British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has called a surprise U.K. general election for July 4, with the leader battling a Downing Street downpour and protesters to set his Conservative Party up for a bruising six-week battle to try to stop Keir Starmer¡¯s poll-leading opposition Labour Party from taking power.
¡°Now is the moment for Britain to choose its future,¡± Sunak said Wednesday in a statement that tried to frame the U.K. as a nation emerging from economic shocks that should stick with him rather than gambling on a new leader. ¡°I cannot and will not claim that we have got everything right ¡ª no government should.¡±
Moments after the drenched premier returned indoors, Starmer took aim at Sunak and the Tories¡¯ 14 years in office. He promised to boost ailing public services, and economic growth. ¡°Together we can stop the chaos, we can turn the page, we can start to rebuild Britain and change our country,¡± he said.
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