PM Repeats H224 Election 'Working Assumption' Comment

In Prime Minsiter's Questions in the House of Commons, PM Rishi Sunak repeats his January comment claiming that it is his 'working assumption' that the general election will take place in the second half of 2024. The date of the election has become the main political issue in Westminster, with Labour attempting to portray the PM as 'scared' to call an election amid poor opinion polling for the incumbent centre-right Conservative party and vulnerable to being ousted by his own MPs.

• Delivering evidence before the House of Lords Economic Affairs committee on 19 March Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt gave a more explicit indication of the potential timing, stating "I can be quite open with you and say I hope I do another fiscal event this parliament and indeed return as chancellor after the general election and do a spring Budget. And of course if the general election is in October that will mean it's very, very tight ..."
• Sunak is to address backbench Conservative MPs this evening at 1700GMT (1400ET, 1800CET) as he seeks to stave off any potential leadership challenge before the next election.
• For some within the party, the poor polling (where the Conservatives trail the centre-left Labour party by 20-25%) means a change in leadership is essential to give them any hope of holding onto power. For others the prospect of four different PMs in one parliamentary term (Johnson, Truss, Sunak, ?) risks entrenching a public perception of a chaotic and divided party.