Labour leader Keir Starmer has accused the prime minister of "squatting" in No 10 after Rishi Sunak said his “working assumption” was the general election would be held later in the year.

Speaking to the BBC's political editor Chis Mason, Starmer said: "The prime minister has hinted without setting a date that it might be later this year. Why can't he set a date?”

Starmer says Sunak is “dithering and delaying while the country wants change”.

Our full interview with the Labour leader will be available across BBC News from 17:00 GMT.

Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey has accused Rishi Sunak of having "bottled it" after he appeared to rule out a Spring election.

Davey also accuses the prime minister of "running scared of a May general election".

"Squatter Sunak is holed up in Downing Street, desperately clinging on to power rather than facing the verdict of the British people.

"We need an election in spring, so that voters can finally get rid of this appalling and out-of-touch Conservative government," Davey adds.

Sunak kills speculation, but can he turn Tory fortunes around?published at 13:00 Greenwich Mean Time 4 January 2024

13:00 GMT 4 January 2024

Henry Zeffman
Chief political correspondent

This year may still be in its infancy, but politically it has already been full of speculation about when the general election will take place.

Rishi Sunak has today killed a lot of that speculation - for a few months at least.

It was clear that Labour and other opposition parties were talking up the prospect of a May election so that if Sunak decided to wait until later in the year they could then accuse him of running scared.

The prime minister and his team have clearly decided this is not a political risk they want to take.

And the phrase “working assumption” gives Sunak enough room to change his mind should circumstances change.

In any case, the big question for the Conservatives in 2024 is not “when” but “how”.

They remain a long way behind Starmer’s Labour party in the polls. How can they turn that around - or have too many voters stopped listening to them?

Image source, Reuters

As we've been reporting, Rishi Sunak said the next general election will be held in "second half of the year".

He made the comment during a visit in the East Midlands, where he also said he wanted to "keep going, managing the economy well and cutting people's taxes".

Sunak mentioned he wanted to "keep tackling illegal migration" as well.

"So I've got lots to get on with and I'm determined to keep delivering for the British people," he said.

Harry Farley
Political correspondent

Rishi Sunak did not rule out an earlier election, but did say his "working assumption" is one will be held later in the year.

General elections must be held no more than five years apart.

So the latest an election can be held is 28 January 2025. But the decision on the precise date is up to the prime minister.

"My working assumption is we will have a general election in the second half of this year," was the exact wording the PM used on a visit to the East Midlands.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak says his "working assumption" is that the general election will take place in the second half of this year.

Image source, Reuters

Labour backbencher John McDonnell, who served alongside Starmer as shadow chancellor under Jeremy Corbyn, has a issued warning for the Labour leader.

In an article for the Guardian, external, he says that if Starmer is not clear about what he will do in power, this will create a policy vacuum that could be "filled by the far right".

McDonnell, who many consider is a standard bearer of the Labour left, says recent polling figures for the Reform party "demonstrate already how a far-right populist programme can pull the major parties on to a right wing agenda".

"If Labour fails to set out early on a path of radical change to secure the all-round wellbeing and security of our people, then inevitably disillusionment will set in," McDonnell says.

Iain Watson
Political correspondent

Keir Starmer took two questions on his plans to invest £28bn in green energy and jobs in the second half of a Labour term.

There has been speculation - amid pressure from the Conservatives over the cost - that this borrowing commitment would be watered down.

The Labour leader was clearer than ever that if the party’s fiscal rules on reducing debt couldn’t be met, then he’d borrow less.

But he said the commitment to clean energy by 2030 would remain.

His opponents will ask how this would be achieved - though more private sector investment and a wider windfall tax on energy companies might be part of the answer.

More reaction from Labour's opponents now, as the deputy leader of the Green Party says that Starmer "rejects progressive ideas at every possible opportunity".

In a series of posts on X (formerly Twitter), Zack Polanski criticises the Labour leader on specific policies.

The first of these is not lifting the child benefit cap for families, which Polanski says keeps children in poverty.

He then goes after Starmer's refusal to call the Tories "stop the boats" plan "inhumane", and also describes the Labour leader as being "complicit" with climate chaos.

Polanski says that the Green Party are the ones who can offer "national renewal" and "reject populist gestures".

Image source, Reuters

In response to Labour leader Keir Starmer's speech just now, the Conservatives have described him as a "weathervane leader".

He has a "consistent track record of telling people whatever he thinks they want to hear on any given day," according to the party's Chairman Richard Holden.

Holden says Starmer has already flip-flopped over Brexit, scrapping tuition fees and nationalising industry.

And at the end of the statement, he adds the only certainty about Starmer is the "£28bn black hole in his spending promises" - which Holden says will mean a rise in tax for families.

Starmer spent the last hour standing behind a sign emblazoned with the words "Britain's future". For anyone looking for a summary of his speech, here's what he had to say about that very message:

• Discussing the tradition of a new year's speech, Starmer couldn't resist a swipe at Boris Johnson. He told the audience he better be careful with any predictions, after the former-PM said it would be a "fantastic year" in 2020
• He quickly moved on to the upcoming general election and argued that 14 years of Tory rule had led to people breaking their backs to keep going. He said the next election offers the “potential for national renewal”
• Starmer hammered on the theme of the current government, saying the Conservative party had put the country into the “rocks of decline” and looked for divisions to exploit
• He also expressed his belief in the people and told them they are right to be anti-Westminster, but promised that it can be better if they vote for Labour
• Indeed, it was a speech of many promises, from a “total crackdown on cronyism” to a “lighter” politics with more “focus”
• Starmer also made it clear he would focus on economic growth before bringing in tax cuts
• And finally, he hammered home the idea of a united Britain, but told the public even if they don't vote for Labour, his party “will serve you”

Starmer has just wrapped up his question and answer session, walking off stage in Bristol to a round of applause from the audience.

Stick with us for more analysis of what the Labour leader had to say here.

Starmer has just been asked a question on illegal immigration. He replies this is a real problem, adding that the government has "lost control of our borders" and he's open to credible ways of dealing with the issue.

He says as head of the Crown Prosecution Service, he worked with others to smash drugs and terrorist gangs.

In government, he adds, he would focus on smashing the "vile" people-smuggling gangs before migrants crossed the English Channel.

And Starmer says he would also prioritise the processing of asylum claims, saying only 1% of those who'd arrived last year had been processed so far.

Starmer's problem: The moon and the stick are unaffordablepublished at 11:01 Greenwich Mean Time 4 January 2024

11:01 GMT 4 January 2024

Chris Mason
Political editor, reporting from Bristol

The Labour leader is trying to take on the critique - including from some within his party - that it’s not clear what he stands for.

He is rattling through some of the policies Labour have set out.

Interestingly, Labour folk have shared with reporters a few A4 pages worth of the policies they say they’ve already set out, again to try to counter the criticism that they are policy light.

Starmer's speech today was heavy on rhetoric and criticism of the Conservatives - and his fear of an anti politics mood feeding cynicism and apathy - but didn’t include any new policy.

Those around the Labour leader say it’s not realistic that he will set out new policies in every speech.

They also argue that a lack of money and the aforementioned apathy means there’s no point promising the moon on a stick.

The moon and the stick are unaffordable, they claim, and few would believe they could be delivered either.

More from me later, as I am interviewing Keir Starmer shortly. You’ll be able to read about that, and see and hear it, from 17:00 GMT across BBC News.

Image source, PA Media

Starmer segues into discussing the darts, saying it was "incredible" seeing 16-year-old Luke Littler make it to the final round of the World Darts Championship.

He says he thinks Littler did "brilliantly", calling the performance "phenomenal". Although he also jokingly acknowledges that football is more of his game.

But he is a big advocate for 16-year-olds voting and playing a good game of darts, the Labour leader says with a smile.

The next question, by Anushka Asthana from ITV News, asks if Labour win power will Starmer unfreeze income tax thresholds?

The Labour leader says a fundamental principle of his is wanting "more people to have more money in their pocket".

He says Labour will first seek to create growth in the economy, because without it the government can't afford to run public services.

Starmer adds that his party has been "really clear" about where they will make tax adjustments.

Sky's Beth Rigby now has the floor. She tells Starmer that part of his pitch seems to be energise apathetic voters - but says that he seems to be ditching his one big idea which is big money for green investment.

"Is there a danger voters will see you not as a leader of change but one that is overly cautious and timid?"

"These are not just words," Starmer replies, listing his five national missions that Labour will achieve during "the next Labour government".

He mentions the aim of achieving "the highest sustained growth in the G7 with higher living standards" as a "huge difference"

Starmer goes on to discuss mentions his commitment to "clean power, lower bills... safer streets, lower violence against women" saying that "no government or opposition has ever committed to that before".

Here's a clip from Keir Starmer's speech, when he told the audience people in Britain were correct to be anti-Westminster after 14 years of Tory rule:

The BBC's Chris Mason asks if Starmer's anti-Westminster message is not talking down the very institutions he wants to lead. Isn't that itself cheap and irresponsible?

The Labour leader says populism and nationalism thrive on division and politicians saying things simply to get votes.

The choice now, he adds, is between 14 years of decline and a decade of national renewal.

Image source, PA Media

Starmer finishes his speech by making a final few promises to the audience.

These are, he says, a "determination" to bring the country together, an understanding that Britain's standing in the world "can never be taken for granted," and a politics of "respect" that shows no tolerance to the "darker side of Westminster".

He says Westminster is not all bad, but rules "don't seem to be followed or understood" there.

"To change Britain, we must change ourselves," he says, pledging a "total crackdown on cronyism".

He then promises a politics "that treads lighter on our lives".

A politics which aspires to national unity is harder to express, less colourful, he says.

It asks you to moderate your political wishes, he adds, because 45 million voters can't get all they want - "that's democracy".

But if people see their concerns respected, they will find hope, he says.

The Labour leader is taking questions now, so we'll bring you what he has to say here.