general elections will take place on July 4, announces Prime Minister Rishi Sunak

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced on Wednesday May 22 that general elections would be held on July 4. “Earlier today I spoke with His Majesty the King to request the dissolution of Parliament”declared the 44-year-old Conservative leader, who spoke in the rain from the steps of 10 Downing Street. “The king has granted this request and legislative elections will be held on July 4.”

Labor is the big favorite to dislodge the Conservatives, who have been in power in the United Kingdom for fourteen years. The polls give Labour, positioned on the centre-left, around 45% of voting intentions, far ahead of the Conservatives (Tories), relegated to between 20% and 25%, and the anti-immigration and anti-climate policy party Reform UK (12%).

With a simple first-past-the-post voting system in the UK’s 650 constituencies, such results would translate into a large majority for Labour. For the Conservatives, whom Boris Johnson led to a historic victory in 2019, the predictions are cataclysmic. More than 60 Conservative MPs out of 344 have already given up on running, including party heavyweights.