesting
he
would
have
had
limited
scope
for
pre-election
giveaways.
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