British prime minister Rishi Sunak has announced July 4 as the snap general elections, ending months of speculation as to the timing of the exercise. 

Mr Sunak, 44, announced the new date outside his Downing Street office, on Wednesday. 

“We will have a general election on July 4…now is the moment for Britain to choose its future,” he said.

British elections must be held at least every five years, but the timing is the prime minister’s choice.

Mr Sunak took office less than two years ago and has since then struggled to define what he stood for. 

He is the third conservative prime minister since the last election in 2019. 

Mr Sunak managed to steady the economy, but without boosting the conservatives’ popularity with the public.

Following the announcement, the Labour Party has also kicked off campaigning for the election, with the attack lines on the economy and defence already firmly drawn.

The governing conservative party is widely expected to lose to the LP after 14 years in power.

The leader of Britain’s opposition LP, Keir Starmer, said that the election would allow the country to end the “chaos” of Mr Sunak’s conservative government. 

“No matter what else is said and done, that opportunity for change is what this election is about. A vote for Labour is a vote for stability – economic and political, a politics that treads more lightly on all our lives; a vote to stop the chaos. It’s time for change,” Mr Starmer told supporters.