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A senior Conservative has urged Rishi Sunak to call an early election to minimise Tory losses at the polls.
Lord Finkelstein, a member of the House of Lords and former senior advisor, said May 2024 might be the "best moment" to go to electorate.
Recounting his experience of advising John Major on the timing of the 1997 election, the Tory peer said he now believed an earlier election would have made the defeat "less severe".
"The hope was that something might turn up. Instead voters simply became more irritated," he wrote in an article for the Times newspaper.
"The mistake is to think that a bad moment can’t become worse. Or that there is really little difference between losing power by a little and losing it by a lot.
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"There is a vast difference for the Conservatives, and for Sunak personally, in keeping the swing to Labour as low as possible. The hard thing is that this may mean calling an election knowing it almost certainly means losing power."
Lord Finkelstein said that the task for Mr Sunak was "minimising the size of defeat" and potentially depriving Labour of a majority.
The intervention comes amid uncertainty about when the next general election will be held.
Under electoral rules Rishi Sunak does not have to call an election until January 2025 – five years from the day the current parliament first met on 17 December 2019, plus the time required for an election campaign.
UK news in pictures Show all 50
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UK news in pictures 18 July 2023 Tony Blair (left) speaks with Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer during the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change's Future of Britain Conference in central London
PA
UK news in pictures 17 July 2023 David Barber, the King’s Swan Marker, examines a swan during the annual census of the swan population along sections of the River Thames
Reuters
UK news in pictures 16 July 2023 Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz holds the winner’s trophy after beating Serbia’s Novak Djokovic during their men’s singles final tennis match on the last day of the 2023 Wimbledon Championships
AFP/Getty
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PA Wire
UK news in pictures 13 July 2023 His Majesty The King’s Coronation Ensemble and Her Majesty The Queen’s Coronation Ensemble, during a photo call for the new Coronation display for the summer opening of the State Rooms at Buckingham Palace.
PA
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PA
UK news in pictures 11 July 2023 People hug as they admire Submergence inside Propyard, Bristol, where a 20,000 sq ft immersive art installation, curated by art collective Squidsoup, titled Beyond Submergence, is being exhibited
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PA
UK news in pictures 9 July 2023 Mark Wood, right, celebrates with Chris Woakes, left after England won the third test match in the series
AFP via Getty
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Getty
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Getty
UK news in pictures 6 July 2023 Queen Camilla during a visit to Lochcarron of Scotland at the Waverley textile mill in Selkirk, in the Scottish Borders, as part of the first Holyrood Week since the King's coronation.
PA
UK news in pictures 5 July 2023 Anti-monarchy protesters hold placards near the St Giles’ Cathedral on the day of the National Service of Dedication and Thanksgiving for Britain’s King Charles, in Edinburgh
Reuters
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Getty
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PA
UK news in pictures 2 July 2023 England’s Ben Stokes hits a six off the bowling of Australia’s Josh Hazlewood during the last day of the second Ashes test at Lords Cricket Ground in London
Action Images via Reuters
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UK news in pictures 30 June 2023 Rembrandt Harmensz’s Portrait of Jan Willemsz, van der Pluym and Jaapgen Carels is held by gallery staff, during a photo call for highlights from the forthcoming Classic Week Sales, at Christie’s, London.
PA
UK news in pictures 29 June 2023 A visitor walks through a part of Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama’s installation “You, Me and The Balloons” during a preview ahead of the start of the Manchester International Festival
Reuters
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Getty
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Lucy North/PA
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UK news in pictures 25 June 2023 Lil Nas X performs on the Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury
AFP via Getty
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UK news in pictures 23 June 2023 A performer entertains festivalgoers in the circus field at Glastonbury festival
AFP/Getty
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AP
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PA
UK news in pictures 20 June 2023 The sunrises at 04.25am at St Mary’s Lighthouse in Whitley Bay, on the North East coast of England, the day before Summer Solstice – the longest day of the year
PA
UK news in pictures 19 June 2023 The King and Queen depart the annual Order of the Garter Service
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UK news in pictures 17 June 2023 Typhoon fighter jets fly over The Mall after the Royal family attended the Trooping the Colour ceremony at Horse Guards Parade, central London, as King Charles III celebrates his first official birthday since becoming sovereign.
PA
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Reuters
UK news in pictures 11 June 2023 Usain Bolt and teammates celebrate with the trophy after winning Soccer Aid 2023
Action Images via Reuters
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Reuters
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AP
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PA
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PA
UK news in pictures 6 June 2023 An aerial view shows the dry bed of Woodhead Reservoir, revealed by a falling water level after a prolonged period of dry weather, near Glossop, northern England
AFP/Getty
UK news in pictures 5 June 2023 Prime Minister Rishi Sunak onboard Border Agency cutter HMC Seeker during a visit to Dover
PA
UK news in pictures 4 June 2023 A hot air balloon rises into the sky above Ragley Hall, Alcester, south of Birmingham in central England
AFP via Getty Images
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PA
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PA
UK news in pictures 30 May 2023 A robot named Stella interacts with visitors during the International Conference on Robotics and Automation ICRA in London
AP
UK news in pictures 29 May 2023 Dave Hackett and his daughter Daisy, five, explore the laburnum arch in the grounds of Preston Tower, East Lothian, in the warm Spring Bank Holiday weather
PA
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PA
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AP
Local elections across much of England are scheduled for 2 May 2024, with police and crime commissioner elections also taking place in England and Wales.
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The Tories have been well behind Labour in the polls since Liz Truss's disastrous mini budget, with the opposition around 20 points ahead in most surveys.
The latest Deltapoll survey of voters from 14–17 July found Labour on 48 per cent of the vote, with the Conservatives on 24 per cent, Lib Dems on 11 per cent, Greens on 5 per cent, and Reform on 6 per cent.
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1/ 1Call early election to ‘minimise’ losses, senior Tory tells Sunak
Call early election to ‘minimise’ losses, senior Tory tells Sunak
Rishi Sunak (Henry Nicholls/PA)
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