Rumours have been swirling in Westminster that Rishi Sunak could be eyeing up a summer general election. The prime minister was asked during PMQs this afternoon whether there was any truth to the reports, but Mr Sunak has remained tight-lipped, repeating his claim that the vote will take place "in the second half of the year".
It comes as new official figures today showed that inflation slowed to 2.3 per cent in April, the lowest level since July 2021, nearing the government's target of 2 per cent. READ MORE: "Spoiler alert": Rishi Sunak responds to general election rumours amid mounting speculation Mr Sunak will meet with his Cabinet this afternoon at 4.15pm.
There have been murmurs that an announcement could follow the meeting after it emerged foreign secretary Lord Cameron cut short a visit to Albania to be there and defence secretary Grant Shapps delayed a trip to the Baltic states by a few hours.
But if Mr Sunak does decide to announce a general election, how much notice would he have to give? There is a specific timetable a general election would have to follow, which starts with the dissolution of Parliament and ends with polling day 25 days later - not counting bank holidays and weekends.
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