Amid defection in MP, Britain’s Rishi Sunak rules out elections in July
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London, United Kingdom (UK)
On the state-funded NHS, Sunak pointed to a decline in waiting times for patients seeking treatment and pointed to some of his other successes as Prime Minister. (Image: Reuters)
Sunak was asked during a ‘Sky News’ interview whether his repeated claims of a general election in the “second half of this year” could also mean July.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Sunday ruled out a general election in July amid a damaging defection by an MP from his Conservative Party to the opposition Labor Party, just days before the country holds local and mayoral elections on May 2.
Dan Poulter, a doctor and member of Parliament for Central Suffolk and North Ipswich, said he would switch his allegiance to the opposition benches before standing as an MP at the next election because he is now critical of the Tory government’s track record on the National Health Service. Cannot defend. (NHS).
Against the backdrop of this latest embarrassment, Sunak was asked during a ‘Sky News’ interview whether his repeated claims of a general election in the “second half of this year” could also mean July. “When it comes to the general election, I have been very clear about it many times, and again, I am not going to say anything more than what I have already said, I have been very clear about it,” Said Sunak was pressured five times at that time to rule out the possibility of an election in the peak summer month in Britain.
“You will try to draw whatever conclusions you want from what I say. I will always try to say the same thing. You should just listen to me, [the] That’s what I’ve been saying all year,” he replied. On the state-funded NHS, Sunak pointed to a decline in waiting times for patients seeking treatment and pointed to some of his other successes as Prime Minister, such as reducing inflation, increasing the defense budget and Passage of Rwanda’s Security Bill. through parliament to begin deporting illegal immigrants to the East African country from the end of this year.
“And when the elections come, there will be a clear choice because the Labor Party has tried to defeat our Rwanda bill because they do not believe in stopping the boats; His economic plan will raise people’s taxes. He hasn’t said he will invest more in our defence, and he certainly doesn’t agree with reforming our welfare system to support people into work,” Sunak said. However, he acknowledged that “local elections are always difficult for the incumbent parties” as the voting pattern on Thursday was widely seen as a harbinger of what could be expected from a general election – which can legally be called a general election. But it should happen by January 2025.
Meanwhile, some UK media reports suggest that the threat of a summer election – before the expected October/November deadline – was used by Downing Street as a tactic to prevent any internal party rebellion against Sunak’s leadership. is being used. Potentially devastating local election results this weekend. Most opinion polls are predicting a general election wipeout for the ruling Tories, so an early election would not be the preferred timing for most sitting Conservative MPs hoping to save their seats.