London, Mar. 15, (PA Media/dpa/GNA) – British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has ruled out holding a general election on May 2, when voters are set to go to the polls for the local elections.

Sunak had previously been reluctant to make definitive statements about the date of the general election, saying only that his “working assumption” was that it would take place in the second half of the year.

But in an interview with ITV News West Country, Sunak definitively ruled out a general election on May 2.

He said: “In several weeks’ time we’ve got elections for police and crime commissioners, for local councils, for mayors across the country – they’re important elections.”

Asked whether there would be a general election on the same day, he said: “There won’t be an election on that day.”

The statement will put paid to mounting speculation in Westminster that the prime minister was preparing to call a general election to coincide with the local elections, seeking to reap an advantage at the ballot box from the national insurance cut announced at the Budget.

Labour has been particularly keen to talk up the prospect of a general election in May, with shadow Cabinet Office minister Jonathan Ashworth betting Sky News presenter Kay Burley £10 that the election would take place then.

Sunak could wait until January 2025 to hold the election, but has previously said that 2024 will be an election year.

When asked earlier on Thursday about the date of the election, he told reporters: “I said at the start of this year, my working assumption was we’d have an election in the second half of this year. And nothing has changed since I said that.”

GNA