Rishi Sunak has announced that 4 July is the general election date but why did he settle for that date?
The practical reason for his decision comes with election law and the parliamentary timetable. Parliament needs to be dissolved 25 working days before the date of an election which means that if he wanted a summer election he had limited options.
By calling an election on 4 July, next week’s planned recess will be cancelled giving parliament a “wash up week” to complete its remaining business by Thursday. Parliament can then be dissolved in time for a July 4 election. This meant the prime minister could not have called it any earlier.
