Is Rishi Sunak about to call an election?

Will Rishi Sunak call an election today? That is the rumour ripping through Westminster. Speaking at Prime Minister’s Questions this lunchtime, Sunak did little to quell the speculation. When asked by the SNP’s Stephen Flynn whether the rumours were right that a July election announcement was imminent, Sunak replied ‘spoiler alert’, before repeating his usual line that an election will be held in the second half of the year. Of course that does not rule out a July election – nor does it confirm it.

This isn’t the first time there has been talk of an early election. So, what’s different now? There have been rumours for some time that Sunak could use good news on inflation (which fell to around 2 per cent this morning) to call an election. However, what is spooking journalists and MPs alike is simply the fact that No. 10 has not denied that an election announcement could be imminent. On previous occasions, there has been an effort by government aides and Conservative Campaign Headquarters to kill such talk – with aides and ministers often blaming Labour for planting rumours to destabilise the government.

Other factors that are leading many to think there could be an announcement today is that the cabinet is due to meet this afternoon. Ministers usually meet on a Tuesday but this was delayed as Sunak was in Austria. Sunak tends to also meet the King on Wednesdays – adding to the rumour mill that he could use these meetings to announce his election campaign. Now of course, this is currently all rumour. And there has been talk that Sunak could today announce an election date for the autumn, rather than July. Others are suggesting he could opt for a reshuffle. But at the very least, the current silence from Downing Street is an indicator that something is afoot – and No. 10 is certainly behaving in a different way than it did after previous election rumours.