Sunak’s surprise summer election gamble won’t work

UK PRIME Minister Rishi Sunak’s political track record is one of a cautious, conservative leader. Yet on Wednesday (May 22), he threw the dice in an extraordinary summer gamble, calling a general election for Jul 4 that he is likely to lose – potentially very badly.

This will be the UK’s first July national election since 1945. That year was a very poor one for the Conservatives, with wartime leader Winston Churchill losing by a landslide to Labour.

Recent polls indicate that Labour, more than 20 percentage points ahead in recent election surveys, will win a significant majority in the House of Commons.