Prime Minister announces General Election as summer date emerges for voters
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is set to call a General Election on July 4.
Rumours have been rife in Westminster all day (Wednesday) that a date would be announced.
Now it has been confirmed that we will go to the polls in the first week of July.
It is a date that will raise eyebrows, with many people away on holiday.
In North West Leicestershire, the contest is likely to be a tight one after sitting MP Andrew Bridgen was thrown out of the Conservative Party last year.
Mr Bridgen will stand as an Independent candidate, but the seat is expected to be a close call between the new Tory candidate, Craig Smith, and Labour's Amanda Hack.
Mr Smith is Coalville-based and well known as a Leicester County Councillor.
Ms Hack also sits on Leicestershire County Council. The Green Party will be represented by Ashby-based councillor, Carl Benfield, while the Liberal Democrats have yet to confirm a candidate.
It means the 'phoney war' between the candidates is now set to get real.
The decision comes on a day when inflation fell to 2.3 per cent, meeting one of Prime Minister Sunak's pledges.
The economy also grew 0.6 per cent in the three months to March.
The Prime Minister said: "Now is the moment for Britain to choose its future and to decide whether we want to build on the progress we have made or risk going back to square one. With no plan and no certainty."
Opposition leader Sir Keir Starmer said: "The future of the country is in your hands. Together we can stop the chaos, turn the page and start to rebuild Britain and change our country."
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