Rishi Sunak has said he is working towards a general election in the second half of the year after coming under pressure to call a vote soon.
The Prime Minister said on Thursday it is his “working assumption” that he would not be sending the public to the polls in the spring, as opposition figures have been talking up.
Mr Sunak dangled the prospect of future tax cuts to voters and attacked Sir Keir Starmer’s green proposals as the two leaders set out their stalls at the start of the election year.
Labour has claimed that a spring vote is the “worst kept secret in Parliament” in a possible ploy to claim Mr Sunak has bottled it if he goes longer.
The Liberal Democrats have also been calling for Mr Sunak to hold the vote in May rather than trying to “cling on” to power for the rest of the year.
But Mr Sunak told broadcasters on a visit to a youth centre in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, the Prime Minister said: “So my working assumption is we’ll have a general election in the second half of this year and in the meantime I’ve got lots that I want to get on with.”
The Conservative leader declined to rule out a May election categorically but repeated his intentions to go for later in the year.
“I want to keep going, managing the economy well and cutting people’s taxes.
“But I also want to keep tackling illegal migration,” Mr Sunak said.
“So I’ve got lots to get on with and I’m determined to keep delivering for the British people.”
Related: Firm owned by Sunak’s wife that received £350k in UK grant money gets mysteriously liquidated
