British Parliament officially dissolved ahead of election expected to put an end to a long period of Conservative dominance in just over a month. The polls virtually predict a certain return to power for Labour. However, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak called the election unexpectedly early, apparently in an attempt to surprise the main opposition force and leave some chance for his conservatives.
The House of Commons was officially dissolved at 0:01 a.m. (2:01 a.m. Bulgarian time) today, AFP reported, quoted by BTA.
This formality came after the British prime minister's surprise decision to call the election to fill the 650-seat, elected lower house of parliament so early: Sunak chose the date of July 4, even though he could have delayed the vote by nearly half a year . The deadline for the production of the elections was December 17, according to the "Daily Telegraph".
Especially because Sunak will in all probability leave "Downing Street" 10 at the beginning of the following month. So, at first glance, he had an interest in delaying the election as much as possible. Especially since opinion polls consistently give Labor a double-digit lead.
Another accurate barometer - the rates of bookmakers, also hints that the election will end the 14-year rule of the Conservative Party. For example, "Bet 365" (Bet365) gives odds of just 1.03 (that is, a 97 percent probability) for the main opposition force to win against all 17 for the ruling formation.
The rate for a Labor majority in the next House of Commons is 1,083 (over 90 per cent probability). By comparison, the odds for the Conservatives jump to 21, and that no party will have more than half the seats in the British lower house is also high at nine.
Rishi Sunak surprised even many representatives of his conservatives, commented the BBC.
Yet behind this move is his intention to catch Labor off guard, hoping they will make mistakes that will help him defy all predictions.
After 14 years in opposition, five weeks before the election, the centre-left opposition is in a strong position and its leader Keir Starmer, a former barrister who specializes in human rights, appears to be the favorite to become the next UK prime minister. Unable to stop the decline of his party, the conservative prime minister tried to regain the initiative by calling the elections in July, expected in the fall, summarizes AFP.
Since then, Sunak, a former finance minister banker, has been touring the country at a frantic pace. However, the beginning of his election campaign was difficult.
For example, the British Prime Minister scheduled the election in torrential rain, and then visited the Titanic Quarter in Belfast, which inevitably caused comparisons with the sad fate of the sunken famous ship, AFP recalls.
Also, the surprise effect doesn't seem to have the effect Sunak had hoped for. Polls give Labor an average of 45 percent of the vote, and an absolute majority in the House of Commons, compared to just 23 percent for the Conservatives.
So the mood in the governing party is very different from that after the previous general election - in 2019, in which Boris Johnson triumphed against the then Labor leader - Jeremy Corbyn, and fulfilled his promise to take the United Kingdom out of the European Union.< /p>
So far, 129 British MPs have not announced their intention to run for re-election. Among them are as many as 77 conservatives - a sad record in the country for a ruling party and another alarming sign for Rishi Sunak.
Some of them have preferred to avoid electoral failure, seeing the disastrous results in the polls, while others have simply decided to withdraw after the difficulties related to Brexit, the political scandals surrounding Boris Johnson and the growing public hostility, summarizes AFP.
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Rishi Sunak is clearly hoping to turn things around after Tuesday's first televised debate with Keir Starmer. He has meanwhile promised to bring back conscription from the age of 18 and cut pensioner taxes in a bid to shore up his support among conservative voters.
But will the rhetoric alone be enough, given public fatigue with the long reign of the Conservatives and their constant internal scandals? The quality of public services, especially healthcare, has deteriorated, and the economic difficulties of the past two years have led to a reduction in purchasing power.
It is significant that the Labor Party, which was a "black cat" for British business under the left-wing Corbyn, but has been redirected to the center by his successor in 2020, Starmer, won the support of 120 employers this week.
So everything looks in Labour's favor for now. However, Sunak apparently "didn't throw down the gauntlet" by trying to surprise the opposition by bringing the elections forward in time. And he's probably hoping she'll start making mistakes.