Just been announced about two hours or so ago that the UK will have a general election on 4th July. Looks like the last roll of a dice by someone who seems as hated by his party as the country as a whole and certainly far earlier than I expected. Making the announcement in a rain-soaked suit with New Labour’s 1997 Things Can Only Get Better hauntingly in the background was not a good start.
There is talk about some connection with today’s announcement of inflation coming down but that is seriously clutching straws and no doubt there are other hidden reasons. Calling elections in the school holiday season of July and August is very rare and not even holding out for September or October suggests that things are going to rapidly get worse.
Last year I thought that Scotland would be the wild-card as without Scotland Labour would need a swing in the mid-teens to get any sort of working majority, but with Humza Yousaf’s recent resignation as Scotland’s first minister the SNP are in disarray and may well take a serious hammering. For them holding 25 or so seats and remaining the largest party in Scotland would be an OK result.
Labour winning is not in much doubt and they will have their work cut out, but for now let the games begin..