Sunak Resists Call to Set Election Date Amid Leadership Threat
- Allies say doing so would help fend off a leadership challenge
- But UK premier’s team wants to maintain element of surprise
Rishi Sunak is resisting advice from allies to set the date for the UK general election, which they say would help him to head off a threatened leadership challenge by Conservative Party rebels next month.
Tory ministers and advisers fear the prime minister will face a concerted effort to oust him if the Conservatives, who trail the Labour Party by about 20 points in opinion polls, suffer a bad result in local and mayoral elections on May 2. The best way to safeguard his position, some argue privately, is to get ahead of the expected fallout by setting the date for the national vote beforehand.