Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has confirmed that the General Election will take place on July 4.
Throughout the day, there had speculation been rife awaiting the news of the General Election date. The PM declined to rule out a summer vote but has since confirmed the date.
Sunak’s press secretary told reporters in Westminster on Wednesday she was “not going to rule anything in or out” when asked if the Prime Minister could call a snap election for July.
Although the UK has seen three different prime ministers since the start of 2022 - Boris Johnson, Liz Truss and Sunak - there has not been a general election since 2019.
When was the last General Election held in the UK?
The last general election was held on Thursday, December 12, 2019, when Johnson was the Prime Minister.
The two elections before that were on:
- June 9, 2017
- May 7, 2015
What were the results of the last general election?
The 2019 General Election saw the Conservatives claim victory, winning 365 seats (48 seats more than in 2017) and 43.6% of the vote.
Meanwhile the Labour Party won only 202 seats (32.1% of the vote). The SNP remained the third largest party with 48 seats.
The other parties to claim seats were:
- Liberal Democrats - 11
- Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) - 8
- Sinn Féin - 7
- Plaid Cymru - 4
- Other - 9 (includes the speaker)
The 2019 election saw 81 seats change hands.
