No ideal time for Sunak to call general election

Everyone knows there will be a general election this year, but what we don’t know is when.

And, rather oddly, neither does Rishi Sunak. His difficulty is that the options before him all have their problems and there is no real standout that could be regarded as the best of a pretty ropey bunch.

Central to when he decides is, of course, the Rwanda issue and the success or failure of a key policy that will indicate he has either got a grip on it or not.

You can see the thinking: Images of people smugglers on boats trying to land their catch onto the beach only to be arrested by police and hauled away would be a strong hand.

The flipside? In the calmer waters of the

English Channel, boats carrying migrants are more likely to increase rather than decrease unless there is a spectacularly bad spell of weather.

A summer election is likely to prove unpopular - it is the time of the year when people are trying to get away from politics, not closer.

Politicians canvassing for support on the beaches are likely to be about as popular as a spikey sea urchin lurking on the sea bed.

The other difficulty is that it might be close to the council elections and, with the Conservatives being trounced last week, the party activists are less likely to respond to another rallying cry to go forth and knock on doors.

The autumn option has its merits but it also has its hazards: the campaign could be launched off the back of a barn-storming address by the leader but we all know what conferences are like: there would be so much ‘noises off’ and debate about the future direction of the party and who the next leader might be that splits would be hard to contain. So, a pre-christmas poll might be the solution. Colder nights, shorter days, traffic that is always worse at this time of the year. A December poll may mean canvassers may not get quite the same response when doorknocking as carol singers…

‘Summer is a time of the year people are trying to get away from politics, not closer’