‘Drowning Street’: what the papers say as Rishi Sunak makes his election announcement
Rishi Sunak’s decision to call a surprise general election for 4 July dominates newspaper front pages on Thursday, with the image of the rain soaked prime minister making his announcement outside No 10 proving to be a wellspring for headline writers.
The Guardian characterises the move as “Sunak’s big gamble”, and notes that his words were met with alarm by senior Tories who are concerned that the party – trailing 20 percentage points behind Labour in the polls – could face electoral wipeout.
Related: UK’s summer election: what effect will the timing have on voters?
“Drown & out”, is the Mirror’s headline, with an image of a sodden Rishi Sunak walking back into Downing St, the paper’s caption reading “under a cloud”.
Thursday's front page: Rishi Sunak has called a summer general election#TomorrowsPapersTodayhttps://t.co/RkKoWo3hMS pic.twitter.com/GqiNyszs6g
— The Mirror (@DailyMirror) May 22, 2024
The Times says “Sunak bets the house”. In its lead story the paper quotes pollster Prof John Curtice as saying the prime minister will be attempting to pull off a comeback “unprecedented in modern political history”.
The Times: Sunak bets the house #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/xegXLLSjqb
— George Mann (@sgfmann) May 22, 2024
Business focused paper City A.M. says Sunak has made economic stability and security bedrock issues of his election announcement. Above an image of a very wet prime minister making his pitch, the paper delivers one of the headlines of the day with “Drowning Street”.
Thursday's front page ☔️📰 #TomorrowsPapersToday #ThingsCanOnlyGetWetter pic.twitter.com/WV3psdoozY
— City A.M. (@CityAM) May 22, 2024
Scotland’s Daily Record leads with a timely pun “Gone on the fourth of July”, pointing towards the date of the election, which the paper says has ignited a row over the proximity of the vote to the Scottish school holidays.
Tomorrow's front page: Gone on the Fourth of July. Voters will finally get the chance to boot out the Tories as Prime Minister Rishi Sunak called a General Election.#scotpapers #tomorrowspaperstoday pic.twitter.com/bww6ite8bi
— The Daily Record (@Daily_Record) May 22, 2024
The PM’s “gamble” is reflected on the Financial Times front page, with “Sunak bets on July 4 election”.
Just published: front page of the Financial Times, UK edition, Thursday 23 May https://t.co/m7MUHv02Gv pic.twitter.com/G71gYG0jNl
— Financial Times (@FT) May 22, 2024
The Mail says “Now is the moment for Britain to choose its future”. The paper says that Sunak has seized the initiative, however its main report features quotes from Conservatives outlining their fears ahead of the vote, with one senior Tory reportedly branding the move “suicidal”.
Daily Mail: Now is the moment for Britain to choose its future #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/fsnpmsszOa
— George Mann (@sgfmann) May 22, 2024
Weekly news magazine The Spectator managed to turn around a new cover with lightning speed, its latest edition adorned with an illustration of the PM, above the headline “The deluge”.
The deluge. This week’s @spectator cover pic.twitter.com/AYbZYeqrlb
— Morten Morland (@mortenmorland) May 22, 2024
The Telegraph leads with “Sunak gambles on snap poll”, above a large image of the rain soaked PM making his announcement. The paper’s suite of commentary and analysis features a claim that “Starmer will be worrying now”.
The front page of tomorrow's Daily Telegraph:
'Sunak gambles on snap poll'#TomorrowsPapersToday #GeneralElection
Sign up for the Front Page newsletterhttps://t.co/x8AV4Oomry pic.twitter.com/88FyFOU0bF— The Telegraph (@Telegraph) May 22, 2024
“PM sets date for election” is the headline in the National, which quotes the first minister as saying the timing of the ballot shows “contempt for Scotland”.
Tomorrow's front page 🗞️ pic.twitter.com/jaRpTgriIN
— The National (@ScotNational) May 22, 2024
The i characterises 4 July as “Judgement day”, with claims that the snap general election is an attempt to “catch Labour off guard”.
i: Judgement day #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/b0SyYGD7se
— George Mann (@sgfmann) May 22, 2024
The Northern Echo notes that Sunak’s speech was “drowned out by downpours and Labour’s flagship rally song”, its headline asking: “For how long will he rain over us?”
Thursday's @TheNorthernEcho 🗞️
Rishi Sunak fires the starting gun on a summer showdown at the ballot box with a July 4 General Election
But battling the elements above and a party polling 20 points behind Labour, how much longer will he 'rain' over us?#TomorrowsPapersToday🗳️ pic.twitter.com/nZJ3gFQg9Y— Nick Gullon (@EchoNickG) May 22, 2024