On Wednesday, May 22, 2024, after days of intense speculation, United Kingdom Prime Minister Rishi Sunak called a snap election.
Macroticker's Anne Sandager reports that the atmosphere outside of Downing Street was electric leading up to the announcement. One activist called for neither Sunak nor Labour leader Keir Starmar to run, as police is cleared out the crowd that had gathered.
The announcement coincided with the newest data from the UK Office for National Statistics (ONS) revealing that UK inflation has fallen to 2.3% - the lowest since the PM took office in 2022.
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The UK general election will choose the composition of the House of Commons, which in turn will elect the next government.
There are 650 seats in the House of Commons, meaning 326 are needed for a majority.
Currently, the nation's largest party, the Conservative party holds 344 seats, with the second largest, and main oppositition Labour holding 205.
That composition, however, may change after this upcoming election, with Labour drawing a massiv lead in polls.
According to The Times, Labour stands to receive 44% of the vote across multiple pollsters, whereas the Conservatives are falling behind with only 23% of polled citizens declaring they intend to vote for the current majority party.
