DROWNING STREET, LONDON – In a move reminiscent of a rat fleeing a sinking ship, calling a snap general election set for July 4.

The announcement, delivered against the backdrop of a rain-soaked No. 10 Downing Street, sets the stage for a showdown between Sunak’s Conservatives and Keir Starmer’s Labour Party, as the opposition seeks to wrest control after 14 years of Tory rule.

Sunak’s timing couldn’t be more curious. With Labour enjoying a comfortable double-digit lead in the polls, Sunak faces an uphill battle to sway public opinion in his favour.

Drowning Street pic.twitter.com/AuCpPJwouA

— Suffolk Gazette (@SuffolkGazette) May 22, 2024

Change the record

As the campaign kicks into gear, both leaders are pulling out all the stops to paint the other as the greater gamble. While Sunak warns of economic setbacks and jeopardized defence spending under a Labour government, Starmer highlights the purported chaos of more Tory rule and relentlessly presents himself as the leader of “A changed Labour party, a changed Labour party, a changed Labour party etc.”

Panicking wet rat

However, behind the scenes of this political spectacle, whispers abound of Sunak’s motives for calling the election. Rumours swirl of discontent within the Conservative ranks, with some suggesting that Sunak’s announcement was a desperate attempt to distance himself from the sinking Tory ship. Others hint the timing is designed to head off a potential coup, or even plan for an early relocation of his family to the USA.

Meanwhile, as Sunak’s first campaign event unfolds amid the dreary British weather, observers wonder whether the snap election will pay off, or turn out to be a rat trap.