George Osborne has said Rishi Sunak should name the date for the general
election and kill speculation over the Tory leadership. The austerity Chancellor said the move would also stop endless talk in the coming months over when
Britain will finally head to the ballot box. Mr Osborne also said the PM should show a "flash of steel" by telling Tory MPs plotting over his leadership to "either put up or shut up". It comes after Jeremy Hunt dropped a hint the next general election will be in October as he was grilled on the Budget by peers earlier this week. The PM has insisted it his "working assumption" the public will head to the polls in the second half of 2024 - but has not mentioned a specific month. Speaking on his Political Currency podcast, Mr Osborne said: "I would say today: ‘I’ll tell you when the general election is going to be, it’s going to be on this date. That ends all the speculation about early
elections. It means you don't go through the whole summer with it, [with people asking] is it going to be October or November? "The marginal advantage he’s going to get by having a bit of a surprise that it's late October or mid November or early December is more than outweighed by the endless speculation." He added: "The only reason people know he isn’t calling an election right now is because he knows he couldn't win it because he's behind in the polls." Pressed by co-host and former
Labour Shadow Chancellor on whether the move would also kill leadership speculation as well, he replied: "Yes, it probably does....[He should] fix the date now, end the speculation, forestall any leadership contest – and you're back in charge of events." Earlier this week Keir Starmer challenged the PM to name the date for the general election as he visited The Mirror's HQ in
London. The Labour leader said: “My strong sense of what the country's thinking is that they are fed up with this now and they want to get on with change. "The Prime Minister dragging it out isn't helping anyone. At the very least, he should set a date now. But May 2 would be a better date, the next available please.” Former Tory minister and brother of
Boris Johnson , Jo Johnson, also told Channel 4 News' The Political Fourcast on Thursday that the Conservatives were "sinking" after hitting an "iceberg some time ago". He added: “If you're a backbench MP it looks like things can't get any worse and they're not getting any better. Therefore, the temptation is to roll the dice and to see whether you might do better under a different leader. That's why there is all this speculation going on. It is a hell of a Hail Mary pass to whoever gets the ball, whether it's Penny or Kemi, or someone else. I'm not personally convinced that it will make any difference to the Tories’ electoral fortunes." Join our Mirror Politics
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