London, Thanasis Gavos

The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Rishi Sunak he appeared to reject the scenario of calling elections for May, referring to the second half of the year.

The elections in the country must take place no later than January 2025, with Mr Sunak saying they will take place within 2024.

Asked at midday on the sidelines of an event in Nottinghamshire, he said: “My job is that we’re going to have a general election in the second half of this year and in the meantime I’ve got a lot I want to do.”

Asked again if this meant he was ruling out an election in May, possibly along with municipal elections, he reiterated that it was a “labour issue”.

He noted: “I want to continue, manage the economy well and reduce the citizens’ taxes. But I also want to continue to tackle illegal immigration.”

Reacting to Sunak’s statement, Labor leader Sir Keir Starmer accused the prime minister of “occupying” Downing Street and “hiding”.

According to the average of the polls, the Conservatives are 17 percentage points behind Labor in voting intention (25.5% to 42.5%).