British PM Rishi Sunak declares July 4 as UK general election date
London, May 22: British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Wednesday ended frenzied speculation by announcing that the country's general election will be held on July 4.
In an address from the lectern on the steps of 10 Downing Street on a rainy London evening, the country's first Prime Minister of Indian heritage confirmed a summer poll in six weeks’ time and that the Parliament would soon be dissolved after he formally informed King Charles III of the election timeline.
The 44-year-old leader laid out his record in office in his pitch to the British electorate, who will soon give their verdict at the ballot box.
"I will do everything in my power to provide you with the strongest possible protection I can. That is my promise to you… now is the moment for Britain to choose its future,” he said.
It comes as the governing Conservative Party is forecast for a general election drubbing by most opinion polls, with the Opposition Labour Party holding a firm lead after a series of recent byelection and local election victories.
A Labour spokesperson said the party is "fully ready to go whenever" and that the country is "crying out for a general election".
Earlier, speculation around a UK general election being around the corner, possibly in early July, went on overdrive as Sunak chaired a Cabinet meeting at 10 Downing Street for which ministers rather unusually cut short foreign visits and changed their plans to ensure they can attend.
Sunak stuck to his stance of a general election in the “second half of this year” when asked in the House of Commons during his weekly Prime Minister’s Questions (PMQs). However, UK Defence Secretary Grant Shapps delayed his flight to attend a North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) meeting and Foreign Secretary David Cameron cut short his visit to Albania in order to be in London for the Cabinet meeting was soon directly connected with the prospect of an election date announcement in the offing.
“As I have said repeatedly, there is — spoiler alert — going to be a general election in the second half of this year,” Sunak told MPs in the Commons.
“At that moment, the British people will in fact see the truth… it will be a party [Labour] that is not able to say to the country what it would do, a party that would put at risk our hard-earned economic stability, or the Conservatives who are delivering a secure future for our United Kingdom,” he said.
The election date announcement came on the day of some good news on the UK economy with inflation figures dropping to 2.3 per cent, the lowest in three years and in line with Sunak’s pledge to cut inflation by more than half from the 11 per cent mark when he took charge in October 2022.
“Brighter days are ahead, but only if we stick to the plan to improve economic security and opportunity for everyone," he said in response to the welcome statistics.
It added further credence to the speculation around an earlier than expected election, which was previously expected in October or November. It transpired that Sunak had in fact called the Cabinet meeting to inform his ministers that he had spoken to the King to dissolve Parliament for a general election on the first Thursday of July – with elections in the UK traditionally held on Thursdays.
The repeal of the Fixed-term Parliaments Act in 2022 restored the ability of British prime ministers to set election dates. However, by law a general election has to take place at least every five years, which made January 2025 the outermost deadline for Sunak to go to the ballot box.
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2nd WT20I: Shafali, spin trio do star turns in India''s seven-wicket win
Visakhapatnam (PTI): Shafali Verma hit a blistering unbeaten 69 as India made short work of a paltry target to outclass Sri Lanka by seven wickets in the second Women’s T20 International here on Tuesday.
India now lead the five-match series 2-0 after another one-sided victory, having restricted Sri Lanka to a modest 128 for 9 through a collective display of disciplined bowling from the spin trio of seasoned Sneh Rana, ably complemented by young spinners Vaishnavi Sharma and Shree Charani.
During the chase, vice-captain Smriti Mandhana (14) fell cheaply but Shafali, enjoying new found confidence after a stellar show in the World Cup final, sent the bowlers on a leather-hunt during her 34-ball knock, winning it for her team in just 11.5 overs.
The hosts have now completed back-to-back successful chases within 15 overs which speaks volumes about the unit's sky-high confidence.
Shafali's innings had 11 punchy boundaries apart from a maximum.
The floodgates opened when left-arm spinner Inoka Ranaweera bowled a few flighted deliveries and Shafali would step out everytime to hit her over extra cover. Her footwork against slow bowlers was immaculate whether stepping out to loft the ball or rocking back to punch or pull.
Seeing her confidence, the newly appointed Delhi Capitals skipper Jemimah Rodrigues (26 off 15 balls) also attacked as the duo added 58 runs in just 4.3 overs.
By the time Rodrigues was out trying to hit one six too many, the match as a contest was over. Shafali completed her half-century off just 27 balls and completed the formalities in a jiffy.
Earlier, off-spinner Rana, who got a look-in after Deepti Sharma was ruled out due to fever, showed her utility keeping the Lankan batters under tight leash with figures of 1 for 11 in 4 overs, including a maiden which certainly is a rarity in T20 cricket.
Charani, who made an impression during India's ODI World Cup triumph, took 2 for 23 in her quota of overs, while Vaishnavi after an impressive debut in the opening encounter, finished with 2 for 32, not letting the Islanders get easy runs in her second spell.
The last six wickets fell for just 24 runs, but what stood out during India’s bowling effort was their superb ground fielding. After a patchy show in the previous game, the improved sharpness in the field resulted in three run-outs.
Sri Lankan skipper Chamari Athapaththu (31 off 24 balls) looked in good nick as she deposited length deliveries from seamers Kranti Gaud and Arundhati Reddy over the ropes but it was Rana, who kept her quiet by repeatedly pitching on good length.
Unable to manoeuvre the strike and with the big hits suddenly drying up, Athapaththu chanced her arm at another delivery in which Rana had shortened the length slightly.
Not having transferred the weight into the lofted shot, Athapaththu's hoick was pouched cleanly by Amanjot Kaur at long-off.
This was after Athapaththu's opening partner Vishmi Gunaratne (1) had offered a simple return catch to Gaud.
Hasini Perera (22 off 28 balls) and Harshitha Samarawickrama (33 off 32 balls) did stitch a stand of 44 but they could never set the tempo against the Indian spin troika.
Once Hasini offered a tame return catch off a Charani full-toss, Sri Lankans never recovered and lost wickets in a heap towards the end.
