Half of Britons want the next prime minister to hold a general election before the end of the year, new polling has revealed.
A survey by Ipsos published on Monday showed 51% of people want Liz Truss or Rishi Sunak to go to the country in 2022. Only 20% are opposed to the idea.
According to the pollster, the most popular reason people want an early election (46%) is because the country is in “crisis” and needs to decide a way forward.
Almost 7 in 10 Labour voters support an early election, falling to 4 in 10 Conservative voters.
Truss, the clear frontrunner to win the Tory leadership contest, has ruled out holding a snap poll, telling party members in early August: “I will not have an election before 2024.”
The next election does not have to be held until the end of January 2025.
But there is speculation she could decide to hold an election early to capitalise on any honeymoon bounce in the polls once she becomes PM.
Theresa May infamously repeatedly ruled out holding an early election, before deciding to call the ultimately disastrous 2017 vote.
Conversely, Gordon Brown decided against calling a snap election in 2008 shortly after taking office, a decision that severely damaged his premiership.
As HuffPost UK revealed yesterday, Keir Starmer has put Labour on a war footing in case Truss decides to call a snap election.
Labour has held a consistent lead in the polls, with a YouGov survey released today showing the party on 39% ahead of the Tories on 31%.
The winner of the Tory leadership contest will be announced on Monday September 5, with the victor due to take over as prime minister the following day.