Rishi Sunak dodged on frenzied speculation that he could pull the trigger on a snap election today.
The Prime Minister insisted that the ballot will happen in the ‘second half of the year’ as he was grilled at PMQs.
The election has been widely expected towards the end of the year, with the government hoping the economy will turn round.
However, there has been intense chatter today that Mr Sunak could spring a bold surprise, despite Labour being miles ahead in the polls.
Senior sources claimed briefing was coming from Labour, but refused explicitly to rule out the PM making an announcement later today. That would give a potential date of July 4, although .
Mr Sunak is due to gather his Cabinet after PMQs this afternoon, with the meeting having been delayed from yesterday as a result of his trip to Vienna.
The drama is threatening to set the Tory tinderbox ablaze, with MPs telling that Mr Sunak has a ‘death wish’ and the Parliamentary party will go ‘nuts’ if he tries to call an election.
There are claims that 1922 chair Graham Brady is now accepting texts voicing no confidence in the leader.
One former Cabinet minister said: ‘There will be queues outside Graham Brady’s door.’
Snap election rumours swept Westminster with speculation Rishi Sunak could pull the trigger as early as today
There is intense chatter this morning that Mr Sunak could spring a bold surprise, despite Labour being miles ahead in the polls
The rumours gathered pace after Mr Sunak hailed a ‘major milestone’ with inflation tumbling to the lowest level in nearly three years.
BBC Political Editor Chris Mason fuelled the speculation by saying he was ‘twitchy’ about the election timing.
SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn said in the Commons: ‘Speculation is rife, so I think the public deserve a clear answer to a simple question. Does the Prime Minister intend to call a summer general election or is he feart?’
Mr Sunak replied: ‘There is, Mr Speaker, spoiler alert, there is going to be a general election in the second half of this year.
‘At that moment, the British people will in fact see the truth about the honourable gentleman opposite me, because that will be the choice at the next election Mr Speaker, a party that is not able to say to the country what they would do, a party that would put at risk our hard-earned economic stability, or the Conservatives that are delivering a secure future for our United Kingdom.’
The headline CPI rate slid from 3.2 per cent in March to 2.3 per cent last month – near the Bank of England’s 2 per cent target.
The PM said the figures showed that his plan is working and ‘brighter days are ahead’.
However, the drop, driven largely by easing energy prices, was less than the 2.1 per cent analysts had pencilled in – sparking concerns that the Bank of England might delay interest rate cuts.
Core inflation, another key factor for Threadneedle Street as it mulls whether to ease the pain on mortgage-payers in June, also remained stubbornly high.
Meanwhile, separate official figures had public sector borrowing above estimates, raising questions about whether Chancellor Jeremy Hunt will have room to cut taxes before the election.
The latest Savanta poll gave Labour a 17-point lead over the Tories. According to Electoral Calculus, those numbers would produce a 236 majority for Keir Starmer.
He would have 443 MPs, while the Conservatives would have just 124. That is compared to the 376 returned in Boris Johnson’s 2019 landslide.
The frenzy at Westminster came after more signs of infighting in the top ranks of the government, with a minister slamming Mr Sunak for hogging the limelight despite slumping popularity.
Johnny Mercer vented his frustrations in a bombshell memo written on his laptop, which was in full view of fellow train passengers as he travelled to London from Exeter.
He raged that No10 officials must stop ‘placating’ Mr Sunak and giving airtime to ‘average’ colleagues.
Mr Mercer demanded that more popular Cabinet ministers like Penny Mordaunt and Kemi Badenoch are instead given more media appearances.
Images of Mr Mercer’s laptop screen were handed to The Times after being photographed by a passenger in the same carriage on 6 May – four days after the local elections.
But, as well as a focus on Mr Mercer’s explosive words, there has also been a backlash within Tory ranks about the Plymouth Moor View MP’s decision to travel bare foot on public transport.
Johnny Mercer vented his frustrations in a bombshell memo written on his laptop, which was in full view of fellow train passengers as he travelled to London from Exeter
The veterans’ affairs minister blasted Downing Street aides for allowing Rishi Sunak to hog the limelight and acting as if the PM is still as popular as he was when he first took office
Images of Mr Mercer’s laptop screen were handed to The Times after being photographed by a passenger in the same carriage on 6 May – four days after the local elections
In his memo, the minister for veterans’ affairs wrote: ‘Political communication seems haphazard, un-themed and loose. We have average performers during important slots.
‘How many people did (Transport Secretary Mark) Harper win over for us this weekend?
‘Team in No 10 operating as though the PM is as popular in the polls as he was two years ago.
‘It appears to be all about placating him/managing him/promoting him on social media.
‘We are only going to get through this as a team. There are good, capable senior colleagues around the Cabinet table who people clearly like, who should see more air time and be more prominent.’
Polls of Conservative members showing that Business Secretary Ms Badenoch and Commons Leader Ms Mordaunt are more popular than Mr Sunak ‘should not be ignored’, Mr Mercer said.
Both Ms Badenoch and Ms Mordaunt are seen as potential Tory leadership contenders if the party loses the general election.
Mr Mercer, who has been an outspoken backer of Mr Sunak, also wrote that too many special advisers were ‘overpromoted and underskilled’ and had ‘poor political judgments’.
He said that despite his access to No 10 and the Prime Minister, ‘I don’t feel part of the team’.
His efforts to persuade No 10 to allow veterans to use their IDs at polling stations had been blocked by special advisers, he said, adding: ‘Feels like even I cannot have any impact on the grid/government comms.’