The Squatter Holed Up in Number 10

Rishi Sunak's refusal to give voters their say in May tells us everything we need to know about him and his Government

Rishi Sunak’s refusal to hold a general election this spring means that voters will have had to wait almost five years before being offered a vote at the polls.

During that time Number 10 has had not one, but three occupants, only one of which had any kind of electoral mandate from the public.

Confirming his refusal, Sunak told broadcasters this week that giving voters their say in May would prevent him from “getting on with” his own priorities for the country.

Of course when Gordon Brown made a similar refusal back in 2007, he was roundly derided in the press for being anti-democratic.

The Sun newspaper, which later famously branded him a “squatter holed up in No 10”, declared that his refusal to hold an early general election meant he was “in the Brown stuff”.

Yet Sunak’s own refusal to hold a general election until almost the last possible moment under our law, has been largely given a free pass.

So why is the Prime Minister so reluctant to give voters their say, and could we ultimately see him holding it back from them just one more time?

Here’s what I believe is really likely to happen next.