Rishi Sunak is reportedly planning a general election in autumn 2024 as he believes a later vote brings the best chance of a shock victory. October and November next year have been provisionally pencilled in by Downing Street for Britons to take to the polls.
Sources believe going later in the year would maximise the likelihood of the battered economy turning around and a small boats crackdown bringing down Channel crossings, the Telegraph reports.
It would also allow more time for the Tories to close the double-digit polling gap on Labour.
Mr Sunak is said to have rejected the prospect of an early general election in spring 2024 given the uphill battle he faces.
But no firm decision on an election date will be taken until nearer the time.
The latest a nationwide vote can be held is January 2025.
It comes as recent polling by Redfield & Wilton Strategies put Sir Keir Starmer’s party 14 points ahead of the Conservatives in a sign Mr Sunak is slowly slashing the gap.
The survey of 2,000 British adults, carried out on April 9, put Labour on 44 points, while the Tories were on 30.
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