Rishi Sunak doesn’t rule out July poll amid defection by MP

London, April 28

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Sunday refused to categorically rule out a July general election amid a damaging defection by one of his Conservative Party MPs to the Opposition Labour Party, just days before local and mayoral elections in the country on May 2.

Dan Poulter, a doctor and Central Suffolk and North Ipswich MP, said he would switch his allegiance to Opposition benches before standing down as a parliamentarian at the next election because he could no longer defend the Tory government’s track record on the National Health Service (NHS).

Against the backdrop of this latest embarrassment, Sunak was asked during a ‘Sky News’ interview that his repeated assertion of a general election in the “second half of this year” could also mean July.

“When it comes to a general election, I’ve been very clear about that multiple times, and again, I’m not going to say anything more than I’ve already said, I’ve been very clear about that,” said Sunak, who was then pressed five times to rule out an election during what would be a peak summer month for the UK.

“You’re going to try and draw whatever conclusion you want from what I say. I’m going to always try and say the same thing. You should just listen to what I said, [the] same thing I’ve said all year,” he replied.