Whoever replaces Boris Johnson as prime minister on September 6 will have fewer than 1,000 days in office before they need to call a general election.
The last possible date for the nation to go the polls is January 23, 2025 – only 870 days into the new PM’s tenure.
But they will face their first test at the ballot box even sooner.
Local elections are due to take place in England and Northern Ireland in just over eight months’ time, on May 4, 2023.
Council seats will be up for grabs in most towns and cities – though not in London – along with dozens of smaller councils.
A bigger set of elections are scheduled for May 2, 2024, including local councils in England and Wales plus mayoral contests in London, Greater Manchester, the West Midlands and Merseyside.
There is a chance the new prime minister will not want to wait until the last possible date to call a general election, particularly as it would mean campaigning during Christmas 2024 and through much of January 2025.
One alternative would be to hold the election on the same day as the 2024 local elections – though this would leave only 604 days between the new PM taking office and going to the polls.
Another option could be an election in early autumn 2024, after the prime minister has notched up two years in the job but before the clocks go back at the end of October.
Whatever the new PM decides to do, they will need to act fast in order for their decisions to leave an impression on voters before election day arrives.
