Rishi Sunak has announced that the general election will take place on July 4.
The prime minister finally put an end to months of speculation by naming the date in a statement outside 10 Downing Street following a meeting of the cabinet.
Speculation had been mounting throughout the day that the PM had finally decided to go to the country, despite the fact that the Tories remain well behind Labour in the polls.
Sunak will pin his hopes on voters giving the Tories credit for the improving economy, with confirmation this morning that inflation fell to 2.3% in March, down from 3.2% the month before.
However, the decision to hold an election now still represents a massive gamble for the prime minister, with Labour leader Keir Starmer the odds-on favourite to replace him in No.10.
As the rain poured down, Sunak said: “Earlier today, I spoke to His Majesty the King to request the dissolution of parliament.
“The King has granted this request and we will have a general election on July 4.”
Embarrassingly for the PM, protesters played the D:Ream hit ‘Things Can Only Get Better’ - the anthem for New Labour’s landslide 1997 election - as he delivered his statement to the country.
At prime minister’s questions today, Sunak was challenged by SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn to confirm that a summer election was on the way.
“Speculation is rife so I think the public deserves a clear answer to a simple question,” he said.
“Does the prime intend to call a summer general election? Or is he feart?”
Sunak, laughing as he replied, told him: “As I have said repeatedly to him there is - spoiler alert - there is going to be general election in the second half of this year.”
Lib Dem leader Ed Davey said: “This general election is a chance to kick Rishi Sunak’s appalling Conservative government out of office and deliver the change the public is crying out for.
“For years the Conservative Party has taken voters for granted and lurched from crisis to crisis while the problems facing the country are getting so much worse.
“The NHS has been brought to its knees, people’s mortgages and rents have soared by hundreds of pounds a month, and water companies have got away with pumping filthy sewage into our rivers and beaches.
“All because this Conservative government is more interested in fighting between themselves than standing up for the needs of the country.”