Half of the general public think holding a general election in December or January would be “unacceptable”, a new poll has found.
Research from YouGov, conducted on January 17 and 18, has revealed 53% of respondents do not want to head to the polls at the end of the year.
A further 50% of participants said it was “unacceptable” to hold a general election in January 2025.
It comes as Rishi Sunak has refused to set a clear date for the next general election, saying only that he thinks it will happen in the “second half” of the year.
He even said last year that nobody wants an early election.
Sunak’s term does not technically end until the start of next year, and parliament does not have to be dissolved until December 17 2024 – exactly five years since the last general election.
However, as the Tories are still flailing far behind Labour in the polls and the party is on its third prime minister since 2022, it appears many people are ready to vote again.
YouGov found May was the most popular month when it came to assessing the best time for the next election.
More than two-thirds (68%) of respondents said they thought it was “acceptable” to vote then, and just 13% said it would be “unacceptable”.
Before Sunak indicated he was looking more at the end of the year, there was plenty of speculation that he might call an election to coincide with local elections on May 2.
If May is not an option, 64% of respondents told YouGov they would support a June election while 61% said they were happy to have it even sooner, in April.
YouGov’s findings echo previous polls which also noted the majority of voters are unhappy to wait a few more months for an election.
Research from October by the More in Common think tank found 73% of voters want an election by May 2024.
A December poll of more than 10,000 by Focaldata for the Best for Britain group found 61% of voters want an election by June.
Meanwhile, YouGov research published last week found only the over-70s would vote Conservative, and the majority of under-50s saying they will vote Labour.
Sunak claimed at the end of January that he is “absolutely” confident he will win the next election.