Rishi Sunak accused of 'bottling it' as he signals autumn election

However Mr Sunak’s language still left him enough wriggle room to go for an early election or a very late one in January 2025, the last possible date available.

Labour and the Liberal Democrats accused him of running scared of the electorate after 14 years of Tory government and of “squatting” in No10 while the country demanded change.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said Mr Sunak was “dithering and delaying” while the LibDems’ Sir Ed Davey claimed the PM had “bottled it” amid dire polling for the Tories.

The Conservatives have now lagged behind Labour in the polls for more than two years, and there is currently an 18 point gap between them, pointing to a Labour landslide.

The Tories fear many of their supporters also could switch to the Reform party, which has promised to field candidates across Britain, potentially splitting the right-wing vote.

Both Mr Sunak and Sir Keir were on the campaign trail on Thursday.

Speaking to the media on a visit to Mansfield in Nottinghamshire, the Prime Minister said: “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."

With National Insurance cuts announced in November’s autumn statement kicking in this Saturday, he hinted at more tax cuts in the spring budget scheduled for March 6.

“I want to keep going, managing the economy well and cutting people’s taxes. But I also want to keep tackling illegal migration,” he said.

“So, I’ve got lots to get on with and I’m determined to keep delivering for the British people.”

“This Saturday, a big tax cut is coming in, every working person across the country is going to benefit from it. It’s worth £450 to an average person in work on the average salary.

“We want to do more because as we manage the economy responsibly, we can cut your taxes, give you and your family peace of mind, immediate relief from some of the challenges you’re facing and confidence that the future is going to be better for you and your children.

“That is the journey that we’re on.”

Mr Sunak said Labour could not be trusted with the public finances, and claimed a vote for the Reform party was "a vote for Keir Starmer in power" as it would cost the Tories support.

Earlier in the day, Sir Keir gave a speech near Bristol on Labour’s plan for a “decade of national renewal” at which he downplayed tax cuts, saying growth had to come first.

He also backed away from Labour’s plan to borrow up to £28billion a year to invest in green energy, saying the sum could be less, depending on the public finances.

He said: “It will be subject to our fiscal rules. That means that if the money is from borrowing, which it will be [and] the fiscal rules don’t allow it, then we will borrow less.”

He also took a coded swipe at the SNP, saying nationalism was "exhausting".

He pledged a “crackdown on cronyism”, adding: “Nobody will be above the law in a Britain that I lead. I also promise this: a politics that treads a little lighter on all of our lives.

"Because that's the thing about populism or nationalism, any politics fueled by division.

"It needs your full attention. Needs you constantly focusing on this week's common enemy. And that's exhausting, isn't it?"

He said he offered "Project Hope" instead of Tory “cynicism”, and a “new mindset” in government so that Britain could “get its future back”.

Speaking later to Sky News, he said Labour would meet their “fire with fire” if Mr Sunak and the Tories “go low” in the general election.

He went on: “We are ready for an election, I think the country is ready for election, people are crying out for change.

“If he [Mr Sunak] is not going to set a date, what’s he hiding from the public? 

“This has serious implications for the country because he’s basically saying he’s going to be squatting for months and months in Downing Street, dithering and delaying.”

Sir Ed Davey said the PM had “bottled it” as he was “running scared” of a May election.

He said: “Squatter Sunak is holed up in Downing Street, desperately clinging on to power rather than facing the verdict of the British people.”

Although not a cast-iron guarantee of an autumn election, Mr Sunak would look foolish and indecisive if he changed course now.

However an unexpected boost to the economy or a breakthrough in his stalled plan to process illegal cross-Channel migrants in Rwanda could tempt him to go early.

There is also speculation that if Mr Sunak’s £300m Rwanda plan gets bogged down in Westminster or the courts, he could try to hold a ‘Get Rwanda Done’ election along the lines of Boris Johnson’s successful ‘Get Brexit Done’ campaign in the 2019 general election.

But that risks reminding voters of the Tories breaking years of promises to cut migration numbers, helping Reform. Mr Sunak is also facing Keir Starmer, not Jeremy Corbyn.

Conversely, a flatlining economy and deadlock on Rwanda could see the PM try to eke out his premiership past the two-year mark in October and an election in November or later.

The former Labour Prime Minister Gordon Brown was accused of bottling "the election that never was" in the autumn of 2007 shortly after taking over from Tony Blair.

It was a decision which haunted his premiership.

SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn said: “The Tories haven’t won an election in Scotland since 1955 so irrespective of whether it’s an election in May, or in the autumn, we already know that they won’t win here.

“The battle in Scotland will be fought on who the public believe is best placed to stand up for their interests and their values in Westminster.

“As the only party who believe that economic growth can be achieved by trading with our European allies, embracing freedom of movement and investing in our energy potential the SNP will proudly stand on the basis of our values.

“Independence offers us the best route to achieve those economic aims, take real action to resolve the cost of living and to protect our NHS – and only a vote for the SNP can make that future possible.”