PM Sunak-'Working Assumption' Is H224 Election

Sam Blewett at PA: "Rishi Sunak says his 'working assumption' is a 'general election in the second half of this year' He declines to rule out a May vote when asked by broadcasters in a visit to Mansfield but says he's 'got lots to get on with' Comes after Labour hyped up a possible May vote."

• There has been significant speculation that the announcement of a 6 March Budget statement meant that a spring election could be in the offing should Chancellor Jeremy Hunt offer 'giveaways' in the form of tax cuts.
• Leader of the main opposition centre-left Labour party Sir Keir Starmer has stated that should he become PM his focus would be on growing the economy before engaging in tax cuts, saying at an event in Bristol, "We can argue about tax and spend all day long. If we don't grow the economy, that is an ever-reducing discussion that we're having."
• Starmer's comments regarding his priorities for the UK economy and the country's tax outlook will garner increasing media and market focus over 2024 given the seeming confirmation of a H224 election from Sunak, and the wide lead his Labour party holds in opinion polling over the incumbent centre-right Conservatives.