Prime Minister Rishi Sunak Calls July 4 General Election in the U.K.
U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has called for a general election in the country, ending months of speculation.
The polls are scheduled to take place on July 4.
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Standing in the pouring rain on the steps of 10, Downing Street, Sunak pointed to his record during the pandemic, when he was Chancellor of the Exchequer. “I have never and will never leave the people of this country to face the darkest of days alone. And you know that, because you’ve seen it as I did, then I will forever do everything in my power to provide you with the strongest possible protection I can,” Sunak said.
As Sunak proceeded to deride the opposition Labour party, he had to raise his voice to be head above a nearby blast of D.Ream’s “Things Can Only Get Better,” played by a Westminster protester on a loudspeaker. It was one of Tony Blair’s campaign songs that swept him and Labour into power in 1997.
The fight for the 650 seats in the U.K.’s House of Commons will be between the ruling Conservative Party, who have been in power since 2010, and the main opposition party Labour, who were voted out after ruling from 1997. In case neither of the two parties secures a simple majority, leading to a hung parliament, the smaller players like the Liberal Democrats and the Scottish National Party will come into play. For example, in the 2010 general elections, the Conservatives had the largest number of seats, but not enough for a majority, and formed a government with the Liberal Democrats.
While the local council elections are not necessarily a bellwether for the general elections, in the most recent one, held in early May, Labour gained 186 seats for a total of 1,158, the Liberal Democrats 104 for a total of 522 in second place, while the Conservatives lost 474 seats and placed third with 515.
Under former director of public prosecutions Keir Starmer, the Labour leadership has a settled look to it. On the other hand Sunak was chosen by the Conservatives in October 2022 to lead after a fractious leadership election process. His tenure followed the ousting of Liz Truss after a disastrous 44 days in office that saw the U.K. economy tank. Truss’ predecessor Boris Johnson was forced to quit after amid mounting scandals and the resignations of his top ministers. It is not immediately clear whether Sunak will face leadership challenges within his party or whether they will unite behind him to stave off Starmer’s bid to become Prime Minister.
Minutes after Sunak finished his speech, a clearly well-prepared Starmer released a calm video statement where he spoke about 14 years of “political chaos feeding decline” under the Conservatives. “After 14 years, it’s time for change. Stop the chaos. Turn the page. Start to rebuild,” Starmer said.
The Conservatives have been beset by one political scandal after the other but in terms of media and entertainment they scored a win during this year’s spring budget with a 40% corporate tax relief for film and TV studios through 2034. The plan also includes a new tax credit for independent films shot in the U.K. that have a budget less than $19 million (£15 million), and a 5% increase in credit for visual effects in film and high-end TV. The plan has been hailed by the independent film sector, which was on the point of market failure in 2022. The budget also provided tax reliefs for theaters and orchestras.
On the flip side, more than a decade of austerity has seen funding cuts across the arts sectors. In addition, music has been hard hit by the lack of easy touring accessibility to Europe after Brexit. Last week, Labour member of parliament Thangam Debbonaire, who is likely to succeed Lucy Frazer as secretary of state for culture, media and sport, should her party win the general elections, accused the Conservative government of “failing the cultural ecosystem” by not investing in the creative sector.
Meanwhile, after the announcement of the general election date, Caroline Norbury, chief executive of Creative U.K., the independent network for the U.K.’s creative industries, issued a statement.
“Last month, Creative U.K. published a manifesto calling for ‘radical new action’ to unlock the growth potential of the cultural and creative industries,” Norbury said. “Now that we have a date for a U.K. general election, we hope that all political parties running for seats in Westminster, will set out their own clear plans for how they might capitalize on the ability of this superpower sector to stimulate national economic and social prosperity.
“The cultural and creative Industries drive growth for the economy, while creating jobs and meaningful work at an extraordinary pace. Creativity supports health and wellbeing in our society. And the workforce of tomorrow will grow from the creative skills we nurture today – across sectors as diverse as film, TV, advertising, fashion, craft, video games, museums, heritage, visual arts, advertising, createch, live performance and many others.
“For these reasons and more, it’s vital that our next U.K. government puts the creative economy at the centre of its policy making. Creative U.K. will continue to shine a spotlight on the solutions for growth and prosperity that exist within our innovative sector, and we invite all policy makers to engage with us ahead of July 4.”
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