UK: PM To Make Address Around 1700BST, 4 July Election Expected

Wires reporting that PM Rishi Sunak is expected to deliver an address from Downing St. around 1700BST (1200ET/1800CET). Following a day of frenzied speculation, it is now widely expected that he will announce a general election to take place on 4 July. Livestream here. 

• As noted in previous bullets, this announcement comes as something of a shock to observers given Sunak's centre-right Conservative party's poor opinion polling performance at present. Laura Kuenssberg at the BBC highlights the potential reasons for Sunak calling an election earlier than expected: "1. economic numbers LOOK better, altho not necessary felt by people 2. Rwanda law passed, and not yet tested 3. More and more MPs standing down, Tory party harder and harder to govern 4. Autumn/winter campaigns grim, terrible weather"
• A 4 July election will see the following in terms of international impact: 
  • The 13-15 June G7 summit in Italy will come during the election campaign. 
  • The NATO leaders' summit (9-11 July) in Washington, D.C., - seen as potentially the most consequential in a generation - will come just after the election, with polls indicating that Labour's Sir Keir Starmer will be travelling to the summit inside his first week in office. 
  • The European Political Community summit takes place in England on 18 July. This will see leaders from across Europe travel to the UK, and could prove an opportunity for either Starmer to make a first impression and set out the UK's stall vis-a-vis EU-UK relations, or provide an unexpected 'victory lap' for Sunak.