![]British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak delivers a speech outside Number 10 Downing Street, in London, Britain, May 22, 2024. REUTERS/Toby Melville Purchase Licensing Rights](https://static.srpcdigital.com/styles/1037xauto/public/2024-05/656369_0.png)
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak called a national election on Wednesday for July 4, saying Britons would be able to choose their future in a vote his Conservatives are widely expected to lose to the opposition Labour Party after 14 years in power.
Ending months of speculation as to when he would call a new vote, Sunak, 44, stood outside his Downing Street office in pouring rain and called the election several months earlier than expected - a risky strategy with his party far behind Labour in the opinion polls.
Almost shouting to be heard above an anthem of Labour's election victory in 1997 under former prime minister Tony Blair being played by protesters outside Downing Street's gates, Sunak listed what he said were his achievements in government, not only as prime minister but also as a former finance minister, Reuters reported.
"Now is the moment for Britain to choose its future and decide whether it wants to build on the progress we have made or risk going back to square one and no certainty," he said.
"Over the next few weeks, I will fight for every vote, I will earn your trust and I will prove to you that only a Conservative government led by me will not put our hard earned economic stability at risk."
He accused Labor leader Keir Starmer, conversely, of always taking the "easy way out" and of having no plan. "As a result, the future can only be uncertain with them," he said.
Starmer, who has pulled Labor to the political center ground after it had veered leftwards, responded with a statement that focused on one word: "change".
"On July 4 you (voters) have the choice and together we can stop the chaos, we can turn the page, we can start to rebuild Britain and change our country," he said, in front of two Union Jack flags.
