Politics

Sunak calls a General Election: 20 jubilant reactions that sum up the nation’s mood

A soaked Rishi Sunak was drowned out by Labour’s 1997 general election anthem as he announced a July 4 poll on a wet afternoon in Downing Street.

Heavy rain poured down on the Prime Minister, who spoke from a lectern outside No 10 without an umbrella as Westminster was hit by heavy downpours.

Mr Sunak, wearing a suit with a light blue tie, became increasingly soaked during the speech – which began at around 5.15pm on Wednesday.

A loudspeaker could be heard playing D:Ream’s Things Can Only Get Better – associated with Labour’s 1997 general election victory – during the announcement.

The speaker was also used by a man to shout obscenities about the Conservatives during the speech.

The Prime Minister’s media team increased Mr Sunak’s speaker audio within Downing Street to try and drown out the loudspeaker during his announcement, but with limited success.

Reaction has been quick to pour in on social media, with the hashtag ‘Sunackered’ trending on X.

Here are 20 responses that adequately sum up the nation’s mood.

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Related: Conservatives backed to lose up to 200 seats in snap July Election

Jack Peat

Jack is a business and economics journalist and the founder of The London Economic (TLE). He has contributed articles to VICE, Huffington Post and Independent and is a published author. Jack read History at the University of Wales, Bangor and has a Masters in Journalism from the University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

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