Rishi Sunak announces 4 July general election

BBC News, May 22: Rishi Sunak has announced a 4 July general election in a statement outside Downing  Street.

After discussing the Covid pandemic the furlough scheme, and the war in Ukraine, he says the question is “who do you trust?”.

Sunak says he’s proud of what his government has achieved, including on NHS spending and education. 

The PM revealed that the date in a rain-soaked Downing Street speech, as Labour’s 1997 election anthem ‘Things Can Only Get Better’ blared from a nearby street. 

The Labour leader Keir Starmer says the election is the “moment the country’s been waiting for”.

And he says with “patience and determination” there is so much pride and potential to unlock” in the UK