Chris Mason looks ahead to 2024 – election year
2024 will be the year of the general election campaign, but not necessarily the election. The Â鶹Éç's political editor looks at what's at stake for the parties.
We do not know when the general election will be held, because the precise date is up to Rishi Sunak to decide, but we know for certain that the campaign must begin in 2024.
That means election fever will crank up – at least in political circles – in the New Year, and it could last the entire year. That's because the parties at Westminster will all have to think, behave and prepare as though the election is only a matter of weeks away.
Only a handful of people around the prime minister will be in the know, or influential in which date he eventually picks. Legally, polling day could be as late as January 2025.
Yet the ultimate decision will be for voters, many of whom will be choosing between a Conservative Party wanting a fifth term in office and a Labour Party seeking victory after four election defeats. The Scottish National Party, Liberal Democrats, Greens and Plaid Cymru will also be hoping to capitalise in different parts of the UK.
In this episode of the 5 Minutes On podcast, the Â鶹Éç's Political Editor Chris Mason considers what is at stake for all the political parties in 2024, the year of the election campaign.
(Image: Â鶹Éç)
